Most business leaders view transformation as 'a waste of time'

Almost half of C-suite executives and senior business leaders think that business transformation is a waste of time, according to research from Celonis.

Despite significant pressures placed on businesses to embark on transformation projects, sold on the idea of better operational efficiency and reduced costs, many businesses are struggling to prioritise based on their needs.

The research revealed that 25% of the surveyed businesses had spent over 500,000 in the past year on aimless transformation projects that risk limited-to-no ROI.

There many types of transformation which businesses can undergo, but almost all of them will involve stepping outside of the comfort zone, learning new skills and changing the way employees work, ranging from graduate to CEO.

Worldwide, digital transformation could be worth $18 trillion in additional business value, according to analyst house IDC.

Despite the lucrative nature of transformation, there seems to be some reluctance or ignorance from businesses regarding its implementation. The results showed that almost half of C-suite executives (45%) admit they do not know where to start when developing their transformation strategy.

The overwhelming majority of C-suite respondents (82%) also admitted that they don't mandate reviews of their internal business processes to keep everything aligned with desired goals and KPIs. This is likely due to executives only having a small view of their business operations, with 65% saying they would feel more confident in deploying transformation if they had a better idea of what was going on.

"Transformation strategies will inevitably be part of every organisation's operations because no business can avoid adapting to the latest industry and technological trends," said Alexander Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO, Celonis. "However, they should be founded in concrete insights derived from processes that are actually happening within a company."

"Our research shows that too many businesses are rushing into costly initiatives that they do not necessarily even need to embark on," she said. "They are falling at the first hurdle; having a better understanding of inefficiencies in underlying business processes can help organisations invest wisely to provide the best possible service for their customers."

The report has urged business leaders and the C-suite to be more proactive when seeking out information regarding transformation, particularly when attempting to keep pace with their better-educated competitors.