Are Salary Incentives Crippling Your Digital Transformation Efforts?

Digital Transformation is many things, some believe it is implementing a cool new technology while others may think it is innovation. My definition is much larger and it touches almost every aspect of a company. Things such as customer service, privacy policies, low code development platforms and a healthy positive culture are necessary to make the corporation an adaptable creative ecosystem.

Now, for the most obvious part, corporations require specialized talent in key positions to make this mother of all transformations happen. In fact, talent is going to become so crucial, that McKinsey has resurrected their "War for Talent" term coined in 1997 and they continue to drive home this point.

Now, let's take a step back and examine how employees progress their careers. We all start as a novice and slowly build our skill, developing competency, then proficiency and finally expert experience. It is at this point, that we bring maximum value to a corporation, and for the most part we are financially compensated for it.

But this is where the train jumps off the track as the next stage of career advancement is to entice our experts through salary increases to move into a management position. Now, this may be the most damaging action a business can take. Why, because we just robbed the organization of an expert that is sorely needed and we hope that the experiment turns out okay after two to five years. And the icing on the cake, the employee probably isn't even happy in their new role.

If you want to have any chance at succeeding in your Digital Transformation initiative, you will require specialists of all skill sets. I would assert that salary incentives need to change so that our experts stay where they are needed most and are recognized for the incredible value that they bring.

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