Choosing A Partner For Your Digital Maturity Assessment

There’s no doubt digital transformation can be a perilous journey. It’s fraught with risks and difficult decisions, and anyone attempting it deserves the best possible start. Initiatives tend to wander and perish in the later stages. Progress can be slow and stumbling, there is dissent around competing for budgets and leadership just gets tired, bored and wants to go home to the way things were. Yet making good decisions early on can make a tangible difference to outcomes.

Before starting any kind of digital transformation, you need to get a clear understanding of how ready the organisation is for your initiative. If you’re in doubt about why you need a Digital Maturity Assessment, take a look at this post where we set out what an assessment can deliver.

It’s like packing a map before setting off on a hike.

Who you choose matters

Deciding to carry out Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA)is a strong first step.  The next important decision is choosing who you should conduct it.

In this decade, developing and sustaining digital maturity is becoming more important than ever. Revenues, market positions, reputations (not to mention your career) depend on the ability to harness digital tools and skills to remain competitive.

👀 What to look for:

Here are three criteria you should consider before choosing a partner for your DMA.

➡ Methodology. Is there a rigorous approach to your partner’s work? Is it rooted in evidence, and is it able to address and measure key dimensions across different organisations ? (hint: if it focuses on technology you’re ignoring the 90% of what makes up successful change)

➡ Digital Specialism. Is the organisation dedicated to understanding digital? Are you choosing a digital “bolt-on” to a big consulting or accounting outfit (hint: look to see if they also do audit, a sure sign digital isn’t at the core of what they do)

➡ Objectivity. Will your provider be objective in their recommendations, or do they have an agenda around sales of software, hardware, cloud or accounting? (strong hint: if it’s given away free it’s more likely to suit their agenda than yours)

🙏 What to ask for:

As for what gets delivered, you should ask for a report which:

✅ stands on its own and is not linked to any further consulting or purchases
✅ assesses your company “as is” rather than making recommendations (yep, counter-intuitive but trust me)
✅ has technology as one of several dimensions, not the sole focus.

Only when you have this independent view can you truly begin to identify what needs to change, and start the journey of getting buy-in, budget and help to support your transformation journey.

✉ If you want to know more, book a call using the link below.

Arrange a Conversation