Many organisations have invested millions in digital transformation, yet the promised improvements in productivity, employee experience and business performance often fail to materialise. The technology works, but the transformation does not.
According to Caroline van der Merwe at Jem, the problem is rarely the software itself. It is the assumption that technology alone creates change. The organisations seeing the greatest success understand that digital transformation is fundamentally about people, not platforms.
For CHROs, this presents an opportunity to move beyond supporting technology initiatives and become central to shaping how work is redesigned for the future.
Technology should enable people, not replace them
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is treating technology as the solution rather than as the tool that enables better work.
Too often, digital strategies are designed in boardrooms, far removed from the employees who will actually use the systems. Without understanding the realities of frontline work, organisations risk implementing sophisticated solutions that solve the wrong problems.
Before selecting any technology, HR leaders should ask:
- What problem are employees actually trying to solve?
- Does this technology fit the way our people work?
- Will it improve performance or simply add another system to manage?
The most successful digital strategies begin with employees, not software.
Global solutions are not always local solutions
Many multinational organisations deploy the same technology across every region, assuming consistency equals efficiency.
Caroline believes this approach frequently ignores local realities.
South African organisations, for example, face unique workforce, infrastructure and operational challenges that global platforms may not fully accommodate. Choosing technology purely because it is a recognised international brand can result in lower adoption and weaker business outcomes.
For CHROs, this means evaluating whether technology aligns with their organisation’s context rather than assuming a global solution automatically delivers local value.
Adoption matters more than implementation
Launching a new platform is only the beginning.
Many organisations assume that once technology is installed, employees will naturally embrace it. When adoption stalls, leaders often respond with more communication, additional emails or mandatory training.
That rarely addresses the real issue.
Employees generally want to perform well. If they resist new technology, it is often because they do not understand how it helps them, the solution creates unnecessary friction, or they were never involved in shaping the change.
Successful adoption requires practical change management that answers one simple question:
How will this make my job easier?
When employees can clearly see personal value, adoption accelerates.
Stop automating yesterday’s processes
Artificial intelligence is encouraging organisations to automate existing work, but automation alone does not create transformation.
Instead of asking how technology can complete existing tasks faster, CHROs should encourage leaders to rethink the work itself.
A better starting point is first-principles thinking.
Ask:
- What outcome are we trying to achieve?
- What does the customer actually need?
- If we were designing this process today, would we build it this way?
Rather than automating twenty existing steps, organisations may discover the process can be redesigned into two.
That requires courage, because it may challenge long-established organisational structures, workflows and reporting lines.
The future belongs to organisations that trust their people
One of Caroline’s strongest messages is that innovation should no longer flow exclusively from the top.
Traditional digital transformation has relied on executives deciding the strategy before employees are expected to execute it. AI is changing that model.
Many employees are already discovering creative ways to solve problems using AI in their daily work. Forward-thinking organisations create space for those ideas to emerge instead of trying to control every experiment.
For CHROs, this means shifting from directing innovation to enabling it.
Providing employees with access to AI tools, encouraging experimentation and sharing successful use cases can unlock hundreds of small improvements that collectively deliver significant business value.
Replace rigid rules with guiding principles
AI is evolving too quickly for organisations to create policies covering every possible scenario.
Rather than relying solely on detailed rules, Caroline recommends building organisations around strong ethical principles.
When employees understand the principles governing responsible AI use, they are better equipped to make sound decisions in situations that policies could never have anticipated.
Naturally, highly regulated industries still require strict governance around sensitive information. However, outside those boundaries, empowering employees with principles rather than endless rules creates greater agility.
Curiosity is becoming a leadership skill
Many HR professionals still view AI as something for technical specialists.
Caroline argues that the best place to start is much simpler.
Use AI personally.
Whether planning travel, organising shopping lists, researching ideas or summarising information, everyday experimentation builds confidence and curiosity.
Leaders who understand AI through their own experience are far better positioned to identify opportunities inside their organisations.
The goal is not mastering every new platform. It is developing the confidence to keep learning as technology evolves.
Build cross-functional teams, not functional silos
The traditional separation between HR, IT and the business is becoming increasingly outdated.
Digital transformation works best when diverse expertise comes together from the beginning.
Cross-functional teams reduce delays, improve collaboration and ensure technology is designed with business outcomes and employee experience in mind from day one.
For CHROs, this means becoming active partners in technology decisions rather than engaging only during implementation.
Flexibility is the new competitive advantage
Perhaps the biggest mindset shift for HR leaders is accepting that long-term technology roadmaps are becoming less reliable.
AI is advancing at extraordinary speed. A strategy developed today may need revisiting within weeks.
Rather than building organisations around fixed plans, leaders should build organisations capable of adapting continuously.
That requires flexible teams, empowered employees, ethical leadership and a willingness to learn faster than the pace of change.
Technology will continue to evolve. The organisations that thrive will not necessarily have the newest platforms, but they will have cultures that adapt quickly, involve employees in shaping change and remain focused on solving real business problems.
For CHROs, the challenge is no longer simply managing digital transformation. It is creating the conditions where people and technology evolve together.
About the expert
Caroline van der Merwe is a co-founder and the chief operating officer (COO) / chief product officer at Jem, where she helps organisations rethink digital transformation through a people-first lens. She specialises in helping businesses combine AI, technology and organisational design to improve employee performance, strengthen adoption and build more agile, future-ready organisations. Her work focuses on ensuring technology enables people rather than simply digitising existing processes.
Join Jem at the HR Summit 2026, where they’ll be sharing practical strategies on how to connect, manage and reward your deskless teams. If you’re looking for actionable insights that you can take back to your organisation immediately, this is a session not to miss. To register, visit www.hrsummit.co.za.
