Executive Challenge: Staffing a Digital Transformation
- Jamie J Bourassa
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 12
Digital Transformation drives dramatic change in the form of a new product or experience, but one of the first challenges we face as leaders is to access the right talent and competencies. Finding digitally proficient talent is challenging. McKinsey states that 40% of companies cite talent shortages as a major obstacle in their transition [1]
Considering the current reality that AI is compounding, this challenge is not going away. The tech industry is expected to experience a significant increase in job openings, with a projected 377,000 computer and IT positions anticipated to open each year from 2022 to 2032. [2] At the same time, only 108,000 college graduates earned bachelor’s degrees in computer and information sciences [2]
Hiring talent to execute a digital transformation in a competitive labor market can be challenging and costly. However, alternatives exist, and my experience delivers solid results while minimizing the need to hire digitally competent experts by following a three-part equation:
Minimize Customization: Extensive journey mapping with customers revealed that most customers sought standard experiences, similar to those found in peer or adjacent industries. By selecting platforms and tools that already contain the necessary process or function, you can reduce the need for custom development and the requirement for a significant development and testing organization.
Standardize Everything: Standardize transformation workflows, steering committees, project processes, etc. By standardizing how the team works, teams rely less on individual knowledge and more on the operation of the work.
Augment with Early-Career talent: We enhanced our approach to driving transformation by minimizing customization and standardizing team workflows. We focused on maximizing the value existing Technical and Subject Matter experts provided by shifting work activities related to user story generation, process analysis, and project/portfolio management to dedicated team members.
This model of supporting existing teams with Project Management and Standardization of working processes can provide benefits.
According to the 2023 Pulse of the Profession report by PMI, organizations that invest in project management resources for their teams see a 25% increase in productivity. This improvement is largely due to better planning, enhanced collaboration, and more efficient resource management[3]. To compound these results, process standardization in IT development can increase productivity by up to 20%. This improvement is achieved by establishing uniform procedures and guidelines, which help streamline workflows, reduce errors, and enhance overall efficiency [4]
In my experience, these gains are real and have been observed during a large-scale digital transformation involving hundreds of user stories delivered over two years. Beyond the efficiency of the working teams, the use of early career talents to fill project and process roles has an added benefit: it establishes a new talent pool to tap in the future.
In conclusion, executives looking to complete a digital transformation have options. If there is already a base of experts, shifting how the work is divided and standardizing work streams can be a solid alternative to building new technical teams in an already competitive market.
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