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“Digital transformation” wouldn’t sound out of place in a game of corporate buzzword bingo, right before “leverage” and after “the new normal.” It’s up there with some of the least understood jargon, and it makes many people nervous.

 

But Digital Transformation doesn’t need to be scary. At its simplest, it’s a journey towards putting digital at the heart of your organisation so that you can deliver great results for the communities and causes you serve.

 

So how do you get people to join you on that journey? Waving a banner and shouting “Digital transformation now!” won’t cut it. Instead, let’s hear from people in charities, companies and government who successfully built buy-in for digital. Here are their practical tips.

 

 

Understand your team’s needs

 

“Any digital person will know that when you build a product you start with an audience,” says Digital Leadership consultant Brani Milosevic. “Do research to understand their needs and develop your response. It’s the same with making the case for digital. Understand the needs of the people whose buy-in you need and identify and demonstrate how digital can help.”

 

 

Start with quick wins

 

“It’s so important to give people quick wins that add tangible value to their day,” says Dana Publicover. “Find quick wins that give them a positive experience of digital, to help show the value of what future digitalisation will bring.”

 

 

Make their lives easier

 

Find out what’s holding your team back, then tackle those barriers together. 

 

“It’s important to do the little things,” says digital strategist Seb Baird. “What small innovation can help a colleague increase their impact? Can you improve a process or introduce a tool or technique to help a part of the organisation, and then build from there?”

 

 

Lobby by listening

 

“When was the last time you spoke to someone without being interrupted?” asks Milosevic. “It’s surprisingly rare. Practice listening without interruption. You may be surprised both by how difficult it is, and how transformative it can be.”

 

Ask people how they see digital, what’s working for them, and what’s not (but don’t ask people for suggestions if you’re not going to do anything with them). Listen deeply, take notes, then keep in regular contact to show how you’ve taken their ideas on board.

 

 

Involve everyone

 

“It helps to lobby and persuade at different points in the organisation,” says Baird. Senior leaders aren’t the only sponsors that count. Recruit allies from across different teams, roles, and seniority levels, and give them tailored reasons to get excited about digital.

 

 

Don’t make people feel like dinosaurs

 

As Director of Digital for Government Digital Services, Russell Davies had to bring decidedly analogue parts of government into the digital world (hard copy memos were the norm and there wasn’t even a screen in 10 Downing street on which to show digital content).

 

Here’s how he described it at the time: “We’re working with huge numbers of colleagues across government who are as talented, driven and imaginative as we are, they’ve just been stuck in systems that don’t let that flourish. Part of our job is to help shift those systems.”

 

Davies didn’t shame people for being less digitally able than him. He showed people how changing the culture was a shared mission, one that would benefit everyone.

 

 

Know that digital can’t solve everything

 

“Bear in mind that digital may not be the best solution for everyone’s problem and that’s fine,” says Milosevic. “In that case, it’s about showing them the opportunities which will make their issue easier to deal with.

 

“People sometimes assume you’re saying that non-digital stuff is obsolete and it all should be replaced by digital products or activities. This is rarely the case or practical, so it’s good to address this fear.”

 

 

Give people concrete ways to contribute

 

Think you can’t quantify digital maturity? Think again. You can gather the whole team’s perspectives, using a free tool like Google’s Digital Maturity Benchmark, NCVO’s Digital Maturity Matrix, or Digital Leadership’s Digital Maturity Assessment.

 

In as little as 15 minutes, your team can tell you how they see digital across different aspects of the organisation. Make it clear that there are no right or wrong answers; everyone’s perspective is valid.

 

When everyone’s filled out the survey, you’ll have a solid sense of where your charity is currently at. You could even put the results up around your office or in a shared digital space, so everyone knows where you’re starting from. Refer to this baseline data as you roll out changes, so you can all see how far you’ve come.

 

 

Act, test, and iterate

 

“Digital transformation is not about lots of thinking, it’s about lots of doing,” says Davies. “You can’t know what your strategy is until you’ve started delivering things.”

 

Resist the urge to research endlessly before starting. Apply Jeff Bezos’ 70% rule (“make decisions with 70% of the information you wish you had”) and get started before you feel comfortable.

 

It may feel nerve-wracking, but you’ll be modelling key digital leadership traits like openness, transparency, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes.

 

 

Be human

 

Many people worry that digital change will make them obsolete, that they won’t be able to keep up with technological changes, or that it will sap resources which could be spent serving the charity’s “real” mission.

 

Digital may unlock incredible potential, but it can also be intimidating. So, take the time to listen, reassure, and respond to people’s worries. Show them how digital is a catalyst, not a distraction, by constantly linking digital transformation back to the communities and causes you serve. In the rush to go digital, don’t forget to be human.