By Dr. David R. Hardoon, Managing Director, Aboitiz Data Innovation
Driven by technology advancement, climate change, and the recent health crisis, we are seeing transformation accelerate across industries. Even the most traditional industries such as power generation and distribution are turning to technology for solutions and new opportunities, and data-driven thinking has never been more critical to making this change a reality.
An estimated 86 million employees across seven Asia-Pacific markets will have to undergo digital skills training over the next year to keep up with technological change.
While the reasons driving business transformation across industries will continue to change and proliferate, organizations must double-down on agility and become comfortable with the unknown. At the core of this lies the need to constantly upskill teams to help them open up to the possibilities of these changes.
Any transformation of an organization must start with its people. Only by transforming the way we think, can we transform the organization at large. However, in the past year or so, we are seeing that organizations are finding it hard to keep up because of a lack of digital talent and skills. An estimated 86 million employees across seven Asia-Pacific markets — 14% of the total workforce in these markets — will have to undergo digital skills training over the next year to keep up with technological change.
Putting the right people at the top is especially important, but we must build digital capabilities from the ground up. This starts by embedding a data-driven mindset in all team members. But the biggest challenge to creating a data-driven organization remains cultural, not technical.
Employees must be given the opportunity to understand and apply these technologies through digital skills training programs. The subject is often seen as daunting. By doubling down on data science and AI skills training and supplementing this with an overall cultural and mindset change in the organization, employees will be equipped to think out of the box and challenge the status quo.
A case in point is the collaboration between SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) Group and Aboitiz Data Innovation—Data Acquisition, Reporting, and Analytics (DARnA) program —which equipped the team with all the necessary data science skills spanning programming, data visualization, machine learning, to help them take on real-world data-driven projects in their respective departments.
the biggest challenge to creating a data-driven organization remains cultural, not technical
Through the curriculum, team members can now better understand the business implications of a data strategy, communicate better with language and decisions anchored in data, and formulate data science and AI solutions for specific business problems.
By reinvigorating its people management and investing in the hyper-growth of its people, programs such as SNAP DARnA are contributing to the Aboitiz Group’s “Great Transformation” journey. Similar initiatives can help team members and businesses across the Group make a real difference in advancing business and communities.
Based on our own experience, I recommend organizations to start with making changes to company culture. Fostering an environment where employees are pushed to think beyond what works will challenge them to upskill. Secondly, develop training programs with measurable outcomes. All this must then be topped with opportunities for employees to apply and experiment with their newly learned skills through real-world projects.
As we move into a technology-driven future, we must adapt with the demands of our stakeholders, interdependent challenges, and dynamic industry landscape. We are at a critical time where creating a community of innovators who are grounded in data science will lead successful organizations.
