Why Today’s Workforce Needs to Embrace the New Era of Digital Operational Excellence
Remembering the ECDL: A Foundation for Computer Literacy
For those of you who are old enough to remember, the European Union developed a program back in the mid-90s for Computer Literacy called the ECDL (European Computer Driving License). While it didn’t explicitly refer to the Microsoft Office suite, it primarily focused on getting people up to speed on the use of computers, on how to use Word and Excel and Outlook. Many companies rolled this out and everyone in the company was trained up, completed the tests and received their certificate. While for some people it was a “dawdle” as they were using some of these software tools in college or in their daily jobs, for others it took them outside their comfort zone. Organisations definitely benefited greatly from having an entire workforce upskilled in these packages as these tools could be used widely across the organisation. One of the most popular tools was Excel and while spreadsheets were initially the preserve of those working in the accounts departments, they quickly became a widely used tool by everyone across all business functions including Lean / Operational Excellence.
Since the 90s everyone has become very comfortable with the use of technology, largely due to the mobile phone. But are we at a point where a new wave of tools and capabilities are available and many people are not familiar with or simply don’t know “what is possible” with them?
Everyone is hearing about Digital, Digital Transformation, AI and many other new technologies and ways of doing business. At a more basic level, many companies are striving or have the objective of becoming a data-driven organisation and leveraging digital in terms of their Operational Excellence strategy.
The New Opportunity: Becoming Digital Citizens
Is there an opportunity for a new “Digital Driving License” of sorts? Back in the 90s and 00s people started using Microsoft Office tools as already mentioned. There is now a new suite of tools called the Microsoft Power Platform. It knits in very well with the tools that people are now using including MS Teams, Office 365, SharePoint, etc.
There is an opportunity now for those who are comfortable with technology to develop into “Digital Citizens” within their own organisation. Within their own function in the organisation, be that Planning, Finance, Operations, Quality, Engineering etc., they can leverage these new tools to improve productivity, help streamline processes, and free up time where they themselves and their colleagues can “add more value” and develop and progress within their own roles while also making a significant contribution to the organizational goals.
Many organisations have adopted Lean and have upskilled everyone in the organisation in Lean principles and how to use Lean Tools to eliminate waste and add more value. These skills and techniques are really complementary to using these new digital tools. In fact, lean methodologies should be applied to how you use these tools. You certainly do not want to digitalise an inefficient process.
Learn by Doing: A Practical Approach to Digital Transformation
While back in the 90s the ECDL training very much followed a tightly defined syllabus, our belief is that training on these new tools and these new possibilities is more beneficial if it is made relevant to the person’s role and function and within the context of their organisation. “Learning by Doing” is the most effective way. Learn what the tools can do, how they could be used in your environment, select a topic or problem to solve and then upskill by delivering a solution to that problem. This will create a Win-Win. You upskill and develop, while also streamlining a process or solving a problem.
We believe that this agile and hands-on approach can really make a difference. Over time, this continued learning can be built into your day as you get back time from a reduction in the non-value add “busy time” and can continue to leverage these technologies to make continuous improvements.
Citizen Developer
Not everyone may want to become a “Citizen Developer,” another term used to describe those who have an aptitude or interest in learning and using digital tools to help digitise and optimize manual and paper-based processes, but I believe everyone should strive to become a “Digital Citizen” within their organisation. If you at least learn “what’s possible” you can contribute greatly to the conversations around leveraging digital tools to solve problems within your organisation. If you progress to where you are comfortable using the tools, you can then work with colleagues, with the correct training, support, and mentoring to help progress the level of digital maturity across your organisation, help leverage tools to drive on your digital operational excellence and ultimately help become a more data-driven organisation.
Learn what’s possible. Figure out how it can be applied to your own role and within your own department or function.
Our OpExWorks offering provides you with a toolset, training supports, and coaching that help you deliver Digital OpEx solutions for your organisation. Our collaborative approach based on solid lean principles puts you at the centre.
Contact Us
If you want to discuss how you can apply Digital to your Operational Excellence strategy and how we can help deliver real benefits to your business, please contact us today or call us on 051 878555.
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