January 2023: How far can DX be advanced?
DX can be advanced as much as you want. There are no limits.
It is the manager who influences the progress of DX. Whether or not a company progresses to DX depends on whether the manager is trying to proceed or not. If the conversion of companies to DX does not progress, the biggest reason is that managers do not understand the necessity of conversion to DX.
If you can proceed with DX conversion, let's proceed as soon as possible. Even if you try to proceed with DX conversion after it becomes necessary, it will only become a laggard and painful. Even if you start converting to DX after being cornered, it will not go well. It's too late to rush into telework and online meetings after restrictions on people's movements begin due to things like the coronavirus. It is too late to try to work on labor saving with DX when there is a chronic labor shortage. Even if you start online marketing after the customers are gone, you will not be able to attract customers immediately. Even if you try to work on DX after the company is getting older because young people can't gather, the work efficiency will not improve, and the younger generation will just think that the company is outdated. Once management becomes difficult, it may not be possible to budget for DX.
The important thing is to hit first. Especially to stay one step ahead of your competitors.
The purpose of DX conversion is to "make a difference to rivals". How far should companies proceed with DX? If there is an answer to that question, it may be summed up in one word: "Proceed until you have a lead over your rivals." Make a difference before they make differences.
The flow of work will change greatly due to DX. But that doesn't mean the old way of doing things will suddenly disappear. For the time being, we will proceed in parallel with the old orthodox work method and the new DX work method. As a company, the business is not unified, and the number of options increases, and there are many things to think about. You may think it's cumbersome, but it gives you more freedom than your competitors, who have fewer options. For employees, it is not a bad thing to develop the habit of thinking by increasing the number of options. It may also be stimulating to try internal competition between orthodox work methods and DX work methods.
If there are many business options, you can choose the best method according to changes in the world situation and customers. Also, when there is a big event in society, when you can't do a certain work method, you can prevent your business from stopping.
There are risks in promoting DX. When you have just started DX conversion, it is easy to cause confusion in your company, and it may actually reduce efficiency. If you throw away the old way of doing things with DX, the customers who liked the old way will leave. In addition, veteran employees accustomed to the old way of working are not good at working with DX, and older bosses force their subordinates to do the old way of working, and employees accustomed to the new way of working stick to the new way. By making fun of other employees with old style, it is easy for employees' motivation and teamwork to deteriorate. Alternatively, if you rely too much on DX business systems, employees may easily stop thinking. If there is a mistake in the system, it may keep giving wrong output all the time.
Based on the effects and risks of DX conversion, we need to review the work we have done so far and consider promoting DX conversion.
Here, let's think about how conventional work will change due to the promotion of DX.
a) Attendance management
Attendance management is to manage the attendance status of employees. The purpose of attendance management is to understand the working situation, calculate salaries and personnel expenses, and improve work efficiency and working conditions. Specifically, from the record of work arrival and departure times, the number of working days, legal working hours and non-legal working hours such as overtime, holidays, late-night working hours, etc. are calculated. We will manage your payroll balance.
Attendance management using conventional time cards
The classic method that has been practiced for a long time is stamping on a time card. A time card is a piece of paper that allows you to record your daily arrival and departure times by inserting it into a stamping machine. Time cards are simple and easy to record, but they are prone to forgetting to stamp, making mistakes, or being fraudulent. In addition, it is necessary for human beings to calculate the number of working days, legal and non-statutory working hours, etc. while looking at the time card. Therefore, it takes time and effort to calculate the totals, and there is a risk that it is easy to make calculation mistakes. Since it is not written on the timecard whether it is absence or paid leave, the clerical staff must write it on the timecard or manage it on a separate sheet after confirming with the boss and the person himself/herself. Paper-based work management increases the number of documents and complicates management, and clerical staff have to come to work to check time cards and calculate working hours, which is an obstacle to telework. Furthermore, since clerical staff often do not know the amount of overtime work until they look at the time card and calculate the working hours, there are times when the overtime limit is exceeded without realizing it. In some cases it may be illegal.
In the first place, the use of paper timecards is based on the premise that they will go to work in a specific place, so it cannot be used to manage the attendance of telework employees.
