Digital culture is defined as a set of habits, practices and consumption habits — both for buying and selling — and social interactions carried out through digital technology devices, such as Information and Communication Technologies.
Building a digital culture aims to answer a simple question: how to succeed when the operating environment changes rapidly?
New strategies must adapt to an evolving digital world, where companies have more data to analyze, and the media landscape is getting bigger and more complex. This has forced the organization to develop at the same pace. And that is exactly what adopting a digital culture is all about!
Elements allow you to find all kinds of information, share experiences, and launch various activities, among other actions. This democratic, expansive and inclusive environment contributes more to the development of new technologies and enterprise innovation.
Find out more about the essence of digital culture by reading our posts!
What is Digital Culture?
Digital culture is the way people interact with technology, both on a personal and professional level. Although they look identical, digital culture is not the same as digital transformation!
For generations, we have defined “culture” as the synergy of underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, norms, customs, symbols, and language that define and characterize a group.
This definition has changed significantly with the emergence of disruptive digital technologies and tools. In addition to the beneficial impact of innovation on the business environment, innovative technological resources have enabled companies to adapt and reap the benefits of anticipating and meeting the demands of globalization.
In the organizational field, it is very important to focus on a digital culture approach, as necessary and depending on market demands.
For this reason, organizational culture must be able to accompany change, integrate new processes, approaches, policies, and technologies, with the aim of modernizing, accelerating, and optimizing the quality of the company’s strategy.
This means that, in the current context, a company’s success is closely related to a company’s ability to align its culture with a digital approach and replace the question “what to do?” Do?”.
Having said that, it is clear that the goal of digital culture is to optimize the current models, procedures, structures and processes, which depend on a change in mindset driven by business management.
How To Accelerate Innovation Through Digitization?
For a company, advancing in the digital transformation process is not only a way to optimize its internal dynamics, but also a strong advantage over the competition.
But what can we do to promote innovation in our business?
The most consistent way to achieve this challenge is to prioritize digitization of records and information.
Below, we present 4 main steps to drive innovation in enterprises through digitization.
1. Analysis of the current landscape
Before starting to design a plan that will enable digitization to work, it is important for company managers to know and understand the realities of their business. This includes:
- analyze the effectiveness of ongoing processes;
- verify performance indicators that provide relevant information about the digital environment;
- set digitalization goals in accordance with corporate goals;
- consider the working conditions of the team and detect their level of knowledge in terms of technology and innovation.
2. Integrate tools that add business value
Advances in technology have led to the emergence of various useful tools for organizations, such as integrated management and communication systems, and electronic signature platforms.
Regarding the latter, it is a highly relevant resource for modernizing operations and maximizing the use of good business opportunities.
By having an electronic signature solution, companies can quickly send, receive, and sign documents, avoiding wasting time and money on printing files and hiring logistics services.
Likewise, electronic signatures represent legal validity, a fact that makes it possible to present documents as a means of proof before a court.
To introduce this platform to business reality, it is suggested:
- analyze the demands of your business taking into account the process that can incorporate the solution, budget, profile of staff and their level of knowledge in terms of technology;
- choose 2 or 3 providers, research their reputation, evaluate the peculiarities of each platform and choose the one that best suits your company’s needs;
- define data storage and handling policies incorporating information security measures;
- train collaborators on the mechanics of operating the program;
- evaluate the results obtained taking into account metrics and indicators.
If you consider these tips, the process of introducing e-signature software will be very profitable and, as a result, companies will enjoy a good experience.
Why Should Companies Align To Digital Culture?
Now that we’ve analyzed what digital culture is, it’s time to explore the 4 fundamental reasons why it should be a top concern in any organization.
Let’s see!
1. Digital culture determines the pace of digital transformation
Research by Couchbase shows that more than 90% of digital transformation initiatives fail.
So why is failure the expected outcome? The answer is that many companies believe that investing in digital technology is enough to propel them towards Industry 4.0.
However, their effectiveness is the result of a combination of three elements: strong leadership, relevant technology, and a strong definition of digital culture.
2. It is a competitive advantage
While expressively relevant to good performance, effective productivity and successful business results, digital transformation alone is not sufficient to drive business development.
The reason why digital culture plays such an important role is because its principles revolve around employees, their performance and their goals. Thus, incorporating it into the company helps foster a positive work environment and promotes a prosperous coexistence between collaborators and disruptive tools.
In fact, the adoption of digital culture allows organizations to develop a collaborative and harmonious environment between different viewpoints, thereby avoiding problems in work relationships and, most importantly, lack of proactivity in work teams.
As you can see, this digital approach is the foundation of a very innovative company, which can:
- Unlock unexpected added value.
- Deliver products and services to customers that exceed their expectations, enhancing their experience with the brand.
Set new goals for new technology adoption.
3. It is very important for the longevity of the business
In his book, “Building a Digital Culture,” author Daniel Rowles, CEO of Target Internet, advises organizations that they should treat digital disruption like anything they have responded to in the past.
Technology is constantly evolving, generally responding to market demands and trends. Therefore, businesses have no choice but to take risks and experiment.
Rowles’ argument supports the evolution of disruptive companies like Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, MercadoLibre, among many others, which have managed to reinvent business models with no signs of slowing down.
Doing so requires adopting an organizational culture that leverages technology, takes risks, and continually strives to deliver customer value. In short, reinventing business models requires structuring a strong digital culture.
4. Increase employee engagement
A study conducted by Microsoft EMEA found that organizations with an established digital culture have:
- 5 times more staff feel empowered.
- 4 times as many collaborators with a high level of commitment.
- 3 times more members with high innovation rate.
- 2 times as many collaborators feel productive.
- How is this possible?
Here are some facts about modern contributors:
- They want to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for what they do.
- They are more motivated when they see purpose, value and meaning in what they do.
- They seek openness, equality, and a sense of community.
- They expect open and honest feedback.
- They know that a company’s greatest asset is its workforce.
By meeting the expectations of company members, they can generate 26% higher profits. This is because highly engaged employees:
- they reduce sick leave;
- they stay longer with the company;
- they find ways to reduce costs and maximize value;
- they are brand promoters, and are able to constantly surprise and delight customers, irrevocably retaining their loyalty.
Summary
The benefits of investing in and developing a digital culture are obvious. However, the question remains: how far is your organization on its journey? Are you looking to start digitizing operations across your business infrastructure?
If so, we invite you to try our e-signature solution, an essential option for speeding up and multiplying the number of contracts signed with your employees, suppliers and customers.
