Today, the majority of our business and personal lives are dominated by our access to technology. From business platforms, personal apps and third-party providers, technology drives our daily experience.

Projections show that the technology industry is set to exceed $5.3 trillion this year, as firms continue to push back the boundaries of the possible, and champion digital transformation. Yet the challenge with digital transformation is how to embrace it without losing our humanity. Businesses from all sectors are striving to successfully leverage technology that positively influences and supports their humanity rather than pushes it away.

You may be one of the 84% of businesses making cybersecurity and resilience a top priority in 2023. If so, and if you are looking to allocate some of your budget to a technological solution that addresses this, then here’s how to make those changes and achieve that elusive balance.

Digital Transformation is Human Transformation

Implementing new technologies can be problematic. Success has less to do with technology and more to do with managing the cultural and structural challenges that a technological shift produces. Below are 3 key steps to striking a balance, so you can harness digital tools to your advantage whilst remaining human-centric and effective.

  1. Be Clear on Your Business Goals

Rather than focusing on the technological approach, focus on your business needs and objectives. Once you know your goals you can work out what technology serves your business best. It’s easy to be distracted by impressive features but you need to ask yourself whether they will be of any use to your business circumstances.

Remember a digital solution is a tool to aid efficiency. If for example, you are looking to implement a GRC software solution then it is important to recognise it will not do risk management for you, but rather support your organisation with risk management issues.

Organisations investing in technological solutions need to make sure that they have done their preparation and understand their specific aims before purchasing. Take a look at our article SHOP SMART: 4 Steps to Successfully Adopting a GRC Solution.

  1. Automate Tedious Tasks

The key is getting the balance between technology and human input. There will be aspects of your organisation that will benefit from technological assistance, such as analysing and reporting on large data sets. Automation, in this instance, can complement your business by saving time and improving efficiency.

Nevertheless, technology should be used to enhance and not replace. If digital transformation is done successfully, it can improve the effectiveness of human employees too, allowing them to focus on more productive and less tedious tasks.

Ensure that the technology introduced to your organisation enables people to be more constructive, efficient, and innovative. That it helps them to remain connected; and feel safe and cared for. The whole organisation needs to fully embrace the new system otherwise it will never be fully adopted.

  1. Manage the Shifts Transformation Creates

It’s relatively easy to find a GRC provider that can implement a system for you, but much harder to prepare your organisation to adapt to new technology.

Strong leadership and good communication are essential to embedding a digital transformation.  Implementation should be treated as a major change with senior-level support. Business leaders should have a clear vision of what they need a solution to do and what will ‘fit’ the company. They should collaborate with all departments and stakeholders in the selection, implementation and testing of a new system. So that everyone can get behind it and create true transformation.

It is important to be realistic with the scope and timeframe too, this is not an overnight change. So be sure to allow plenty of time to train, test and become familiar with the new technology. For a more detailed review consult our guide on The Most Common Pain Points of GRC Implementation – And How to Avoid Them.

1RS Helping You Get the Balance Right

Our digital tools are designed by risk and compliance practitioners, for risk and compliance professionals. We work in partnership with our clients to select a well-fitting technological solution that meets their specific requirements whilst ensuring complete compliance.

Here at 1RS, we believe in supporting our clients during every step of their journey – and beyond. To us, customer success means entering a partnership in which everybody wins. Our team will configure your 1RS solution so that it fits the size and needs of your organisation. We then guarantee all structures are correctly and effectively embedded through ongoing monitoring.

Talk to one of our experts further about how you can embrace technology and keep your humanity.

compliance grc risk risk management