When calculating payroll, it is necessary to re-enter the work data obtained from the timecard into the payroll calculation software. Even if you are considering improving work efficiency and working conditions, you have to enter data into spreadsheet software and create tables. It takes time to transfer data to another software, and the possibility of input errors due to data transfer increases.
We may have to say that attendance management using time cards is an outdated relic.
How will work change due to DX of attendance management?
How will work change due to DX of attendance management? First of all, we will change the attendance record from time card stamping to direct input into software such as a computer. Some companies have introduced a system that allows employees to record attendance by holding their ID cards. In some small and medium-sized enterprises, employees are required to click a mouse to enter attendance and departure times on a computer placed at the entrance of the company. Recently, there seems to be an attendance management application for smartphones that can be used for free.
Daily attendance record is accumulated in the app as electronic data, so you can check the status of working hours every day without having to calculate it by the clerical staff. If you set an upper limit for overtime hours, etc., you can issue an alert before overtime is over. If you use the app, you will be able to manage your paid leave all at once instead of a separate sheet. Salary calculation is also smooth because the data of working hours can be passed as it is. If you are a temporary agency, you will be able to calculate the dispatch fee smoothly.
The data can also be analyzed in real time to improve operational efficiency and working conditions. Management judgments and decision-making based on data can be made more accurately and quickly. Moreover, it can be achieved with much less administrative work than before. The DX conversion of attendance management also contributes to the reduction of clerical work costs.
DX of attendance management expands the range of working styles. By using the cloud, attendance management can be applied to people who work from home, such as telecommuting. By increasing the options for how to work, you may be able to find a more efficient way of working with unprecedented ideas.
b) business management;
Business management is the management of company operations. The purpose of business management is to optimize corporate profits by appropriately allocating the company's management resources and increasing operational efficiency and productivity. Specifically, we will manage various operations related to corporate activities, such as purchasing, internal work, inventory management, sales, accounting, and staffing. The important thing is that each business affects each other, and overall optimization is necessary to increase productivity as a company.
Traditional business management
What about the days when purchasing, in-house operations, inventory management, sales, accounting, and staffing were controlled by paper? Since the data needed to manage operations efficiently was not easily aggregated and shared, inefficiencies and waste remained within the company. Not only did communication and cooperation between departments fail, but information was not shared within the department. It was not uncommon for us to lose sales opportunities due to overproduction, excess inventory, or lack of inventory. Even within the same company, it was common for some departments to be too busy and understaffed, while other departments had little work and employees were killing time.
How will business change due to DX of business management?
How will business change due to the DX of business management? First, data for business management is digitized in real time. The status of purchases, the progress of internal work, inventory status, sales of products and services, profit margins for each product and service, and the busyness and incurred costs of each department are accumulated as electronic information. Data aggregation is faster, and information sharing between departments facilitates communication and cooperation. If information comes in real time, analysis and countermeasures can be done in real time. Efforts to reduce excess inventory and lost sales opportunities as much as possible, as well as efforts to appropriately allocate human resources, will also become possible in a timely manner. Until now, it was very time-consuming to analyze information, but with the increased speed of analysis, management decisions and countermeasures can be made more quickly and accurately.
c) Marketing
Marketing is researching the market and its trends, discovering the unsatisfied feelings of consumers, and creating products and services that satisfy the unsatisfied feelings of consumers. Marketing is to provide products and services that increase consumer satisfaction, thereby making a difference from rival companies, attracting consumers, and increasing sales and profits. In market research, we investigate the performance, quality, cost, etc. of products and services on the market, and their evaluation and consumption behavior by consumers. In order to find out the unsatisfied feelings of consumers, we collect data through role-plays, tests, questionnaires to consumers, etc., and estimate customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In order to create products and services that increase consumer satisfaction, we focus on points that customers are dissatisfied with, and repeatedly hold ideas sessions such as brainstorming, prototypes, monitoring tests, and improvements. We will try to resolve the dissatisfaction. In other words, there are three steps in marketing: “Investigate (market research),” “Find complaints (extract complaints),” and “Resolve (develop new products and services).” We create powerful products and services.
