Getting the Right People in the Room

Digital Transformation
Getting the Right People in the Room

You’re ready to start your digital transformation initiative, and you’ve assembled a team in the conference room. This is when many leaders begin to ask if there are too many – or too few – people in the room. But the question you should be asking is: Do we have the right people in the room? Engaging the right people at the right time could be the key to your success.

Here are four things to consider when building your team:

1. ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP:  Leadership engagement is vital to the success of transformation initiatives. While this may often be a C-suite champion, it could also be stakeholders who represent other areas of the organization. Leadership’s role is to ensure that new initiatives align with the organization’s goals and that funding is allocated to execute the plan. Leadership representation should have a level of decision-making authority to ensure that the initiative moves forward efficiently and that C-suite executives remain informed and invested in the outcome.
2. OPERATIONAL EXPERTISE: The team must include leaders and operators who know how things should work—and how they often do work. Consider people who know the processes that are running smoothly—and the ones that often fail—such as department managers, supervisors, shift leads, or other roles connected to your plant floor. This team of experts will be key to executing your strategy on an enterprise level.
3. TECHNICAL EXPERTISE: A strong team includes a mix of experts from a variety of technical areas. This may include IT, engineering, technical resources, management, quality control, production leadership, and representation from the plant floor. These are the people who have the data or know how to get the right data from the right people by asking the right questions.
4. THE CHAMPION(S): Successful execution depends on widespread buy-in, and buy-in requires advocacy. This can be a single project champion or may require multiple champions throughout your facility. Champions know the operation and the plan. They will help connect the data with desired results and serve as advocates of the plan from C-suite to the plant floor. It’s important to be sure each individual team member understands the importance of their role in implementing the process.

When it comes to digital transformation, having the right people in the room is everything. With more than 40 years of advanced manufacturing consulting experience, Polaris Automation has the expertise to solve your immediate challenges while also planning for your future. Our team operates as an extension of yours, helping you achieve excellence through the convergence of automation and technology.

If you’d like to work with an experienced partner invested in your success, we should talk.