Digital transformation & Interculturality (2/2)

Intercultural management is a fundamental notion for firms that deal with people from different cultures. Rising mobility, market globalization, and, of course, digitalization have made this concept an all-encompassing topic in today’s business world. Intercultural management is a fundamental notion for firms that deal with people from different cultures. Rising mobility, market globalization, and, of course, digitalization have made this concept an all-encompassing topic in today’s business world. When it comes to internal digital transformation, international enterprises are up against a twofold obstacle. They must incorporate intercultural management, take the appropriate attitude based on diverse cultures among their staff, and modify their communication and actions to be successful for a Digital Transformation. But how do you go about accomplishing this? Where to start and where to end?

In our last article, we tackled the trail of inclusiveness. Inclusion appears to be one of the beginning points for every change communication strategy. So, how can multinational corporations involve their staff worldwide in the digital transformation process? How can they design alternative communication tactics to overcome cultural gaps, specifically?

One of the most significant roadblocks to successful digital transformation is organizational culture.

One of the most challenging difficulties in the digital era is to change the set of beliefs, values, habits, and experiences that define a firm via its employees. This roadblock is even more relevant when the organizational culture may encounter cultural resistance. Capgemini, a consulting organization, conducted a poll of executives and workers from across the world in 2017 to examine the importance of corporate culture in digital transformation. The greatest challenge that organizations face in the digitization process, according to 62% of those polled, was corporate culture.

This is because the corporate culture represents the company’s spirit, its way of thinking and doing, its values, ethics, and mission. As a result, for a significant shift like the digital transformation to take root and thrive, it requires an atmosphere that encourages technological innovation. Furthermore, this atmosphere of openness to new technology must be the result of individual understanding and cultural acceptance. But what is the best path to achieve a corporate culture endorsing digital transformation?

In a recent study,

75% of respondents said they thought that IT was effective on the digital journey. However, only 23% thought it was effective on intercultural communication.

This highlights the imperative to include culture in your efforts.

Intercultural Communication is a strategy that addresses those people who need to interact and communicate with one another across cultural boundaries in an increasingly globalized world. But how come?

A smart starting step is to bring in the proper leaders. You can’t, however, stop there. The next stage is to ensure that everyone in your company is aware of this goal. You’ll be able to guarantee that everyone on your team understands why these efforts are critical. With a clear mission, you’ll be able to create meaningful and engaging content. This is where the power of intercultural communication comes in. To date, there is no “one size fits all” communication strategy for global organizations. All digital transformation initiatives are customized for each organization.

For example, you could work with a global consulting/advertising agency to help devise language that will resonate with different cultures. In fact, to keep your company on pace, digital transformation requires expertise and, in many cases, a team of people. There are a couple of different paths you may follow to assemble this team. You can hire individuals from your own company, outsource, or collaborate with a technological partner. However, there are some characteristics to look for in the people you select to work with. They must be willing to learn about new technology, be open to new ideas, and be prepared to adapt to cultural differences. You’ll also want them to collaborate effectively with individuals from the business worldwide subsidiaries.

Once the team has been assembled, you’ll want to think of ways to measure the success of the digital transformation. Are you making progress? Are there adequate results? Are there any problems? It’s important to recognize these so that you can make changes if needed. Based on your objectives, and the amount of time and money you’re willing to invest, you can be sure that digital transformation will deliver results.

Digital transformation is a continuous process, not a one-time event. As a result, you’ll need to figure out what measures you’ll use to track the effects. Take a step back as you implement changes in your company to evaluate your efforts and make modifications as needed. After that, you may inform key stakeholders of your progress and what isn’t working.

A successful digital transformation plan must focus on two things, according to experience. First and foremost, the approach must incorporate methods for managing changing company objectives. These plans must also take into consideration the cultural shifts that come with technological improvements.

An Agile Framework can give the type of outside perspective, adaptability, and understanding that interculturality needs.

In fact, regular communication, continual cooperation, feedback sessions, and continual stakeholder management are all encouraged by the Agile framework, which is important to the success of any transformation project. This is even more relevant when a project is led in a culturally diverse workplace.

About this article

This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.