360-Degree Digital Consulting Strategy: The Concept and Benefits
You might be running hard but if it’s in the wrong direction ‘GOD HELP’
As the juggernaut of the pandemic rolls on with no end in sight, it brings changes to industries across the board. So how does one navigate these changes and steer the organization in the right direction. Well, it’s a million-dollar question, indeed.
It is here that I am reminded of my first internship. I was just out of business school and interning with an oil company. I was itching to prove myself and convinced my seniors to entrust me with a new project. I was brimming with confidence or as I would call it, youthful exuberance typical of the age and armed with a masters in management.
I worked on an important project and presented it to my seniors. Their feedback became an integral part of my approach to projects and work in general and continues to influence my thinking even now. This has a huge relevance to the current COVID times as well. After looking at the project, which I had prepared burning the midnight oil, my senior remarked.
“Sreejit, looks like you have put in a lot of effort and hard work for this project and I do sincerely appreciate the same but please be reminded of this - You might be thinking you are putting in a lot of effort and running hard and fast but if this is in the wrong direction…GOD HELP!”
With this, he handed over the project presentation back to me. His message was loud and clear. The right direction is half the battle. It helps you to ensure that your efforts are not wasted and all stakeholders are aligned. A simple but powerful realization.
In a world that is dominated with change and uncertainty, organizations across the globe are going back to the drawing board and this is where ‘Business Process Consulting and Intelligent Process Automation’ are again making a strong presence in organizations. Business transformation consulting helps organizations set the ‘RIGHT DIRECTION” once again.
More than ever, there is a larger need for organizations to understand about where they are, where do they want to go and how to get there. A journey that begins and ends with the ‘customer’ in mind. A journey where all the touchpoints are geared towards creating a seamless digital customer experience and ensuring the least amount of investment spend for the organizations.
At its core, a consulting led outside in and inside out approach helps organizations understand where the gaps are before drawing out a comprehensive strategy and roadmap to success. Let's talk about the Contact Center as an example.
A 360 Degree Maturity Assessment that cuts across the customer journeys and which clearly lays out the ‘Fracture Points’ can help organizations to understand how to augment their Digital Strategy, how to weave in the right solutions for creating a seamless customer experience while reducing the overall cost of support.
Whenever, we are drawn into customer conversations, the most important aspect that is always deliberated upon is the aspect of Personalization. It is imperative that we as consultants or partners are able to understand their world, their customers, their experience and their ecosystem.
The first logical step is always to get into an assessment that will help us be a part of them in the shortest possible time. This is where this gets tricky since traditionally, the world of consulting has relied heavily on personal interactions. We are used to the personal meetings or stakeholders, subject matter experts, process walk-through, focus groups and my favorite one-on-one meetings. But this looks like a remote possibility thanks to #Covid.
Here again technology comes to the rescue. Thanks to a myriad of technological solutions, it is possible to conduct a due diligence remotely. With business process automation tools like process and task mining, at least 70% to 80% of the analysis can be done remotely thereby reducing the need for physical presence or proximity. Even, the remaining 20% to 30% of the stakeholder meetings can be conducted through collaboration tools (Video/Audio conferencing, co-browse, AR/VR and more).
At Tech Mahindra BPS, we use a combination of technology and data driven approach to enhance and scale digital business transformation initiatives. Our remote 360-degree digital business process services consulting helps organizations in many aspects ranging from:
- Achieving Operational Excellence
- Successfully migrating their CRMs, ERP’s
- Scale up Intelligent Process Automation projects
- Assess process risks, compliance or variations
- Re-defining Operating Model
Our framework is industry agnostic and takes into account elements of business process re-engineering, design thinking, customer journey mapping, process and task mining in creating the overall approach to transformation.
Most of our customers have seen benefits across:
- Sales and Revenue
- Customer and Employee experience
- Self-service and Digital channels
- Cost of operations and Efficiencies
We should now accept that digital business process services consulting will find its place in the sun and integrate closely with the actual deployment of solutions. The new world order that is taking shape is looking for experts and going digital is merely expanding the market place. But we better get it right as undoing a mess is far tougher than actually getting into it. As I was reminded: Only God can help those who are running in the wrong direction.
Consulting for businesses has always had a human connection. The need to tap into human expertise for growth in business or revamping due to economic conditions or consumer demand is much like contact sport. However, for now, thanks to technology, we can create an Augmented-Consulting & Intelligent Experience to power the new wave of solutions.
Do write to us if you would like to know more at Sreejit.ankarath@techmahindra.com