Traditional Marketing
Marketing in a situation where DX is not progressing is difficult, expensive, and often inaccurate.
First of all, it takes a lot of effort and time to “investigate (market research)”. Market research is expensive and not easy. Even if a certain amount of data is collected, the number of samples is often too small or biased. The data itself is often wrong, and marketing results can easily be wrong. In a situation where DX is not progressing, market research has to be compromised to some extent, and it is necessary to analyze the data with some understanding that it is inaccurate.
In order to “find” (extract dissatisfaction), human sensibility is required rather than data analysis ability. In a situation where DX is not progressing, it is difficult just to check the data, and the analysis does not progress easily. Rather than analyzing data, it may be quicker to actually interact with consumers and ask them directly. "Isn't there something wrong with this product?" It may also be effective to become a consumer yourself, use the product, and receive the service. Rather than looking at and analyzing data, it is easier to find dissatisfaction in the market by actually experiencing it.
In order to "solve (develop new products and services)", it is necessary to come up with ideas, plan, design, prototype, and repeat tests and improvements. Development costs a considerable amount of money, and there is no guarantee that the resulting new product or service will be accepted by the market. The development of new products and services is a risky activity for companies.
Many companies do not develop their own products and services, but imitate new products put out by other companies. It's a so-called copycat of another company. The reason why there are many copycat companies is that it is safer to follow other companies than to develop new products on their own, and there is less risk of releasing unsuccessful products. Some companies even think of copycat as marketing. In particular, under circumstances where marketing costs are high, it is easy for copycat companies to increase.
How will business change due to DX of marketing?
How will your business change with the DX of marketing? First of all, it will make it easier to “investigate (market research)” and speed up. If there is enough data and it is easy to analyze, there is no reason not to use it for marketing.
The process of “finding (extracting dissatisfaction)” will also change greatly with DX. Big data analysis is becoming easier, and analysis software (apps) is evolving. By performing various analyzes on data, you may notice consumer dissatisfaction that could not be found in the past.
In order to "solve (develop new products and services)", the thorough use of computer simulation is effective. Even without designing, prototyping, and testing, the effects and issues of new idea products can be predicted to some extent through simulation, so development costs and risks associated with new products can be significantly reduced.
However, although it is good to digitize marketing, it does not mean that we should stop activities that directly interact with consumers and activities that actually experience consumption. Direct contact with consumers or simply analyzing data without actually experiencing consumption may result in product development that does not match the consumer's feelings.
Also, as DX progresses, it will be easier to copycat. There may be more companies that rely on copycatthan ever before. When developing new products through marketing in the age of DX, it will be necessary to devise ways to prevent them from being easily stolen by other companies. In a society where DX has progressed, adding so-called "differences that are easy for customers to see but hard to see for rivals" to products and services may become a key point in market competition.
d) Recruitment/HR/Education
Recruiting refers to the external recruitment of human resources necessary for corporate operations, human resources refers to assigning positions and roles to human resources in consideration of their abilities and intentions as well as the needs of the company, and education refers to teaching and nuturing human resources. It is people who support a company. It is essential for the growth of a company to increase the value of human resources by gathering good human resources, placing the right people in the right positions, and training them properly. A company that neglects recruitment, personnel, and education cannot grow. In order for a company to grow continuously and soundly, it is important to devise ways to attract better human resources, allocate the right people to the right positions, and devise ways to ensure that human resources learn and grow.
Traditional Recruitment/HR/Education
Recruitment, personnel, and education work in a situation where DX is not progressing is inefficient, unscientific, and the more you try to do it properly, the more difficult it becomes.
First, recruiting is costly and labor intensive. We put out job advertisements, check the resumes of applicants one by one, evaluate them through entrance examinations and interviews, send out recruitment notices to successful applicants, arrange the date of joining the company, and prepare for acceptance. In the past, when everything was done on paper, recruiting and hiring activities would have taken a lot of effort. Oversights and misunderstandings can easily occur during document screening. In addition, it is not uncommon for the interviewee to decide whether or not to hire a candidate based on their subjective opinion.
