What Is Business Transformation? Tips and Best Practices

Keeping pace with changes and disruptions like market shifts, customer expectations, and new technology can be daunting for HR professionals and business leaders. However, forward-thinking companies understand that embracing change and taking a proactive approach to business transformation can power long-term growth and success.

If you’re looking to maximize the impact of your business transformation efforts, start by learning about the different types of business transformation, examples of successful transformations, effective strategies, best practices, and other important details to inform your strategy.

What is business transformation?

Business transformation is the practice of making strategic personnel, process, and technology changes to improve operations and more efficiently achieve business outcomes.

Rather than implementing occasional minor changes or overhauling an entire operation in one sweep, an ongoing, iterative process is essential to effective business transformation. According to a report published by Accenture in 2024 featuring insights from 1,000 C-suite leaders, 95% of organizations underwent more than two transformations in the three years leading up to the survey. Additionally, at the time of the survey, 100% of C-suite leaders anticipated significant changes to their workforce, but only 30% reported feeling confident in their change capabilities.

By taking an ongoing approach to business transformation, your organization can continually improve how you deliver value to customers, maintain a competitive advantage, drive cost optimization, and grow revenue. Organizations that fall behind face risks such as increased operational costs, decreased productivity, hindered recruitment and hiring, and lost business relevance.

Types of business transformation

Because business transformation is a broad term, interpreting what it means, key implications and benefits, and how to effectively develop an effective strategy may vary depending on an organization’s specific goals. 

Business transformation can be broken down into distinct types that often overlap one another, including:

• Digital business transformation. In a digital business transformation, organizations adopt and integrate advanced digital technology to reinvent products or services, improve the customer experience, and drive efficiencies across the organization.‍
• Business process transformation. Undergoing process transformation involves reinventing and streamlining business processes to drive efficiency, lower costs, and improve quality. This type of transformation is often powered by technologies identified through digital transformation.‍
• Business model transformation. Through this type of transformation, organizations rethink how value is delivered to customers, opening up new opportunities for growth. Business model transformation may include identifying new strategic business goals, rethinking operating models, introducing new products or services, changing pricing models, or expanding into new markets.  ‍
• Cultural transformation and organizational transformation. Successful transformation requires understanding, buy-in, effective change management, and adoption from individuals across all levels of a company. Through cultural and organizational transformation, business leaders rethink organizational frameworks, encourage collaborative efforts, and foster a culture that embraces and advances transformation initiatives.‍
• Management transformation. This type of transformation focuses on rethinking leadership approaches, decision-making processes, and managerial practices and structures to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Management transformation often involves training leaders to be better managers, updating or restructuring traditional hierarchies, and encouraging individuals to make decisions themselves. 

Business transformation examples

Successful business transformation contributes to the growth and long-term relevance of many organizations and requires a combination of strategic thinking, leadership, and a culture of innovation.

The following examples of successful business transformation projects and initiatives demonstrate how businesses can take a strategic, ongoing approach to transformation to remain competitive in a dynamic, disruptive market.

Amazon

Amazon launched in 1994 as an online bookseller and has since transformed into one of the largest businesses in the world. The company’s diverse range of products and services includes consumer goods, digital streaming, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence solutions.

Some of Amazon’s business transformation milestones and developments include:

• Launching Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2002, which is now the largest cloud services provider in the world
• Unveiling Amazon Echo in 2014 featuring Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa
• Acquiring Whole Foods in 2017 to expand into the grocery market
• Reaching a $1 trillion market cap in 2018, becoming only the second company to do so
• Expanding into healthcare with the launch of Amazon Pharmacy in 2020 and the acquisition of primary care and telehealth provider One Medical in 2023

Capital One

Initially launched in 1994 as a monoline bank that exclusively generated revenue from credit cards, Capital One has evolved over the years to offer auto loans, consumer banking, mortgage banking, and commercial banking, among other services. The financial services company is also well-known for its innovative approach to engaging customers and adopting new technologies.

A few of Capital One’s top business transformation highlights include:

• Opening the first Capital One 360 Café in 2001, which has since expanded into more than 60 locations
• Becoming an early adopter of mobile banking technology by debuting the Capital One mobile banking app in 2014
• Expanding into B2B enterprise software in 2022 with the launch of Capital One Software 

The Workplace Depot 

The Workplace Depot is an example of a small business that recognizes the importance of business transformation. The U.K.-based company launched in 1991 selling industrial supplies via print catalogs. A few decades later, The Workplace Depot transitioned to sell industrial supplies entirely online. 

