POINT OF VIEW

Resilience and Performance in a Digital World

We are living in a time of unprecedented change, one that is exciting for those embracing
the opportunities technology and digital capabilities present. However, many are finding
it difficult to come to terms with the pace of change and are struggling to cope in this
digital age.

Issue significant, business-critical issue, as fast-growing

digital leaders lure away individuals capable of driving
Most organizations feel compelled to make significant
a digital agenda and helping the organization achieve
changes to remain relevant and compete effectively
its long-term strategic objectives.
in their markets. Some organizations are more aware
than others of the need to embrace change and have As a result, the average tenure of organizations on
established strategic transformation programs in indexes such as the S&P 500 is on the decline, and
response to the risks presented by innovative disrup- many forecasters predict that as many as half of the
tion. Still, many organizations are getting left behind. incumbents will be replaced within the next decade.

The top spots are becoming more and more promi-

Digitalization and the Pace of Change
nently occupied by young, “born digital” companies
The pace of change and associated business transfor- heavily focused from “day one” on using technology
mation activities are accelerating rapidly, making it to build stronger relationships with their customers,
increasingly important for organizations to develop provide innovative products and services, and improve
conscious and effective digital strategies that are built operational performance and decision making. More
into their business-as-usual activities and enable traditional businesses can learn a great deal from these
them to manage the risks and embrace the opportu- younger, leaner companies, especially when it comes to
nities digitalization can deliver. organizational culture and encouraging digital change
and innovative thinking.
Innovative disruption and the organization’s ability
to respond to change are cited annually as top risks in Therefore, business leaders are increasingly
our recurring Executive Perspectives on Top Risks survey, recognizing the need to transform their organizations.
as are cyber security and privacy, and these risks Many, however, underestimate the extent of change
have moved rapidly up the agenda as organizations required at the core of the organization to compete in
embrace digitalization.1 the digital age.

Even those with strong brands and the resources

to pay salaries well above average levels recognize
that attracting and retaining talent has become a

1
For more information, visit www.protiviti.com/toprisks.

Internal Audit, Risk, Business & Technology Consulting

 Figure 1: Protiviti Digital Maturity Model

MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY BIG DATA

VISION MISSION
EMPLOYEES STRUCTURE MARKETING INNOVATION ANALYTICS
STRATEGY
CULTURE PROCESS SALES DEVELOPMENT AUTOMATION

Customer Technology Data

Visioning Digital Leadership Corporate Culture
Centricity Organization Value Creation

Business Model Management Structure & Marketing IT Architecture &

Big Data Analytics
Disruption Culture Hierarchy Strategy Infrastructure

Marketing Software
Employee Skills & Human Resource Data
Strategic Planning Provider Development &
Capabilities Management Science Team
Management Delivery

Third Party
Governance & Team Innovation & Cross Channel
Collaboration & Data Governance
Risk Management Performance Research Strategy
Integration

Digital Knowledge Media Innovation Business

Compliance
Sponsorship Management Performance Support Automation

Budgeting
Workplace Operational
Financial Planning Tracking & Cyber Security Personalization
Collaboration Excellence
Performance

Digital Transformation their team’s strengths and weaknesses, identify

areas for improvement, and set short-term goals.
Organizations often consider digital transformation a
definitive outcome and wonder what it should involve Similarly, organizations must consider the broader
and how long it will take to finish. However, digital journey to digital transformation. They should take
transformation should be viewed much more as time to assess their capabilities and identify areas
continuous evolution. It is about an iterative journey, to be addressed to ensure they are equipped to make
not a definitive, unchanging destination. the journey. It is not enough to paper over the cracks
or ignore weaknesses at the core of the organization.
As soon as the organization achieves one goal along the
It is a combination of mission, clarity of business,
path to digitalization, many more will emerge on the
determination to succeed and core competencies that
horizon. The competitive landscape is continuously
ultimately will lead to success.
changing, and new, innovative technologies are
constantly being developed. Organizations must Therefore, leaders should allocate more time to
establish digital strategies that can respond and evolve improving the organization’s digital competencies.
in line with these ever-changing environments. A This will ultimately set them up to progress success-
mission and vision are important, but it is also vital to fully along a path that will take them closer to their
avoid focusing too much on the destination. longer-term goals over time. It will also help them
accelerate their change initiatives.
Imagine the preparation of a group of explorers
planning an expedition. The goal might be to reach
the summit of Mount Everest. Successful explorers How Protiviti Can Help
would not embark on this challenge lightly and Protiviti, drawing on our deep competencies in tech-
without consideration for their individual capabil- nology, business process, analytics, risk, compliance,
ities. They would view it as a long-term objective and transactions and internal audit, helps companies
undergo an initial process to assess their fitness and transform for the future, manage the risks that
evaluate whether they are physically able to under- disruptive innovation presents, and embrace oppor-
take the challenge. They would seek to understand tunities that new and emerging technologies present.

