It’s widely accepted that COVID-19 has triggered a wave of digital transformation scarcely seen before as organizations across the world have attempted to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances they face.  The findings of a recent Accenture report into the importance of digital literacy among the workforce should perhaps come as no surprise, therefore.

“The organizations that are most digitally fluent can capture strong returns in innovation, people experience and customer value because their workforce has learned to be agile,” the authors explain. “To be successful, workers need to have access to digital tools and training—but also leadership and cultural support—to unlock their full potential and ingenuity.”

The report reveals that around 60% of the workforce has been working remotely, but just 14% of organizations are what Accenture regards as “digitally mature” for their industry.

The digital edge

The researchers quizzed several thousand workers from a dozen countries to understand the state of digital fluency in their organizations.  Digital fluency was found to make organizations over 5 times as likely to generate revenue growth in the coming years, while also being far more likely to be considered a great place to work.

“When the pandemic hit, everyone had to pivot quickly and accelerate their digital transformations, however, few companies were digitally mature enough to move at the scale and speed necessary to transition and unlock new value,” Accenture say. “Success in today’s environment requires organizations to hone their digital skills by supporting their workers to thrive through skill-building opportunities that will unlock their full potential and ingenuity.”

As you might expect from an Accenture report, the authors then go on to reveal various measures organizations can take to improve their digital fluency.  They outline four key foundations they regard as being crucial.

“Although digital transformation has been a major business priority for the past few years, there’s still a nagging gap between a company’s existing technology foundation and the digital skills or tools workers need to unleash creativity and new ways of working,” the authors conclude. “Fostering a digitally fluent workforce means closing that gap across your company, often starting at the top. The CIO is central to get this done, transforming their role from merely equipping workers with a digital infrastructure to harnessing their enthusiasm to drive innovation at scale.”