What are Digital Capabilities?
July 2, 2021
Certain workplaces require their own set of technical skills such as software engineering, digital media, web analytics, industrial technologies, or artificial intelligence (AI). In today’s data-driven economy, especially amid the new now, digital skills are not only necessary in the traditional tech sectors, but becoming a crucial part of operations at every level and spanning across every industry.
What are digital skills?
This set of skills entails a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information. This is also a gateway for tech-enhanced productivities, innovations, and efficiency gains. Behind the big words, what digital skills come down is to use apps and digital platforms to speed up daily work.
Entry-level digital skills, which cover the practical skills needed to operate the most basic tech and web apps, are no longer an “optional plus” but an absolute must in the digital age, much like being able to read and write.
The world of work is gripped by digital transformation with an ever-growing demand for skilled professionals who can keep up with the leaps and bounds in the development of AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, and the emerging digital economy of the 21st century. At the same time, digital talents as a standalone skill set are of little use: they need to be combined with “human” competencies, such as solid literacy and numeracy skills, analytical and creative thinking, dynamic problem solving, or high-EQ communication skills to succeed in a society and economy that is growing more connected by the day.
Why do we need digital skills?
“Digital” equals “efficiency” for company operations
Digital helps streamline projects from start to finish, cuts off the middleman, and altogether declutters everything. As an example, digitizing documents and storing them on the cloud can get rid of so much printing, photocopying, and just carrying hard copies from department to department that financial and time savings could become apparent within weeks – provided employees can use it proficiently.
The digital skills of employees and how the leaders foster them will impact on the effectiveness of technology implication at work. With proper training, staffs can utilize new technologies to make their jobs more efficient.
Digital skills build stronger employees
Better trained workers are sure to outperform their counterparts in other organizations, which can help to secure a leading position for their enterprise in the market. According to Microsoft, in the next two decades, 90% of employees would need to acquire certain digital expertise and the demand for technological skills would increase. The question is not whether a company should go digital, it is how fast they can do it to get ahead.
Digital skills open up new ways to work
New technology is revolutionizing the way we work and operate. This could include a wider, more efficient integration of remote working arrangements into company operations, better software, and cloud-based applications, or stronger and more accessible online training. Companies that adopt such modifications can explore more adaptive and flexible way of working, meanwhile motivating staffs who are actively collaborating and growing through the use of innovative technologies.
Digital capabilities boost sales
Some companies are still unaware that a solid website can boost revenue. Traditional forms of sales and promotion are fast becoming obsolete as customers now have a smorgasbord of new platforms to buy products. If companies want to grow their income, they need to be where their customers are and engage them across all the online platforms to generate demand.
Overall, the importance of digital capabilities is undeniable, especially when the Covid-19 accelerated the speed of digitalization. Aside from recruiting digitally skilled workers, businesses should also put emphasis on training and reskilling the employees with digital capabilities that meet today’s requirement.