Digital agility in Asia Pacific: CFOs, senior execs need to work closer

When it comes to digital agility in Asia Pacific, there is a need for greater collaboration between CFOs, CHROs, and CIOs, said Workday recently when releasing results of a study conducted in association with IDC.

In the new norm led by a digital-first economy, leveraging digital agility can offer competitive advantages but this is only possible if organisations rethink their approach to closing digital agility gaps through technology and alignment of functional business requirements across the C-Suite, the tech company noted. 

For positive business outcomes, organisations must accelerate their digital transformation to narrow the agility gaps and at the same time adopt an integrated approach as a strategic imperative, the firm pointed out. 

To enhance digital agility in Asia Pacific, CFOs, CHROs, and CIOs need to collaborate and work on their cross-functional digital transformation initiatives, integrate digital talent management, as well as HR and finance processes, Workday advised.

Not many APAC organisations are advanced in terms of digital agility
The study also found that only 38% of organisations in Asia Pacific are in the advanced stages of digital agility. 

Still, progress is being made overall when it comes to digital agility in Asia Pacific, as this figure reflects an 18 percentage point increase when compared to 2020, Workday said. 

For the 62% of organisations in APAC lagging in digital agility (agility followers), technology adoption is often driven by functional requirements and business needs such as for e-commerce, safety measures, and remote work during the pandemic, the firm added.

Singapore highlights

• Four in 10 organisations in Singapore (37%) are still lagging in digital agility — being in the slow and tactical stages of digital agility maturity.
• Singapore drops to second position in Digital Agility Index, overtaken by Australia
• The study found that across the nine APAC markets surveyed, progress in digital agility is uneven. 
• Organisations in Australia achieved greatest progress in digital transformation efforts and ranked first this year. Singapore, which ranked first in 2020, dropped to second position, followed by New Zealand, Korea, and Hong Kong. 
• Taiwan, a new addition to the study, came in sixth, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.  
• The study suggests that more organisations could leverage technology to gain data-driven insights which would contribute to greater digital agility. 
• Only 36% of organisations in Singapore are supported by an integrated HR and finance platform with predictive analytics. 
• In fact, among the IT leaders surveyed, close to six in 10 (57%) said they face challenges in choosing the right technology solutions that can help drive business growth. 
• Among finance leaders, only 37% said their organisations ensure resiliency by using automated detection of financial disruption based on predictive capabilities.
• There are also opportunities for organisations in Singapore to pursue digital transformation more holistically to bring about better outcomes including in attracting and retaining talent. 
• Close to eight in 10 (77%) HR leaders in Singapore said they face challenges in delivering high HR service standards in times of rapid change.
• In addition, a staggering 83% lack a holistic talent strategy supported by data analytics to identify training needs, growth areas and drive employee engagement. 
• In fact, only a third of organisations (32%) in Singapore have enterprise talent systems and policies to maximise talent attraction and retention. This is a critical area that requires attention as it enables organisations to successfully execute digital initiatives and become more agile in capturing new opportunities.