A Quick Guide to Digital Transformation

A side-eye from a dog. That was my day yesterday.

I spent the afternoon working with Mearns Kirk Helping Hands – an incredible charity reducing isolation for older people.

We explored technical needs around a new website, CRM, events management tools, volunteer management and more but the most important thing was helping them understand what culture and leadership changes will make this digital stuff stick for the long-term.

Here’s a fairly rag-tag list of fundamentals to ensure digital transformation actually works:

Experiments > Procurement –

Every. Single. Time. You can’t buy your way out of this. That external IT firm can’t solve all your woes – no matter what they tell you. As John Fitzgerald says – Do The Things and Share The Insights. Follow Eleanor Gibson if you’re really interested in the power of experimentation.

Understand what is currently sabotaging your organisation

Power, money, crap meetings, ego, email? It’s time to be brutally honest. What’s holding you back from making real progress? Carmen Barlow, MSc IM is a must-follow for this stuff.

Momentum and ownership

Without both your digital journey will be sloooooow, painful and probably expensive.

Anecdotal insights can only ever be a starting point

Simple user-research needs to be your next step. Do you genuinely understand where digital fits into the lives of your audiences/users in 2024? Follow Brani Milosevic if you’re interested in that shift towards more customer-centric third sector orgs.

You’re not starting from scratch

Even the most risk-averse charity is somewhere on its digital journey. You need to understand where your non-profit is at, what good looks like and where you go next. There’s some great check-up tools from SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations), NCVO and others.

Nobody cares about your organisation

Sorry. They care about how you can help them, the impact you have on the community or your role in a specific cause. Digital transformation gives you a chance to get back to your “why” – focus less on preserving the “how”. Accepting this can be incredibly freeing.

What’s your advice for charities who feel stuck and want to start today?

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