Personnel matters are also difficult. Even if you try to put the right people in the right place, it will not work in the absence of information. Insufficient communication with employees and related departments can lead to inadequate personnel allocation, which can easily lead to distortion and dissonance within the company. Personnel dissatisfaction is also likely to occur, and teamwork deteriorates, which may lead to a decline in productivity of the company. In order to achieve better human resource allocation, it is essential to have sufficient information on employees and human resources and to have close communication with relevant departments.
In companies where DX has not progressed, it is difficult to systematize employee education and training, and skill improvement tends to be left to the individual. DX is not progressing because employee education is not progressing. If DX does not progress, employee education will not progress further, and it will fall into a negative spiral. If employee training does not progress, the value of human resources will not increase, and the growth of the company will stop.
How will work change with the DX of recruitment, personnel, and education?
How will your work change with the DX of recruitment, personnel, and education? First of all, recruitment and recruitment activities will change significantly. It may be said that conventional companies that post job advertisements on paper media, mail resumes, screen documents, and have them come directly to the company for entrance tests and interviews are no longer outdated. What companies have done so far will change significantly due to DX. Recruitment activities have already started with communication with the young generation and other human resources that companies are looking for, making full use of social media. Recruitment and marketing are integrated by DX conversion. Resumes can be sent online instead of by mail, and entrance tests and interviews can be conducted online. In some cases, it is also possible to hire talented people from overseas as human resources exclusively for telework and have them work while living in the country. DX will fundamentally change the way you think about recruiting and hiring.
Personnel will also change greatly due to the promotion of DX. DX makes it easier to grasp the abilities and intentions of employees and the business needs of companies. In a company where DX has advanced, it may not be necessary to permanently assign human resources to a specific department in the first place. It should be possible to grasp the abilities and intentions of each human resource, and to see changes in the business needs of the company, and place the right people in the right positions in a timely manner on a daily basis. It should be fine to assign human resources regardless of office room assignments and desk placement. The important thing is to match the skills and requests of human resources with the business needs of the company in a timely manner. For that reason, it is expected that DX conversion will play a major role.
Employee education also makes a big difference whether DX is progressing or not. First of all, if the educational background, work history, qualification acquisition status, etc. of employees are recorded in electronic data, it will be possible to search at any time to what level of skill the human resources in the company have. In addition, video learning (or e-learning), online seminars, online skill checks, etc. make it easier to improve the skills of human resources and check their current capabilities. It makes it easier to understand the individual skills and teamwork of employees, so it is easier to see what kind of education the company as a whole is lacking and what kind of education can be done to improve the company.
What will happen to companies that have advanced DX and companies that have been delayed?
What will happen to companies that have advanced DX and companies that have been delayed?
First of all, the speed of management will change significantly. Companies that have progressed in DX are getting faster and faster, and companies that are behind are becoming more and more obsolete.
From the point of view of a company that has advanced to DX, what the lagging company is doing is completely visible. However, companies that have delayed conversion to DX cannot see what companies that have advanced conversion to DX are doing. Depending on whether DX is progressing or not, a large information gap will occur, so the visible world will be completely different. In competition with rival companies, companies that have advanced DX will have an overwhelming advantage.
If you try to promote DX conversion, the initial cost will be incurred. At first, some employees may resist changes in the way they work, which may actually lead to a decrease in efficiency within the company. However, once the initial difficulties are overcome and DX is on track, reforming various internal operations will reduce costs while simultaneously improving quality and reliability.
In other words, if the conversion to DX gets on track, it will be possible to increase the company's profit margin and quality compared to other companies that have not progressed to DX. Companies that have advanced DX can survive the competition with other companies while securing profits.
Companies that have advanced DX can gather more excellent human resources. On the other hand, it is difficult for companies that are slow to convert to DX to attract excellent human resources. The level of human resource development also makes a big difference whether DX is progressing or not.
It is no exaggeration to say that whether or not to proceed with DX is a critical management decision that determines whether a company will survive the competition or perish.
Again, the purpose of DX conversion is to make a difference to rival companies. Make a difference before it makes a difference.
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