The Data Dilemma
Digital creates vast amounts of both structured and unstructured data, and businesses must work to untangle these and transform them into actionable insights. So, how should professional services companies approach data management?
“You need systems and processes that will capture data, systematise it, and make it accessible, so that you can use it and do something with it. Because otherwise it's just filling up your servers and your data centres. … You’re looking for a tool that will allow you to standardise things and really make data available right across the organisation,” said Collins.
Steven Raymond, executive director of people transformation at Capita, the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the UK, stressed the importance of having access to accurate data and its role in fortifying an organisation’s agility.
“In order to get agile, you can't really skip the basics of having accurate data and having efficient processes around that. It's those enablers of agility we've been really focusing on that have now allowed us to be more agile. If you don’t have a good foundation for data, then everything else you try to do is going to inevitably collapse.”
Digital Acceleration Playbook: Winning Strategies
A digital acceleration journey is a marathon, not a sprint. So, what are the best practices that can fuel businesses along the way and keep them on track? Workday Industry Insights EMEA experts shared their top strategies from the digital acceleration playbook.
Lief said the most important factor is getting the foundations in place.
“It requires big investment. It requires commitment. It requires leadership engagement and sponsorship. But once you've taken that step and you've built the technology platform and the data platform, you really then have the foundational tools that you need to make business decisions in context that you can't anticipate today. Think differently and be bold.”
For Collins, the secret sauce in the recipe for success is having a finger on the pulse of your people and staying connected with industry peers.
“We talk to our people. We do surveys. We do focus groups. … You've got to be in tune with your people. And you've got to talk around the sector. I spend a lot of my time talking to CFOs of other professional firms and indeed very different organisations, and I'm fascinated to hear about their challenges. And I share some of mine. So we are building the best intelligence we can to try and make the best decisions we can.”
Raymond agreed with Collins.
Cappello closed the panel discussion with her short and sweet nugget of inspiration:
Watch the on-demand session to hear from our expert panelists and guests and learn more about how professional and business services have accelerated their journey to becoming a digital enterprise.