Digital transformation: where do you start?

The following steps will help you kickstart your digital transformation process. Go over them together with your colleagues. It doesn’t matter with which step you start. Digital transformation isn’t something you need to achieve all at once. It is a flexible process of experimenting, testing and adjusting. Ready to start?

Step 1. Determine your goals and focus

Let’s start with what you want to achieve and what your targets are. Does your organisation want to reach a wider audience? To offer new products and experiences that will appeal to this wider audience? To jointly determine what your organisation’s role in this changing society is or should be? Or to examine how you can optimise your operational processes? Defining a digital strategy is an important part of digital transformation. Formulate a vision. 

Determine your goals with the following questions:

• What do you want to achieve, as a team and as the organisation?
• Within what period of time do you wish to achieve this?
  
• Are the goals future-proof: can they adapt to the constantly changing needs of your audience?
• Are the goals and steps clearly demarcated?

Tip: when determining your goals, consider aspects like creation, operational processes, experience and value. How can you smoothly combine these four aspects to arrive at an integral work method? The DEN focus model can help you on your way.

Step 2. Demonstrate digital leadership

Everyone can be a digital leader, from cultural educator to managing director. Are you the person who gets fired up by that dot on the horizon? By the chances and opportunities offered by digital transformation to achieve your goals and make your organisation future-proof? Then you might be perfectly suited to take on the role of digital leader within your organisation.

Inspire and involve all your colleagues to embark on the process of digital transformation. Discuss how they can each contribute to the process, in their own way and position. An approach that is supported by the whole organisation and to which everyone contributes will deliver the best results!

Step 3. Collect and share knowledge

What knowledge does your organisation lack in order to achieve your goals? With respect to what aspects could you use more knowledge and inspiration? Work with your colleagues to identify chances and opportunities to renew working methods, products or services. Knowledge can be found everywhere, both within and outside your organisation. What you can do:

• Talk to colleagues and find out who, within your organisation or network, has relevant knowledge.
• Look around in the field to discover who, outside your sector, can help you further. Approach (new) collaboration partners, for instance digital production agencies, game developers and specialists in Augmented and Virtual Reality, or an agency specialised in visualising and clarifying information.
Research which tools and what data can enrich your knowledge.

Step 4. Let’s get started!

The important thing is to get started. Now is the time to take your first steps toward making your organisation future-ready. So that you can remain relevant for your audience, now and in the future.

It’s OK to make mistakes. Experiment, collect data, evaluate and adjust. There is no blueprint for a digital environment. It is instead a flexible environment where ideas, designs and working methods can be adapted easily. So that you can achieve your goals.

Some inspiration to get started

You can find some good examples drawn from practice here:

• Five digital transformation examples in the cultural sector.
• 'Just do it!' Inger van Til created a digital escape room.

Back to basics?

Go to our overview page on digital transformation for all articles on the subject.