Gartner predicts that by 2021, CIOs will be as responsible for culture change as chief HR officers.
“A lot of CIOs have realized that culture can be an accelerator of digital transformation and that they have the means to reinforce a desired culture through their technology choices, a partnership with the CHRO is the perfect way to align technology selections and design processes to shape the desired work behaviors” said Elise Olding, research vice president at Gartner.
The mission and values of an organization usually fall into the remit of HR. The partnership between IT and HR can shed light on how IT can make technology and process design decisions that foster the intention of the desired organizational culture. Enterprise architecture can adopt principles that align to the cultural traits, and when business analysts design processes they can create them with the intended traits in mind.
Culture change is a process; this means that there will be barriers to digital initiatives — in peoples’ mindsets and practices. “A great way to jump-start culture change and enable adoption of new technologies and processes is the culture hack. Start with a small, motivated user group and use it to showcase fast wins and results,” Mrs. Olding said.
Other predictions from Gartner:
- By 2021, 80 Percent of Midsize to Large Enterprises Will Change Their Culture as a Way to Accelerate Their Digital Transformation Strategy
“In 50 percent of cases, transformational initiatives are clear failures and CIOs report that the main barrier is culture, the logical conclusion is that CIOs should start with culture change when they embark on digital transformation, not wait to address it later.” said Christie Struckman, research vice president at Gartner
- Through 2022, 75 Percent of Organizations With Frontline Decision-Making Teams Reflecting Diversity and an Inclusive Culture Will Exceed Their Financial Targets
“D&I initiatives will only contribute to business results if they are scaled properly and actually reach frontline employees, Enterprises often overlook extending D&I programs, such as unconscious bias training, to frontline employees. Numerous technologies can enhance the scale and effectiveness of D&I programs, such as by diagnosing the current state of inclusion, developing leaders who foster inclusion and embedding inclusion into daily business execution” said John Kostoulas, senior research director at Gartner.
D&I initiatives are an area where CIOs and CHROs can cooperate easily and effectively. “It’s worth the investment. Gartner research shows that inclusion can improve performance by over 30 percent in diverse teams,” Mr. Kostoulas said.
