'Digitisation is the perfect accelerator for organisational fitness'

'Sometimes it seems like a tsunami of changes that we have to anticipate' It is a regularly heard cry for help says Sander van Meurs, partner at Improven, and one he puts under the theme of 'organisational fitness'. 'The need for companies to anticipate and react faster is not new' , says Van Meurs. 'The urgent tone I hear from my clients is.'

Where does this urgent desire to be more decisive come from?

Sander van Meurs: 'There is a lot coming at companies at a rapid pace. We see changing consumer behaviour. We see new entrants in sectors where this was previously unthinkable. We see newcomers using small digital organisations to respond rapidly to the changing demands of consumers. They are doing so successfully and are actually taking market share from established players. And we see regulators and government doing their utmost to keep up with it all and steer it in the right direction, with new regulations. It's all happening fast. It is linked to the digital revolution we are all in the middle of. For our customers, it leads to questions such as: how do we become more flexible and responsive? How can we anticipate better? Or how can we increase our reaction speed? In our view, it is actually always about the same thing: organisational fitness. Fortunately, there are all kinds of new possibilities to deal with these challenges. Digitalisation is the perfect accelerator for organisational fitness.'

What is the main accelerator behind current developments?

Sander van Meurs: 'That, as I said, is the new technology, digitalisation and the opportunities it creates. That observation in itself is not remarkable, what makes it special is the speed at which it is all happening and the huge impact on specific sectors and industries. You see it in accountants and notaries who have to switch to new business models because parts of their services are being automated. You also see it in banks and insurers. We see that mortgages are now also taken out online, which brings challenges from a regulatory point of view. You see new entrants taking over parts of payments and lending. In the retail sector, renowned chains have collapsed in recent years and new business models with new sales channels are emerging. In our own services, consultancy, you can also see the major impact of digitalisation. There is an increasing demand for total solutions in the form of digitised processes and systems. We advise on these and, as an extension of this, guide the design and implementation of those systems.'

How should companies deal with the current changes?

Sander van Meurs: 'That varies from organisation to organisation. We cannot generalise: but there is hardly a sector that is not affected. It is not hype and it does not go away by itself. Companies cannot ignore developments. So I say: keep paying close attention to everything in your sector. Pay close attention to what competitors are doing and make sure your organisation can react quickly, in other words: ensure organisational fitness.'

Should organisations radically change course?

Sander van Meurs: 'No certainly not, it is best for them to choose their course deliberately. First of all, companies should ask themselves: what kind of environment are we in? And then: how do we align our positioning and proposition with what is going on within our sector? And also important: do we have the desired flexibility to do so? Do we match what our customers expect? If it is established that this is not the case, then a company needs to get to work and innovate. This must be done thoughtfully and at the same time energetically, and also in a way that suits the organisation.'

If a company wants to become organisational fit what is the first step?

Sander van Meurs: "It starts with organisations having their 'basics' in order. What about their processes? What about their data? Do they know exactly what customers want? Things like that. Ultimately, innovation has to result in changes to a company's structure, processes and systems. Unfortunately, I often see that there is no balanced vision in which process, system and structure are approached integrally. Projects also sometimes lack the connection to the strategic goals, and large projects - usually IT projects - are started without ensuring such integrality and connection to the strategy.'

How would you best approach that?

Sander van Meurs: 'We favour gradual steps. That allows you to make adjustments and work in the right order. It is important to think from the customer and processes first and only then from structure and IT. Not as a standard dogma, but as an important framework for thinking, from which well-founded deviations can sometimes be made. Nor should you make it more difficult than necessary. Characteristically, Improven always works integrally. We look at the elements people, structure, processes and systems. We really think and design from the customer perspective, from the outside in, and not just from the IT perspective. The pitfall for many organisations is that they enthusiastically start working with Scrum and Agile but have too little eye for the bigger picture and no answer to the question: why are we actually doing this? You also see organisations starting with such projects but not having their basics in order, causing projects to get stuck.'

So what are key success factors?

Sander van Meurs: Collaboration is essential. By this I mean cooperation between suppliers and the customer. Solutions must be accepted, fit the customer's situation and then also be able to be further developed and managed. Solutions are not created in a 'black box' but in close consultation with the clients. Clients therefore do not encounter any surprises. It is important to be familiar with all leading standard methodologies in the market but, if necessary, to adapt them to better suit a client's specific circumstances. Furthermore, it is important to operate from an independent role so that a total solution including the best accompanying automated support can be realised.

For more information, please contact Jan Bosman, partner Process Improvement, on 06-55801881 or via e-mail jan.bosman@improven.nl