Digital transformation : switch to Onoff Business! -

Digital transformation: switch to Onoff Business

Are French people resistant to digital technology?

The French, skeptical about innovation

90% of French people believe that innovation is not necessarily an improvement for everyday life (Opinionway survey for Amaguiz from 2018). In this survey, none of the digital innovations fully attract support: neither connected objects, nor domestic assistant robots, or even Artificial Intelligence. Many doubt the positive impact of these technologies on our societies.

5 digital-related fields where France is lagging behind

This mistrust is reflected throughout society and impacts France’s digital competitiveness. According to the study conducted by the European Commission (The Digital economy and society index), France is ranking below the European average regarding the following 5 areas :

Connectivity
Population’ digital know-how
Digital services usage
Digitalization of companies and e-commerce development
Digital government services.

This lack of confidence in innovation is undermining France’s competitiveness. Moreover, the need for digital transformation of society and companies has been noticed following the Covid-19 crisis. With the lock-down, new digital processes have been activated. According to The Work survey by Service Now, 87% of executives in France say that the pandemic has led their company to reconsider the way they work. The pace has been accelerated by the pandemic, but now we must find the right balance between the immediate need felt during lockdown and the deeper changes that are ongoing.

Digital transition is speeding up, towards services such as Onoff Business

We at Onoff Business have seen our customers facing this emergency. With lockdown, many companies and associations have used Onoff Business to obtain business lines for their employees. Their primary need was to provide a professional mobile number that could be used on any smartphone, without having to equip everyone with a company cell phone. And since Onoff Business can be set up in 10 minutes, remotely, the solution was perfect to keep in touch with customers and users, while giving employees a pro line, protecting their privacy.

The Covid-19 crisis has speeded up Onoff Business adoption, but switching to cloud-based telephony sometimes raises a few eyebrows. How to smooth the change to make companies more competitive? How can we promote the companies’ digital transformation in order to improve their competitiveness?

How to facilitate digital transformation within your company?

Digital technology is a real lever for development and it allows us to maintain our activities in case of a crisis. What are the main inhibiting factors to our digital transformation?

The 4 main obstacles to digital transformation

The organizational weight

According to an article written by Socialy, 39% of companies encounter internal resistance to digital transformation. The organizational dimension often slows down the development of new solutions. You have to know how to think ahead according to your company’s needs and convince your employees for a successful digital transformation.

The lack of digital skills

Digital technology impacts all companies and at all levels. However, as the European Commission’s report has pointed out, there is a lack of good IT training in France. A good knowledge of digital tools is key to their adoption. A digital transformation strategy cannot be considered without employee training.

Lack of funding

Some digital tools are expensive. Or involve expensive equipment purchases. Not to mention the need to attract the right tech profiles. Having a clear vision of your objective when introducing new digital solutions makes it easier to solve this tricky budget issue.

Lack of management involvement

To train or to be coached on the digital transformation of his company is something crucial for a manager. Transformations have to be carried out by managers. Especially since digital technology also influences relationships within the company by leveling out pyramid systems.

The 8 steps to accept change

John P. Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor, has defined the 8 steps leading to a successful change in a company. He assumes that change, to be efficient, must be global and not fragmented or isolated. Here are his recommendations for getting change adopted:

The urgent need for change

To make people accept the change, we must understand that it is necessary or even an emergency. To achieve this goal, John P. Kotter advises to rely on concrete facts: statistics, competitor analysis, customer complaints… You have to demonstrate through arguments that the change is necessary.

A powerful leadership team

To lead the change, you need a strong team, with players who have a real weight within the company and the legitimacy to lead the change (in terms of expertise, seniority, but also leadership and charisma). The most significant thing about change is that it must be driven by several people in the company.

A vision providing meaning

Change must integrate a strategic vision, giving meaning to the project, so that people’s contributions match up with this common goal. This vision must be translated into plans and deliverables, to make the change concrete.

Ongoing communication

As soon as the vision and the needs have been shared, it is important to communicate on the project’s evolution and to value the past steps as small victories.

Dealing with obstacles

Change inevitably involves fears or resistance. These obstacles must be identified in order to be able to respond to them. All resistance must be addressed to ensure the success of the transformation.

Avoiding discouragement

Digital transformation is a long process. To keep up with this marathon, it is necessary to demonstrate that the first steps have been taken. These intermediate victories must be sufficiently representative and materializable to encourage teams and avoid running out of steam.

Upgrading your team’s skills

For a deep and lasting change process, you must help your teams to develop their skills and knowledge, as well as their attitudes.

Ensuring that change is a fundamental part of the corporate culture

It is very important to connect change to your business and to your employees’ daily lives. The evolution of personal postures is a key stage of change and must be taken into account.

Going digital: Onoff Business customers' testimony

We frequently face this resistance to change and therefore we guide our customers to facilitate their telephony transition to the cloud. We do this all the more conveniently because the service is very easy to set up. Using Onoff Business allows managers, HR or purchasing directors to save time and money by breaking down the mobile subscription headache for employees and smartphone management. Onoff Business allows you to get rid of a time-consuming task with little added value.