In the race to digitalisation things can fall by the wayside. We want the best tech and the best data analysis, but we often forget the most important thing: the plan. Before you spend, it’s crucial to take the time to put processes in place that will make the technology work best for you.

This case study shows the importance of bringing the whole team on board before digitalisation happens, so that as you bring your organisation forward there is a universal buy-in. People, processes, and purpose are the key to success.

Background & Client Challenge

Our client was an Irish business which had gone through a period of significant change. They found that processes which had previously been fit-for-purpose were no longer working for them and that manual workarounds had become the norm.

This was resulting in a range of quality and productivity issues for the business which was ultimately impacting on financial performance. There had also been little or no investment in terms of digital tools and techniques over the years and there was a company-wide lack of appreciation of the improvement’s digitalisation can deliver.

As a result of this they were not making use of the data they had. Month-end reporting always contained “surprises” that nobody wanted and so they needed to get to a single version of the truth by better understanding their data.

They knew the business could be more efficient by doing things differently but weren’t sure where to start.

What We Did

The team at 3SIXTY worked with our client to design and implement fit-for-purpose operational processes, supported by digital and automation initiatives that were right for where the business was, and where it wanted to get to. This was the first and most important step.

For us, the starting point for any digitalisation project is process and purpose. In order to identify the appropriate level of digital investment required to support our client’s needs we began by getting real clarity on what problems our client wanted to solve and where they wanted to be. Too often, we see companies put the initial focus on the technology as if this new system will resolve problems by magic. Process and purpose must come first; the technology comes afterwards.

On the data side, we worked with our client to understand the key strategic objectives for the organisation and correlate those to the true leading indicators. This allowed us to identify a small number of critical KPIs which the business needed to track and ensured everyone across the business was working towards the same objectives. By analysing data with constant references to the agreed KPIs we were able to help the client significantly improve their decision-making process and remove those month-end surprises.

As part of this project, we spent time with people at all levels of the organisation to hear, understand and address any concerns they had about why changes were happening. Because there was resistance to change, this was a critical step in the process. By doing this, we were able to remove that resistance and create much-needed buy-in and ownership of the project among all stakeholders.

This all resulted in:

• Streamlined and scalable operational processes
• Increased efficiency and productivity from (a) process improvements and (b) bringing in the right digital tools
• Improved quality resulting in significantly reduced customer complaints
• Visibility of key KPIs by making better use of existing data resulting in alignment across the business on targets/key objectives
• Buy-in and ownership of digital adoption at all levels across the business

To find out how 3SIXTY can support your business, contact BrianOBrien@3SIXTY.ie