The essential skills required for digital transformation

Identify the skills and strategy needed to accomplish a digital transformation project. Hays CIO, Steve Weston guides you through the technical expertise you and your team need to make effective change. 

Digital Transformation Skills: Key Insights

The process of digital transformation is happening across the worlds of business and industry. The move towards technological solutions is primed to increase efficiency and output, but it demands the right skills. Research suggests a range of approaches to fill this skill gap.

• Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are IT leaders who should spearhead the strategy.
• New technical skills are essential, but generic and complementary skills should not be overlooked.
• CIOs need to develop their own skills in order to manage, recruit and up-skill accordingly.
• Training and recruitment should work in tandem to build well-equipped teams. 
• Pay attention to ‘learnability’ – a new concept of commitment to developing new skills and fulfilling more than one function in the business. 

Digital Transformation Skills: The Background

Digital transformation projects have significant and far-reaching implications for a business. Yet only 21% of businesses have implemented a firm-wide digital transformation strategy, according to a survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit and SAP. CIOs should make it a top priority to ensure that their teams have the skills required at all stages of the project’s life-cycle.

However, this is rarely simple.

According to the OECD Skills for a Digital World report, the IT skills demanded of an effective workforce are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Alongside the generic digital proficiencies, the list now includes specialist programming, application development and network management. There is also a need for complementary skills, such as information-processing, problem-solving and communication, each of which underpins the newly technologised workplace. 

CIOs and IT leaders must evaluate the skills available in the business and take preemptive measures to plug any gaps. Building the necessary skill-base involves recruiting wisely – both permanent employees and specialist contractors – as well as effective upskilling. 

The onus does not end with the workforce, however. CIOs themselves must be well-equipped to manage a comprehensive digital transformation project. Adaptability, communication, collaboration and team-building: these are all skills required of a change-minded CIO, alongside a technical skill-set. 

Let’s look in more detail, then, at what skills you and your teams need to succeed in digital transformation.

Leading on digital transformation means sourcing the right skills and developing your own

1. Dedicated, specialist technical skills

Every organisation and project demands a unique combination of technical skills. However, any digital transformation project will generate a high volume of data, so data analytics and database administration skills are likely to be high up your priority list.

You’ll need database administrators (DBAs), who fall into one of three broad categories: operations, development, and data administration. You could decide to employ one person to undertake all of these roles, but each actually involves a variety of skills.

Analysts are also necessary to help you make better business decisions over the long term. For example, a data analyst can optimise your RPA system to further increase efficiencies by identifying and eliminating recurrent errors. Analysts can also identify useful opportunities for further automation.

Software and web-application development will also be vital across the life-cycle of a digital transformation project. You could fill this need by bringing in specialist contractors, hiring permanent staff or upskilling your current workforce. Ideally, you would attempt a combined approach.

Information security experts are needed to ensure new technologies and business processes comply with the correct legislation. The safety of your systems and customer-data is paramount in the era of GDPR.

89% of UK CIOs regard DevOps as a core competency for all developers and infrastructure professionals over the next five years. A staggering 94 per cent of CIOs believe that DevOps will need to incorporate further security measures. More than one in three CIOs said DevSecOps skills are needed for a successful digital transformation project, where security is built into a continuous service and application delivery.

2. Change management and ‘people’ skills

The world of business is increasingly digitised. Still, it’s important not to diminish the role of human interaction. Communication and analytics are key CIO skills that become crucial during a digital transformation project. Insight, clarity and good information-sharing helps smooth the process of change.

Equally, remote and hybrid working has disrupted traditional management. Overseeing dispersed personnel requires a specific skill set from a remote manager. In particular, intercultural communication skills may be required when working across teams based in different locations. A dispersed workforce also means you need to keep the team spirit buoyant with regular and personalised comms, including virtual and face-to-face meetings, where possible.

During digital transformation you can expect your team headcount to increase, at least in the short-term. A proportionate increase in your human resources capability would be helpful in steering the business through this period of adjustment.

3. Creativity, adaptability and learnability

As technology automates repetitive tasks, emphasis should be placed on recruiting staff with the ability to tackle non-routine tasks. These individuals must be able to think creatively, show cognitive flexibility and emotional intelligence – skills which tap into the USP of our human brain.

Research from Mckinsey demonstrates that automation could replace only 5% of complete job roles, but up to 45% of specific activities within jobs. So, you should also recruit employees willing to upskill and diversify, to keep pace with the changing skill-need that digital transformation will prompt. This is a relatively new concept termed as “learnability” – the desire and ability to learn new skills to remain employable in the long term. 

For example, your team members could learn how to install a particular system and/or train other staff to use it. Or individuals could go further, learning an entirely new skill-set, such as basic coding skills, to work with and further develop the system. This kind of added-value flexibility is key to building a dynamic, agile team that can cope with digital transformation.

4. Broad digital literacy across your workforce

As digital transformation becomes established, every member of staff will be expected to possess a default level of computer literacy. However, according to research from the OECD, more than 40% of workers who use office software every day do not have the digital skills to do so effectively.

You must source adequate training for existing staff and ensure that future hires are equipped with the right generic skills to future-proof your digital transformation strategy. 

Skilling-up for digital transformation: Next steps

Digital transformation presents a huge opportunity for IT leaders like you to reinvigorate the workforce by bringing in new roles and new skills. By developing the skill-base of employees, as well as investing in your own abilities, you can realise true transformation across the organisation. Such change can help your business adapt and grow; not just surviving, but thriving into the digitised future.

For more information on your recruitment needs, please contact your local consultant.