protiviti.com Point of View

 Figure 2: Protiviti Digital Overview

Customer Engagement Digitizing Products Better Informed Decisions Operational

& Services Performance
Exploring new ways to Enhancing information available
build strong relationships Launching new, enhanced to enable timely Creatively using
with customers products, and exploring new and effective data driven technology to improve
business models decision making performance

Ensuring that transformation programs are established, well

1 Digitalization Governance, Strategy & Execution
defined, set up for success and supporting execution.

Using technology to reinvent Finance, Information Technology,

2 Functional Transformation & Improvement
Business Operations, Procurement, Risk Management and Audit.

Ensuring that the unnecessary barriers to innovation and change

3 Enabling an Innovation Culture
that exist within organizations are eliminated.

Supporting organizations with decision making as they consider

4 New Technologies Assessment & Implementation
whether or how to embrace new or emerging technologies.

Helping organizations manage increasingly complex data

5 Business Analytics & Decision Science architectures and transform data into information.

Digital Maturity Assessments Supporting the Digital

We have developed the Digital Maturity Model Transformation Agenda
(Figure 1), which draws on research conducted over The Protiviti Digital Overview (Figure 2) sets out key
several years to understand what it takes to be a digital components driving digitalization initiatives and how
leader. This model sets out the attributes that we we help companies achieve their business objectives.
believe digital leaders excel at and that often differ- Working with organizations worldwide on a diverse
entiate them from traditional businesses they have range of digital transformation, we have four key
outperformed in recent years. components driving digitalization efforts:

The top-level model is supported by a comprehensive • Customer engagement: Exploring and creating
capability maturity model, setting out organizational new ways to build strong customer relationships
capabilities, processes and supporting technologies and enhance customer experience.

we typically expect to find within organizations • Digitizing products and services: Launching
operating at different levels of maturity. new or enhanced products and exploring new
business models.
We utilize the capability maturity model to bench-
• Better informed decisions: Enhancing information
mark an organization against leaders and peers. available to enable timely and effective data-driven
This, in turn, helps us advise organizations on trans- decision making.
formation priorities as they look to progress toward
• Operational Performance: Creatively using
digital maturity.
technology to improve operational performance.
Clarity about organizational strengths and areas of
We are helping companies achieve their business
weakness enables the enterprise to embark on the
objectives in a variety of ways. Recognizing that each
journey to digital maturity with its eyes wide open
transformation is unique, we tailor the following
and helps organizations ensure they have the best
competencies to fit our clients’ organizational
possible chance of prospering in the digital age.
strengths and needs.
Digital Transformation Governance, Strategy an organization’s good risk management intentions
and Execution do not themselves become a barrier to innovation and
ultimately a risk in their own right.
We help organizations assess how effectively they
are responding to the risks presented by innovative We help organizations establish a culture that
disruption. This enables us to help organizations promotes innovation but also recognizes the
address weaknesses that could undermine successful importance of governance and control, and we
execution of digital transformation initiatives. guide them in reviewing and enhancing policy

We help companies ensure their transformation frameworks to make them fit for purpose and to

programs are established, well-defined, effectively support innovation.

managed and ultimately set up for success. We then

support execution, drawing on our deep competen- New Technologies Assessment
cies in program delivery, business analysis, change and Implementation
enablement, customer experience (CX), user experi-
We support organizations’ decision making processes
ence (UX), technology, cyber security and data privacy,
on when and how to embrace new or emerging tech-
data science, risk management, compliance, and
nologies. Although the landscape is always changing,
project assurance.
we help leaders understand the opportunities that new
technologies present and implement well-governed
Functional Transformation and Improvement programs to leverage new and maturing solutions in
We partner with our clients to help them realize the areas such as robotics, machine learning, artificial
opportunities to use technology to reinvent core intelligence, speech recognition, natural language
functions, including finance, information technology, recognition, virtual reality, blockchain and the
business operations, procurement, risk management, Internet of Things (IoT).
compliance and audit.
Business Analytics and Decision Science
In addition, we help them envision how new and
emerging technologies can be combined to drive Data governance has been a challenge for organiza-
efficiencies and improve performance. tions for many years. The cost of storage is rapidly
decreasing, but the possibilities presented by the IoT

Enabling an Innovation Culture are enormous and organizations must be prepared

to handle much larger volumes of data than we have
We provide an objective view to help organizations
previously been able to comprehend. The burden of
eliminate the unnecessary barriers to innovation and
compliance is also set to increase, as regulators seek to
change that exist in their enterprise.
protect the privacy rights of individuals.
Many organizations are naturally risk averse and adopt
We help companies unlock the value in the data they
risk management approaches that focus attention on
have at their disposal and assist them in managing
short-term downside risk events. Such approaches
increasingly complex data architectures and trans-
are good at highlighting potential risks arising from
forming data, including unstructured data, into
change initiatives, but often underrepresent the risks
valuable information.
associated with a lack of innovation. It is essential that

Protiviti is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help
leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and our independently owned Member Firms provide consulting solutions in finance, technology,
operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit to our clients through our network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries.

We have served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000 ® and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500 ® companies. We also work with smaller,
growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index.

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