The role of skills in digital transformation

Abstract

Emerging technologies are disrupting businesses and societies, leading to organisations making substantial investments in digital transformation in response to these changes. These technological advances have also significantly changed the nature of jobs and the skills required in the digital age. The purpose of the study was to explore the role of skills in the implementation of digital transformation. The research provides the opportunity for both scholars and business leaders to better understand how skills impact the implementation of digital transformation, which skills are most important and how organisations are aligning their talent management practices to prepare the workforce for the skills demanded in the future. A qualitative research design was adopted, using a purposive sampling method to select participants from organisations currently implementing digital transformation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from the information and communication technology, mining, financial services, and public sectors. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and code the data. This study identified several similarities to existing literature that contributed to reinforcing the importance of both technical and soft skills in digital transformation. There was also one nuance identified relating to the evolving skills required by customers that could potentially contribute to literature.