Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

Call for business to embrace the digital economy

This stark warning comes from Oxford Economics and the organization sees the use of digital technology as being both reflective of the way the economy is altering and one of its key drivers.

The economics think tank has based its message on a survey of 4,100 business executives and company employees, from an array of different industries during the second quarter of 2016.

The key findings and trends have been published in a report titled “Leaders 2020.” The simple conclusion is that those organizations that have gone fully digital – from customer ordering, marketing, control of the supply chain and so on – are performing better than those that have not made the full transition.

As to what a digitalized company is, the report offers a definition of an organization that has a ‘digital vision’ and has embedded digital technology throughout the workplace (with full access to employees). In addition, key decisions are driven by data rather than speculation, with data updated in ‘real time.’ Such organizations also tend to have relatively flat structures.

Some key messages from the survey are that digitalized companies are 38 percent more likely to report stronger revenues; are more likely to have well developed programs for hiring the most skilled workers; will have mature strategies for talent building within the workplace; and have happier employees, who are less likely to leave their jobs within the next five years. With this latter point – employee commitment – the survey found that 72 percent of employees in digitalized businesses were committed to stay as opposed to only 54 percent from other companies.

One notable trend was that the new employees coming into the workplace, especially those at executive level (so-called “Millennial executives”) were less impressed with longer-serving senior managers who were not fully-embracing the possibilities that digital technology offers, in areas such as marketing or harnessing social media.

In a statement, Edward Cone from the Oxford Economics group said: “These findings should serve as a wake up call for business leaders. Your employees, your younger executives, and your financial results are all sending you a clear message about the importance of updating and upgrading leadership skills for the digital age. It’s time to listen and lead—or get out of the way.”

Avatar photo
Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

World

Immigration is a symptom of a much deeper worldwide problem.

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.