To support the transition from mailers to e-commerce and drive an engaging customer experience, The Workplace Depot needed high-quality artwork such as product photos, graphics, and videos for every stage of the product life cycle. However, the company’s small team of about 25 employees faced challenges producing the high volume of assets needed for more than 20,000 products. 

The Workplace Depot engaged freelancers on Upwork to support its visual design needs. The team has contracted freelancers from eight countries across four continents, with specialized skills such as:

• 3D animation‍
• Email marketing‍
• Packaging design ‍
• Instruction manual design‍
• Graphic design

By partnering with freelancers, The Workplace Depot enables its ongoing business transformation while driving 85% cost savings compared to working with a traditional agency.  

Business transformation strategies

Rather than relying on one type or approach, forward-thinking companies often leverage a combination of several business transformation strategies to evolve their operations and processes.

Examples of business transformation strategies include:

• Digitization and automation. This strategy simplifies and streamlines business operations by moving from physical to digital or electronic files and automating tasks that are typically manual, time-consuming, and prone to human error.‍
• Customer-centricity and experience improvement. Widespread technology adoption has increased customer expectations for responsiveness, speed, user-friendly features, and personalized experiences. This strategy focuses on putting the customer first and identifying advanced solutions to meet customer demands.‍
• Lean and agile processes. This approach minimizes wasted time and resources and increases collaboration in the flow of work while accelerating speed to market and reducing costs.‍
• Innovative and disruptive thinking. Organizations that encourage innovative and disruptive thinking are often business transformation leaders because they question the status quo, think differently, and transform how a company or entire industry operates. ‍
• Organizational structure and culture change. Regularly evaluating your organizational structure and culture can help identify fundamental changes to better enable business transformation. Changes may include rethinking your company’s vision, values, and managerial style, as well as your marketing strategy, product development priorities, and internal structure.

According to the Upwork Research Institute’s 2024 Work Innovators report, Work Innovators, 27% of companies surveyed are considered Work Innovators, meaning they work in a way that creates operational excellence and enduring organizational success. The report also found that 60% of Work Innovators prioritize overcoming resistance to chance, compared to 36% of their peers, which helps enable Work Innovators more effectively transform their businesses.

Drivers of business transformation

An organization may undergo business transformation for a number of reasons, especially given the constant change in today’s business environment. However, the core drivers often remain the same over time. Many business transformations are driven by a combination of multiple factors.

Top drivers of business transformation include:  

• Technological advancements. While adopting new and advanced technologies is essential to a successful digital transformation strategy, leveraging the latest technology can also be beneficial for all types of business transformation. Innovative technology like artificial intelligence (AI) can help your business effectively scale, drive efficiencies, and better support customers, among other useful process improvements. ‍
• Market shifts and changing customer needs. Identifying new ways to adapt your business model, products, or services based on changing customer needs and market conditions can help improve the customer experience and increase revenue. For example, at the height of COVID-19 restrictions, many retailers and restaurants added online ordering or curbside pickup options to make up for lost in-person revenue. Recognizing ongoing opportunities, large numbers of these businesses continue to offer these options long after restrictions were lifted to meet customer expectations and maintain an additional revenue stream.  ‍
• Competition and industry disruptions. Regularly analyzing the competitive landscape can help your team pivot your business strategies, stay ahead of the competition, and capture additional market share. Some competitive and industry disruptions to track include new product or service offerings, updated business models or pricing strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and new competitors in the market.‍
• Globalization and regulatory changes. New or updated laws and regulations may require companies to transform their business processes and operations to maintain compliance and remain competitive. This driver may also come into play when a business is looking to expand its geographic footprint and needs to adapt based on local regulations, cultural differences, and prospective customers’ needs, among other factors.

Best practices for business transformation

Business transformation is a broad term. Determining which initiatives to prioritize can be challenging. Creating a business transformation process and strategy takes time and requires thoughtful planning.

Best practices to build a successful digital transformation strategy—or to improve the strategy you already have in place—include:

1. Define goals and objectives
2. Establish a clear roadmap and timeline
3. Engage and align stakeholders
4. Build a cross-functional and diverse team
5. Continually measure and evaluate progress 

1. Define goals and objectives

Before identifying specific new business transformation initiatives, processes, personnel changes, or digital technologies your organization should consider implementing, start by defining the overall goals of the strategy. 

Goals may include:

• Increasing revenue
• Developing and launching new product and service offerings
• Expanding into a new market
• Improving the customer experience
• Optimizing budgets
• Automating manual internal processes
• Consolidating technology solutions across the organization
• Attracting and engaging skilled workers
• Driving collaboration and engagement across team members
• Meeting data security and compliance requirements
• Maintaining a competitive advantage

2. Establish a clear roadmap and timeline

Once initial goals and objectives are defined, develop a business transformation framework or roadmap to outline necessary tactics and processes. A clear and concise roadmap can help hold your team accountable to staying on track with goals and objectives in your digital transformation program.

