1-in-2 businesses lose employees when DX projects fail

Endava has launched a sponsored IDC InfoBrief, Leveraging the Human Advantage for Business Transformation. Exploring how organisations are tackling the evolution to the digital business era, the InfoBrief uncovers the roadblocks, tactics and outcomes of digital transformation (DX) efforts in the last year, as well as strategic drivers and approaches to integrating major technologies shaping the landscape, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

The research, which surveyed business leaders and decision-makers across the globe, revealed that the overwhelming majority (88%) said that only 50% or less of their DX projects in the past year met the expected goals or outcomes. And when businesses miss the mark on DX projects, it’s not just their infrastructure or competitive position that suffers. While 62% reported failure resulting in them being less technically mature than competitors and having a longer time to market, key challenges damaging the employee experience emerged as consequences too. Many are facing frustrated staff (56%), as well as a rise in staff attrition (50%) and a less stimulating work environment (44%).

The causes of lacklustre results from digital transformations reinforce the notion that strategies too often neglect to prioritise a people-first approach in the planning, design and implementation of digital initiatives. For example, 39% of respondents indicated that a lack of employee buy-in was a key reason for failing to meet expected outcomes, implying a need for cultural considerations to encourage user engagement. This was followed by conflicting opinions from leadership (36%) and a lack of collaboration internally (33%), demonstrating a struggle to successfully navigate organisational dynamics or engage stakeholders throughout projects. When reflecting on failed DX projects, over half recognised that investments would have been better channelled into people-centric projects such as upskilling staff (55%) and improving IT and line of business communication (50%).

Amid the rapid advancement of AI and the generative AI boom over the last few years, the survey also uncovered strong levels of current implementation and adoption plans in the pipeline, with almost half (49%) of the respondents having already deployed AI in their organisation or running a proof of concept. Many organisations recognised the impact of retaining a human influence on their use of AI, with 51% declaring it as very or extremely important. Similarly, automation strategies were aimed at empowering a stronger employee experience and freeing people to work more strategically. 58% said their automation strategy is highly or very highly focused on removing mundane tasks, and 54% agree that employee engagement and satisfaction are integral. The data on DX shortcomings, however, highlights a gap between many businesses’ intentions for digital projects and the ability to bring these to fruition.

Despite this, for those who do get DX projects right, there are promising employee and customer outcomes beyond the business benefits. As well as achieving outcomes such as process optimisation (62%), cost reduction (57%) and revenue increases (53%), respondents also reported improved customer experiences (45%) and an uptick in employee productivity, satisfaction and retention (42%) when initiatives were effectively managed.

Endava CEO John Cotterell commented: “The success of digital solutions is inherently reliant on understanding how people will respond to new technologies. This research reinforces the fact that nurturing amazing products and services demands a human-centric approach throughout every stage of digital evolution. In practice, this is all about people, understanding user needs and expectations, working through cultural barriers to adoption and collaborating with employees to build engagement from the outset.

It's encouraging that more and more businesses are recognising the importance of human response to new technologies, as well as the potential impact of not prioritising people within technical development. As they shape their digital strategies for the year ahead and beyond, developing inclusive digital solutions and constantly being mindful of people will go a long way towards bridging the gap between innovative products and market success.”