Covid-19 as accelerator of digitization

Urgency and relevance are the strongest drivers of change. Companies and organizations have been talking about digital transformations for years and regularly set up ambitious change programs to take truly digital steps. Of course, something happened. But you don’t just break old habits. It remained busy at the office and the transition program that had been launched so nicely slowly ran aground.

And then corona came.

Not the CEO, not the CIO, but Covid-19 turned out to be the accelerator of digitization.

In a short period of time, sectors that hardly worked digitally turned out to be perfectly capable of going online in just a few weeks. Sectors that were already partly doing so were accelerating. Mainly thanks to human creativity and the need to do things differently. Because we have been working digitally for quite some time now, we learn a lot. There are drawbacks: think of days in which you make video calls for hours or the new trend that every phone call is suddenly replaced by video calls. Dosing seems to be the motto. And there are many advantages: think of time savings, less environmental impact and more balance between work and private life.

MEET WHEN YOU NEED TO, COLLABORATE DIGITALLY WHEN YOU CAN

Corona has forced companies to shift their business from the physical store or work environment to online. This has a lot to gain, but also costs something in terms of the quality of contact between people. Now that the economy is slowly opening up again, the question arises: how to proceed?

It is the art for companies, organizations and entrepreneurs to find the right mix between digital and physical. Between online and meeting. Offices as meeting places for employees and shops as experience spaces and customer service for consumers. Meeting each other when you have to and collaborating digitally where you can. Companies that know how to put together the ideal mix will take the lead over their competitors. Not only because they serve their customers better and more efficiently, but also because they become more attractive as employers. The best professionals are also looking for a balance between their working and personal lives and are more likely to choose an employer who understands and thinks that way.

The digital acceleration initiated by corona must now be continued. This means that companies will continue to develop their business digitally and think carefully about setting up the right meeting places for employees and clients.

In short: repositioning and redesigning the customer journey. And when the energy is out of the change process again: think about how you can add urgency and relevance again. Hopefully no longer driven extrinsically, but from intrinsic motivation.