In our global survey, we found that CEOs are the most ambitious members of the C-suite when it comes to digital revenue targets, but poor-quality data holds back confident decision-making.
Bold leadership, deployment of new technologies and systems, and putting employee and customer experiences at the heart of the decision-making process are all vital pieces of successful digital transformation. In other words, a lot is expected of today’s CEOs, and they in turn expect much from others in the C-suite.
“Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation,” our global survey of 1,150 senior business executives, shows that CEOs are the most ambitious members of the C-suite when it comes to digital revenue targets. More than one-fifth (21%) expect digital revenue to make up between 75% and 100% of their total revenue three years from now—compared with 16% of CIOs, 13% of CHROs, and 7% of CFOs.
CEOs are also the most likely C-suite members to say that decision-making processes are a barrier to digital transformation. Why is decision-making such a headache for CEOs?
A lot comes down to whether they have sufficiently high-quality, credible, and usable information to inform their decisions. Only 14% of the CEOs in our research say their business data is fully accessible to those who need it. And looking at only some of the data can be dangerous. “Having half of the picture is often worse than not having anything at all because you can make half-baked decisions,” says Pete Schlampp, Workday chief strategy officer.
To make company data more accessible and improve decision-making, CEOs will need to build closer working relationships with their C-suite colleagues.
CEOs are the most likely C-suite members to say that decision-making processes are a barrier to digital transformation. Why is decision-making such a headache for CEOs?
And although digital transformation needs commitment and focus from the very top, leaders must bring the rest of the organization on that journey with them. This means explaining exactly how valuable transformation is—and what’s at stake if it doesn’t happen.
“You reach a point where you’ve got to think differently in order to keep driving progress,” says Charles Ewen, chief information officer and director of technology at the Met Office, the UK’s national weather service. “And we are very much at that point now where all the things that have got us to this position are not the same things that are going to take us forward into the 2030s. That’s a tricky message.”
One way to ensure that everyone hears and understands those difficult messages is by identifying champions of change—in the C-suite and beyond—who can help to turn ambition into action. After all, CEOs will need key partners to make their digital aspirations a reality.
Download the full report “Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation” for more findings from the office of the CFO, CIO, and CHRO.
Finance, IT, and HR leaders around the globe talk with guest host Megan Wright of Longitude, a Financial Times company, about Workday’s latest research, “Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation,” and the most pressing business issues they face, in the Workday Podcast.
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