How to build a rock-solid business case for digital workplace transformation
One of the biggest stumbling blocks we see to successful digital workplace transformation is the ability to make a powerful and persuasive business case.
In this blog, we will map out the key ingredients you need to include (as well as some helpful tips on how to prepare).
Preparatory Considerations
Here are three quick tips to help get you off on the right track.
1. Aim to persuade
Present your case boldly, describing the problem as it is rather than sugarcoating. And be creative with how you present information, using colour, images and imaginative ways of visualising data. For example, there’s a huge difference in impact between a list of black-on-white bullet points and a colourful timeline with illustrations.
Try to use personal anecdotes from yourself or colleagues to emphasise the human aspect and bring the day-to-day challenges to life.
2. Know your audience
Start with some informal stakeholder analysis so you can tailor your presentation to their needs. Consider who your key audience is: who is going to make the decisions? What personality type are they? What is their decision-making style? Do they prefer hard data or stories? Are they exclusively concerned with the bottom line?
All of these questions should shape how you structure your business case.
3. Get feedback
Don’t assume that you’ve thought of everything. Get an outside perspective.
Before the big meeting, ask a friendly colleague who understands the business to critique your arguments. Have them sit through a test run and pick holes in it, trying to anticipate objections.
The key ingredients of a Business Case
In our experience, a successful digital workplace transformation business case covers three areas:
The problem
The solution
The business value
Let’s take a closer look at each in turn.
1. The Problem
In this section, you want to highlight the core problem, give evidence as to how this negatively impacts business goals and the value that is being left on the table as a result.
1.1 State the high-level problem clearly
Make it clear what the pain is and articulate it boldly.
This may seem obvious but many people hold back here or don’t fully express what the actual pain is. Specifically, they focus on the technological problem (e.g. it’s difficult to find documents on the intranet) rather than the business outcome (waste and inefficiency is hitting the bottom line).
1.2 Benchmark your maturity
Providing a wider context for the proposed transformation helps people grasp the big picture.
Develop (or borrow) a high-level maturity model that helps people see where you are now (and its problems) and where you’re trying to get to (and the value that would bring).
If you have the insight, benchmark your competitor’s level of maturity. If they’re ahead, this can bump up motivation to invest like nothing else!
1.3 Demonstrate how people are being impacted by the gap in investment
Provide granular data about the various ways the problem affects your business through the lens of your people.
List the concrete daily problems that your people face, backed up with qualitative data from employee interviews.
This doesn’t need to be a massive or particularly scientific undertaking. It doesn’t take long just talking to people on the ground to get a sense of where the difficulties lie and the challenges they face.
1.4 Highlight the untapped value
Make it very clear how much business value is being left on the table as a result of all these problems.
Highlight key business goals and state how digital workplace challenges are holding the business back. You can support this further with more qualitative data as well as market research from industry analysts like Gartner and Deloitte.
2. The Solution
In this section, we start to paint a vision for digital workplace transformation and how we are going to make it a success.
2.1 A new mindset
Many digital workplace transformation efforts fail because they are focused almost entirely on technology as the main pillar of transformation and don't focus enough on people. Check out our blog on Why Digital Workplaces Fail for more on this topic.
You need to make clear that a new mindset is needed, premised on the idea that successful transformation is about 80% people, 20% tech.
2.2 An evergreen digital workplace
An evergreen digital workplace is one that becomes self-sustaining through high adoption. When enough people have become proficient in the best tools and smartest ways of working then newcomers are naturally drawn into using those approaches. They become integrated into the DNA of the business, as it were. A rule of thumb for self-sustaining adoption is when two thirds or 67% of people have adopted new approaches and become proficient.
2.3 The ‘how’: adoption!
Successful adoption is the cornerstone of digital workplace success, but it’s normally neglected.
In your business case, ensure that you highlight the key factors that you will consider in order to make adoption a success. At Future Worx, these are the critical success factors that we generally consider. We have found the following success factors to be indispensable:
Business drivers
Leadership engagement
Technical readiness
Use case activation
Communication of value
Network of champions
Learning support
Measurement and ROI
3. The Return on Investment
In this critical final section, you want to lay out exactly how the proposed transformation is going to benefit the business.
3.1 Provisional flight plan
Put together a program that shows how the transformation will unfold and how you will minimise business disruption. Include the longer-term plan for continuous incremental improvement.
3.2 Cost versus ROI in key areas
Revisit the key business objectives you laid out in point 1.3. And indicate how the proposed plan will play out regarding:
Cost
Employee impact
Business value (vis-a-vis specific goals)
Each cost should be connected in this way back to the value that it will deliver to the business. Make no assumptions about how obvious the value is. Spell it out as clearly as possible.
3.3 Summary: Do Nothing vs Invest
You want to end with a stark vision of the difference between doing nothing and investing strategically in an evergreen digital workplace.
Don’t hold back! This is your chance to leave them with a powerful final message.
If you can resist the temptation to go too deep into the technology and stay close to your people and the business outcome, you will be able to deliver a powerful argument for investment in digital workplace transformation.
Need a hand building out your business case? Maybe you’re not sure how to assess your maturity or go about raising awareness. Perhaps you’re uncertain how to truly understand your people’s needs or how to launch a successful adoption campaign.
Wherever you’re at in your journey: we can help. Get in touch with us today to embark on a transformative journey and unlock a future of endless possibilities.
