When the only constant is change – keeping up with challenges of digital transformation

Adobe’s recent research of mar­keters in the UK, the Adobe Dig­i­tal Road­block, sug­gests that tech­nol­o­gy is some­what of a dou­ble-edged sword: on the one hand, it is no longer pos­si­ble to func­tion with­out it; on the oth­er hand, a large num­ber of peo­ple feel over­whelmed or even anx­ious by it.

Look­ing at the results of the research, it appears that a lack of knowl­edge and skills in imple­ment­ing, or even keep­ing up with the new tech­nolo­gies peo­ple feel nec­es­sary to suc­ceed in their jobs, is a big fac­tor in caus­ing anx­i­ety. Just 15% of those who respond­ed to the sur­vey said they iden­ti­fied them­selves as tech-savvy, and just over a half (54%) said they felt they had the right tech­nol­o­gy skills to do their jobs. With tech­nol­o­gy now such a cen­tral func­tion in the work­place, this is not uncommon.

This is an area that needs to be addressed from the top – busi­ness lead­ers and boards is that they must put in place the right cul­tur­al and strate­gic con­di­tions so that tech­nol­o­gy is embraced and wel­comed by the wider work­force, not just mil­len­ni­als and techies. It is no longer enough to have the right tech­nolo­gies in place — the big com­pet­i­tive advan­tage will come from inte­grat­ing tech with the human ele­ments of tal­ent and potential.

But, there are some imme­di­ate things to remem­ber and to do to try and avoid becom­ing over­whelmed by tech­nol­o­gy complexity:

• Keep learn­ing: although it is easy to turn your fears and anx­i­eties into denial and avoid­ance, there is no oth­er way to cope with new tech­nolo­gies than to remain up-to-date with them. You may not like it, but the alter­na­tive is worse: more anx­i­ety and less productivity.
• Team-up with geeks: today geeks are the new rock stars, and what’s great about them is their enthu­si­asm to share their tech knowl­edge. Use this to your advan­tage – either by learn­ing from them or by ask­ing them to help with your tech issues.
• Nev­er stop think­ing: tech­nol­o­gy should not be the tail that wags the dog; every­body today has access to it, so the key dif­fer­en­tia­tor is ideas and intu­ition. Keep your mind active and cre­ative so that it’s you who’s in the dri­ving seat.
• Indulge in some dig­i­tal detox: fol­low­ing the pre­vi­ous point, it is impor­tant that you have some offline time in order to read, think, and rest. Whether it’s a few hours in your work­ing day or a full day a week, there are lots of ben­e­fits to some qual­i­ty down­time, espe­cial­ly when it comes to get­ting your cre­ative juices flowing.
• Focus on pro­duc­tiv­i­ty: tech­nol­o­gy is about doing more with less; there­fore, it only makes sense to use it if it makes you more pro­duc­tive. In oth­er words, tech­nol­o­gy is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. You should pick and choose the tech that enhances the qual­i­ty or quan­ti­ty of your work while reduc­ing your input or efforts. This will allow you to focus on what’s impor­tant for your busi­ness and your role.

You can down­load the full report here: Adobe Dig­i­tal Road­block EMEA