Microsoft Dynamics partners urge execs: Embrace digital transformation despite employee fears

Employees' fear of change is putting British businesses at risk, according to a research report unveiled recently by Microsoft UK.

Conducted in collaboration with Goldsmiths, the University of London, and YouGov, the study found that the majority of firms in the United Kingdom face a common challenge trying to the most value out of their digital transformation programs - their employees.

The report, Creating a Culture of Digital Transformation, is based on interviews with more than 1,000 business leaders and employees in organizations across the UK.

According to the study: 

• 61% of UK business leaders report that moves to improve how people work by introducing new technologies creates anxiety among employees
• 59% report that automation of tasks creates fears about job security
• 49% observe that staff members express a fear of change when digital transformation initiatives are introduced.
• 53% of organizations are currently investing in digital transformation programs but less than 23% of those are investing in cultural change programs.

"Digital transformation is not just a technology deployment or an IT exercise, it's a people exercise," wrote Microsoft UK CEO and Area Vice President Cindy Rose, in her introduction to the report. The findings, she observes, "shows there is a deep-rooted connection between those organizations that invest in nurturing cultural change and those that are able to fully unlock the value of their technology investments."

Dynamics partners agree

These results are in line with what several Microsoft Dynamics partners say they are seeing in practice.

Struggling with change is ...