Digital transformation is a very buzzwordy phrase these days. But what does it actually mean? What are you transforming from and what are you becoming? How do you begin this transformation and then how do you sustain it? 

Simply put, an organization that has digitally transformed is enabled by digital technologies. Enabled is a key word here. There is a difference between using technology, and being enabled by it. A digitally enabled organization applies design thinking to consider how technology can create leaner workflows (how can we do X thing better), includes technology hard costs and skills development in resource planning and forecasting (what do we need to do X thing better), and documents how technologies are used and configured (how do we sustain what we’ve built so that everyone know how we do X thing better). 

An organization that “uses” technology meanwhile, typically only gets a fraction of the potential functionality out of their technologies, struggles with user adoption and training and rarely documents what technologies are used for what workflows. This technology-using organization has taken great first steps toward becoming digitally enabled; embarking on a process of digital transformation will help most organizations get even more out of the tech that they’re already subscribed to. 

Digital transformation first means changing the mindsets you’ve developed around technology, then tackling the “workaround” processes that have calcified into organizational habits and culture, next looking at the skills you cultivate and search out among staff, and lastly looking at the tools and technologies you use.

So what is being transformed? 

Functionally speaking, over the course of a digital transformation journey you will move away from the following behaviours/approaches: 

• Manual data entry processes
• Inboxes for project and contact management
• External website maintenance
• Attachments for sharing information
• Documents stored on desktops
• Information search relies on co-workers
• Institutional knowledge lives in people’s heads
• Multiple versions of the same data in different place
• Lack of data governance policy
• Lack of ownership/agreement on data model 

If you recognize yourself in more than 3 of these items, you aren’t a digital-first organization. That’s okay! Many are not. 

Transformation is disruptive and can leave you feeling vulnerable. But there’s no avoiding it. You have to confront the old in order to create the new. So now that you know what you’re confronting, let’s talk about how you can begin this process of getting ready for digital transformation.

First, developing the mindset that is required for digital enablement can’t be overlooked. Especially if you’re in a leadership position. The qualities you’re looking to nurture include curiosity, a growth mindset, experimentation, and comfort with change and iteration.

Some reflection questions to work on your digital mindset:

What’s holding you back from exploring digital?

• Can you commit to leading with design rather than technology? 
• What if you made one commitment to a new practice or habit – like working in shared documents rather than attaching documents to emails?
• Can you maintain curiosity in the face of confusion when learning about the possibilities of new technology?

Processes are the next part of transformation to tackle. Few organizations are in the practice of documenting key workflows and processes.

Some examples of your business processes might be:

• Tax receipting
• Gift acknowledgements
• Contract management
• Event budget management
• Program/stakeholder feedback
• Board reporting

 A key step in becoming digitally enabled is to map out your most important workflows. As you map out this process you are documenting where information is created, where it is stored, who is interacting with that information and what they need to do with it, how that information is transformed, and where it is communicated. There are dozens of great free resources to guide you through process mapping. For example, here’s one from Asana. As you map out your current processes, you’re looking for:

• Duplication of effort
• Manual processes
• Info that is removed from the cloud and put back into the cloud
• Email back and forth on tasks that could be replaced with forms or automation.

Get deep into the details. There’s no step that’s too small in process documentation. Put on your detective hat. You want to know the who, what, when, where, how and why of each and every tiny step. 

Next, let’s look at people and skills.

Digital transformation requires a shift in what kinds of skills you need in-house. Conduct a digital skills audit of your team. You’d be surprised to know what people know how to do, but maybe they aren’t bringing that skill to work because they know that the operating environment can’t leverage it. There’s usually an “accidental techie” somewhere in there that is capable of way more digital management. With your audit done, note where you’re lacking skills in-house. 

You don’t always need deep technical skills, but instead might just need to know where to go to access those skills. As long as your team has a good handle on cloud computing approaches, and what you want to accomplish with technology, the actual implementation can be outsourced to a freelancer. 

Next, review your job descriptions. Do you include specific digital skills and digital-first mindsets? Add them to your staff’s current JD’s and where they demonstrate gaps, create the time and space for them to get trained up. Protect time for them – perhaps two afternoons per month – to skill up. 

It’s also important to review your projected hiring needs. Have you considered digital in these projections? Do you actually need a gift administrator or do you need to invest in leveraging automations and integrations in your donations management system to take the administrative drag out of your donor management workflows?

The last thing to tackle in your digital transformation journey are the tools. Shifting from offline to cloud tools is a key step. Configuring them based on your KPI’s, workflow requirements and your data mode is important. Choosing tools based on a strong needs assessment process and clear evaluation criteria will ensure that you don’t experience buyer’s remorse when subscribing to new technologies. 

Above all, remember that this is a journey; one that can be tackled in digestible parts. You don’t need to know everything or be able to do everything all at once, you simply need to take the first step. 

With more than nine years of experience in development, staff and stakeholder management, strategic thinking, partnerships, board governance, program development and digital operations, Aine McGlynn is a diversely talented self-starter committed to finding creative solutions in unexpected places. She holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto with a focus on global activisms and gender formations and has published widely. Aine runs a small consultancy focused on supporting nonprofits in making strategic technology decisions.