Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today published the results of its latest digital transformation survey, which examines the impacts of the global pandemic on organisations’ digital transformation efforts across three critical business functions: finance, human resources (HR), and information technology (IT).
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In the report, “Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation,” Workday surveyed 1,150 global senior business leaders to understand the pace of digital transformation over the course of the past two years and the biggest barriers to success. The findings revealed that while finance, HR, and IT leaders recognise the importance of digital transformation, 55% of respondents say their digital strategy is always or often outpaced by the demands of the business. As a result, the digital acceleration gap is widening, where business needs are changing faster than the technology, processes, and culture required to keep pace. In response, leaders are adopting a more sustained approach to transformation by prioritising access to data and employee experience.
To help close the acceleration gap, business leaders across the three functions are focusing on:
Finance leaders: Unified, fast data
More than half of finance leaders (51 per cent) say that one of the most important elements to accelerating planning, execution, and analysis cycles is new technologies that can help integrate data between disparate systems and break down internal data silos. Yet, 61% say that technology that unifies financial, people, and operational data is their most pressing need, with 64 per cent admitting that it takes weeks — or more — to get results at the end of a reporting period.
HR leaders: Employee experience and skills development
Amid the Great Resignation, organisations increasingly focused on skills to help improve recruiting, retention, and overall employee experiences. According to the survey, 25 per cent of HR leaders rank resilience and adaptability first among skills that will ensure teams can continuously meet business demands as they evolve. Further, 50 per cent of HR leaders say positive employee experiences are most important to accelerating transformation across the business.
IT leaders: Breaking down silos to drive automation
While CIOs hold the key to data-fueled transformation, many are overwhelmed by the pace of change as legacy constraints and data silos are top barriers to digital transformation, according to the survey. Only 42 per cent of IT leaders are confident in their teams’ ability to adopt cloud technologies without legacy constraints. Further, half of IT leaders (50 per cent) are struggling to keep pace with service upgrades as part of legacy technology, with 59 per cent saying it can take weeks or months to change an automated business process.
Workday helps organisations close the digital acceleration gap with Workday enterprise management cloud, which provides a unified view of financial, people, and operational data to help enable organisations to adapt and stay ahead of the accelerating pace of change.
“Digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s necessary to keep pace in today’s changing world. Yet, as the study shows, there’s an acceleration gap organisations need to address to help ensure their digital journeys keep pace with the growing and evolving demands of their business,” said Pete Schlampp, chief strategy officer, Workday. “We’re encouraged that global finance, HR, and IT leaders are taking a more measured approach to their transformation strategies by leveraging technology – like Workday – that drives adaptability across their business.”
Workday surveyed 1,150 senior business leaders in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region across 13 industries to understand the impact of digital transformation on three core business functions: finance, HR, and IT. This research took place between August and November 2021.
In addition to this quantitative research, between September and November 2021, Workday conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with senior business leaders and transformation experts from the finance, HR, and IT functions, which are included in the report.
- Download the report “Closing the Acceleration Gap: Toward Sustainable Digital Transformation.”
- Read the blog “Global Study: Leaders Looking for More Sustainable Digital Transformation Pace.”
- Listen to the podcast “Workday Podcast: Are Businesses Facing a Digital Reckoning?”
- To learn more about digital transformation and how to get started, visit here.
Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organisations around the world and across industries — from medium- sized businesses to more than 50 per cent of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com/en-hk.
Source: Workday (Press release)
