Articles 2 min read

Harnessing the power of experience in digital transformations

Digital Transformation. Everything about this buzzword screams new. Innovative. Exciting. Even despite these projects’ concerning rate of failure, the term itself holds such wide-eyed promise for a future of yet-untapped potential.

It’s perhaps because of this focus on novelty that there’s such scant consideration of where older workers – those aged over 55 – might fit into the conversation.

Ageism has been covered regularly in recent years. That said, the lack of dialogue on where your mature employees might fit into one’s digital transformation seems to suggest widespread bias towards the young. What we need to recognise is that, when it comes to executing these techy turnarounds, older workers can really be far more of an asset than a liability.

Let’s look at three reasons why:

Cognitive diversity

We all know the struggle of being too close to a problem – feeling a solution slipping away, the longer you spend thinking about it. In the midst of a digital transformation, one thing you can be sure to encounter is problems.

One way to beat this brain-freeze is to increase your team’s cognitive diversity. This means, in effect, ensuring that teams are composed of members from different backgrounds, of different ethnicities, genders and ages. Older workers, contrary to popular stigma, have been found to have greater entrepreneurial flair, as well as being more patient and collaborative.

All of these qualities can be brought to bear in challenging times to devise new avenues around persistent roadblocks, improving productivity and whisking you on your way toward a successful digital overhaul.

Cascading knowledge

When executing digital transformations, only so much can be achieved by implementing new technologies alone. Much of their success comes down to how well existing employees can be sufficiently guided into new skills areas, both hard and soft, to facilitate new ways of working.

As the group often possessing the most experience in their fields, older workers are perhaps best-placed to impart wisdom to even the most tech-savvy employees. A great example is Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, who sought out hospitality veteran Chip Conley in the company’s fledgeling days.

Not only did Chip offer vital sector insight, however. He also found that, “through years of pattern recognition”, his emotional intelligence far exceeded that of his younger colleagues. This was a vital stabiliser in times of constant upheaval. Passing this on to younger workers will exponentially increase their ability to collaborate and iterate effectively.

This might be especially important in companies with larger teams – McKinsey data reveals that those with over 50,000 employees, for example, are 3x more likely to fail in their digital transformation efforts. It’s clear that the ability to collaborate and empathise will be key, an area where older workers can excel.

Storytelling

When we talk about storytelling here, we don’t mean the kind of around-the-campfire, wise elder storytelling. What we mean is establishing the narrative of why the business needs to go through the transformation in the first place. What are its ambitions? Its values?

Digital transformations accompanied by an impactful “change story” are 3x more likely to succeed, according to the same McKinsey data. This stems from increased productivity and collaboration amongst employees who buy into the initiative’s purpose. Success, therefore, can rely on enlisting key backers for your cause, while also educating your entire workforce on the benefits to be gained from such a process.

With many older workers boasting tenures exceeding a decade, they’re in a fantastic position to internally champion these narratives! Their knowledge of both customers’ needs and the intricacies of your business should be something to capitalise on – not to discount entirely.

Transforming your outlook

Digital transformations hold massive potential – we all know that. But they can also place strain on internal relationships, cause disarray and waste resources. Though older workers can’t be expected to solve all your problems in isolation, let them be the source of wisdom, experience and expertise that helps you overcome them.

Want to learn more about creating a more diverse, inclusive workforce? Arrange a demo with Arctic Shores here.

The Business Transformation Network have shared this article in partnership with Arctic Shores.

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