Digital Leaders South East July 2015: Oxford

Transforming your organisation to a digital DNA

Salon meeting Saïd Business School

Transformingyour organisation to a digital DNA

The Digital Leaders South East team met in July for a salon in Oxford’s famous Saïd Business School. The

two key topics for discussion were digitally transforming the DNA of your organisation and the leadership

responsibilities for recruiting and developing people for the digital age.

#DigitalByDesign

The event’s discussion leaders were Scott Fisher, Press & Public Relations Officer for Aston Martin Works Service, and Paul Jenkins, Account Director at TM Recruit.

Some might argue that Aston Martin started its digital journey in 1976 when it created and developed the very first digital dashboard in the world for the Aston Martin Lagonda. The key learning points from the Aston Martin discussion were how

you can maintain and embed your organisation’s heritage while evolving to a digital DNA.

Another key learning point was the focus that is being put on transforming the customer’s experience,

whether you personally visit Aston Martin at Newport Pagnell or Gayden in the UK, or visit and engage with Aston Martin online. Whichever channel or platform you choose; it will be a wholly engaging experience. The result is that Aston

Aston Martin Works Service: Personalisation for the digital age

#DigitalByDesign

Martin has created communities of interest by providing deep and rich content across a number of social media platforms. This focusses not just on current customers, but also on individuals who aspire to own an Aston Martin, as well as

those who just share an interest in the brand.

Customer personalisation was another key message emanating from the discussions, where the example of digitally scanning an Aston Martin vehicle assured

provenance, just as importantly as in the art world, given the values involved and the best possible future care and service given.

TM Recruit:A Unique EmploymentProposition (UEP) inthe digital ageTM Recruit are strategic recruitment consultants for both the public and private sectors.Key learnings from TM Recruit discussion focused around the five “5Cs” of recruitment,

which are:• Connectedness• Competencies• Control• Contribution• CompensationWe also looked at how the 5Cs can be

incorporated into supporting the tailoring of a more intelligent recruitment platform for the business. It was generally agreed that compensation was not the key differentiator

#DigitalByDesign

ConnectednessCompetenciesControlContributionCompensation

for recruiting people who are highly skilled in digital competencies.The discussion on control and contribution sighted the Google experience of the 20% time concept, which enables individuals to focus on a project in a way that not only simulates creativity, but also their contribution and value. Another example discussed was the concept of “FEDEX” days, where individuals must absolutely, positively deliver something on a project “overnight”. These were, amongst

others, identified as mechanisms to improve engagement and link each person’s contribution to the

organisation’s strategic “golden thread”.

The discussion also centred on the importance of leaders

owning the potential employee relationship from their very first interaction with the organisation. The job

specification should directly reflect how each individual can achieve their own “5Cs”, as previously defined. Therefore, the recruitment and development of people should not be delegated to the human resources department.

Digital Alchemist:Digital DNA

The discussion then evolved into how we could take what we had discussed and learnt during the salon and how we could build this into creating the right

platform to accelerate the organisation’s Digital DNA.

In summary, some of the key facets to incorporate included:

• A higher vision• Values and heritage• Personalised

experience, for both the customer and employee

• Competencies –

“The Internet of Everything will be five to ten times more impactful in the next decade than the entire

internet to date”John Chambers, Cisco CEO

#DigitalByDesign

both in terms of technology and business

Innovation time, built into the work life of employees

The need to understand the DNA of your suppliers and partners is also a crucial factor in rapidly accelerating

digital DNA growth. The discussions also centred upon the need to tailor and weight the importance of each the “helix” strand to the needs of each business. From these discussions and input, the above digital DNA framework was formed.

Thankyou!

© Digital Alchemist Consulting Services International Ltd 2015

Register: http://digitalleaders.co.uk/20122013-programme/join-us/

Contact:jim@the-digital-alchemist.compaul.whiston@whiston-solutions.com

Thank you to everyone who participated in the salon and thank you again to Aston Martin Works and TM Recruit for leading our discussions.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next Digital Leaders South East Salon in September. Please register early to avoid disappointment.