Stage 2: Recognition

At this stage, businesses recognise the importance of Common characteristics

digital capability but are unclear how to tackle this across
the organisation. They may be in the process of piloting Leadership

“
or experimentation to see what works best. • Leadership team understands the case for change
and the need to develop digital capability
• Senior leaders have a general awareness of digital
trends and the potential of technology
• Some major digital projects are underway but not all
are joined up and the learnings aren’t always shared

We’re trying to reinforce Culture

behaviour and encourage • Self-appointed champions (mostly in IT) introduce

people to make that leap and digital solutions to improve ways of working
• Some cross-functional teams are implementing
snap them out of the ‘I’m not digital innovations
good with tech’ mentality” • Adoption of digital solutions varies with a proportion
of employees resisting change
UK HR Director,
International food manufacturer Talent

“
• New digital roles have been created to respond to
immediate business needs (e.g. ecommerce)
• Managers upskill themselves to some extent and
recognise organisational capability gaps
• Talent development is beginning to evolve towards
self- and peer-to-peer learning
We identified key influencers who
Data
are in senior positions and gave them
• There is a continuous investment in internal and
the opportunity to be inspired by external data management
other organisations and think about • Teams can access a wide range of data and interpret
how digital solutions could make a it with reasonable skill although the quality of data
difference to our bottom line” may not be ideal
• Data analysis is time consuming and often leads to
HR Director,
poor actionable insight, restricting its potential value
European drinks manufacturer

Some questions to consider if you believe you are at this stage:

1. Who could bring together all your digital initiatives into a joined-up strategy?

2. What are the key capability gaps that are holding you back?

3. How could you make the transition from data collection to insight generation?

12 Digital capability framework

Stage 3: Action
At this stage, businesses have a well-considered digital Common characteristics
strategy underpinned by a plan to develop capability
across the organisation. There is a whole-business Leadership

“
approach, not just isolated activities in pockets. • The strategy for digital capability development
is championed from the top and understood
throughout the business
• There is a dedicated leader to coordinate digital
transformation
• The leadership team is excited by digital trends and
continuously evaluates its potential to help deliver
You need outstanding leadership to
business priorities
bring about significant transformation.
We are working to become more Culture
entrepreneurial and innovative. • Company-wide digital champions help embed new
Leaders need to display these skills and digital solutions
reinforce them in others” • More teams are cross-functional, empowered to
innovate, and use a test and learn approach
Supply Chain Director,
• Employees are enthusiastic about the digital strategy
Multinational food manufacturer

“
and open to continuous change

Talent
• New roles have appeared to reflect long-term digital
capability needs (e.g. ‘big data’ experts)
• There is a concerted effort to bring in and retain
specialist expertise and intellectual property
The challenge is deciding • There is a focus on upskilling using digital solutions
to facilitate self- and peer-to-peer learning
whether you buy expertise
or grow it. How do you keep Data
people who need constant • There is considerable investment in collecting data
and making it as accessible as possible
skills refreshment upskilled?” • Teams understand the strengths and weaknesses of
their data and routinely convert it into insights
HR Director,
• The quality and speed of decision making
International food manufacturer
encourages further investment in data analytics

Some questions to consider if you believe you are at this stage:

1. How can you fully capitalise on people’s growing understanding of technology to maximise innovation?

2. What more can you do to overcome your resistance to change, learning from successes in other areas?

3. What opportunities do you have to draw additional insight from internal and external data sources?

Digital capability framework 13