When establishing a roadmap, consider working backward from your overall three- or five-year business plan and including both short-term and long-term milestones along the way. For example, if your business has a specific five-year revenue or customer satisfaction rating goal, identify initiatives you can implement in the next quarter, six months, or year to make progress.

Here are some steps to consider including in your roadmap:

• Defining roles and accountability for various initiatives in your business transformation strategy
• Outlining a business transformation budget
• Completing competitive and market research
• Identifying potential roadblocks or challenges
• Implementing technology to support key goals and objectives
• Training team members on the latest technology and in-demand skills
• Increasing technology adoption across team members
• Measuring progress and results
• Identifying a regular cadence to review and update the business transformation strategy (such as quarterly)

3. Engage and align stakeholders

While one individual or a group of cross-functional leaders may be responsible for developing an initial business transformation plan, gaining approval and alignment from all relevant business stakeholders is an important step before implementing the plan. If you’re not aligned on the goals, objectives, tactics, and timeframe of your business transformation strategy, you may experience resistance or slow adoption once the plan is in place.

Consider setting up a meeting to share the drafted business transformation plan with stakeholders—including business executives, team leaders, and board members, if applicable—and encourage feedback. After the meeting, allow additional time—at least a few business days—for stakeholders to review the plan on their own time and share additional feedback, if needed.  

If decision makers pass along conflicting feedback, consider scheduling a follow-up meeting to discuss how the feedback ties back to the overall goals of the plan and to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page.

4. Build a cross-functional and diverse team

The people on your team will have a significant impact on your ability to achieve business transformation goals. Attracting and engaging a team of motivated workers who possess diverse skills can help support a culture of innovation at your company.  

When identifying your talent needs as part of your business transformation strategy, asking the following questions can be helpful:

• Which hard and soft skills are required to support business transformation initiatives?
• Which skills already exist among workers at the organization and what are the most critical skills gaps?
• What training or talent development resources can be provided for existing team members to learn new in-demand skills?
• Which roles will need to be filled in the near and long term?
• What does the overall job market and competition look like for similar roles and skills?
• Can roles be filled by remote workers outside the local market?
• Are freelancers the right fit for certain projects?

Rather than exclusively relying on full-time, in-house workers, engaging freelancers can help ensure your team has access to the skills you need to achieve business transformation objectives. In fact, according to research fielded by the Upwork Research Institute in the summer of 2024, nearly half (49%) of full-time workers surveyed now rely on freelancers to address critical gaps to help them do their work. 

5. Continually measure and evaluate progress

Business transformation strategies continually evolve depending on new and emerging critical drivers or disruptors. Not all business transformation efforts succeed, but encouraging a culture of creativity and innovation is important, and evaluating progress and embracing data-based decision making can help improve your business transformation strategy over time.

By using data analytics to track key metrics, your team can focus on replicating successful initiatives and learn from those that don’t necessarily drive the best outcomes. In this way, your organization can achieve more of your long-term business transformation goals.

Metrics to consider include:

• Time to complete tasks and drive business outcomes
• Customer satisfaction and retention rates
• Customer acquisition rates
• Team member engagement and retention
• Revenue
• Market share
• Brand awareness
• Technology adoption and usage
• Percentage of tasks automated by technology
• Overall return on investments (ROI)

Engage skilled freelancers on Upwork to support your business transformation

A proactive business transformation strategy is essential to driving continued business growth and relevance amid rapidly evolving market conditions. Supporting this transformation is an ongoing, cross-functional effort that requires alignment on goals and budget, effective leadership, skilled team members, and a culture of innovation.

Rather than navigating the complexities of ongoing business transformation on your own, consider engaging skilled freelancers to help. Experienced freelance business consultants, digital transformation experts, and change management specialists are available on Upwork with the skills you need to develop, implement, and evolve your business transformation strategy, and achieve your long-term strategic business objectives.

If you’re a leader or manager at a large business, Enterprise Suite is a powerful, full-service platform that offers immediate access to the top 1% of freelancers on Upwork, enabling teams across your organization to think bigger. Through Enterprise Suite, we’ll partner with you to build, design, and manage a workforce with the scale and flexibility needed to transform your business. Learn more about Enterprise Suite and get started today.

If you lead a small- or medium-sized business, you can also access the top 1% of freelancers on Upwork through Business Plus. Short-list top freelancers based on your specific business needs and begin working together within a matter of days. 

Upwork offers a range of solutions to support your business transformation goals. Get started—log in to your account or create an account today.