Building digital experience platforms: overcoming cultural barriers.

Working with technology leaders across organisations, I've seen firsthand how they recognise the strategic importance of delivering DXP in the right way—both for customer engagement and long-term business success.

But in my experience, implementing DXPs successfully is rarely straightforward. Many organisations come up against hurdles when trying to deliver digital products and experience platforms in modern ways. These challenges frequently stem from practical considerations: the traditional approaches for funding new digital solutions, the complexity of integrating with existing technology, lack of a strategic vision, or the risk of accumulating technical debt when previous tech investments are sidelined.

However, there’s one challenge that’s overlooked time and again, one that’s less tangible and more human, but can be just as difficult to navigate: organisational culture.

Cultural barriers slowing DXP progress

Resistance to change is a natural human response that appears in organisations of all sizes. Having worked with many teams where employees expressed genuine concerns about new technology implementations and ways of working—they may worry about changes to established ways of working, question whether the change is truly necessary, or have concerns about how new systems might affect their roles and responsibilities. These concerns are understandable, particularly when employees worry that increased automation and new technologies might impact their job security or career progression. However, organisations that don't embrace necessary technological evolution risk falling behind, as both technology capabilities and consumer expectations continue to advance rapidly.

It's also worth noting that effective DXP implementations should seek to enhance employee capabilities rather than replace them, freeing staff to focus on higher-value activities. Risk aversion also plays a significant role in many organisations, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty. I've found that digital experience platforms often present a challenge for key decision-makers because the benefits aren't always immediately measurable in traditional ROI terms. This makes stakeholders hesitant to commit substantial resources and budget to new solutions when outcomes seem less predictable or more long-term than other investments.

Why cultural transformation remains challenging

Through my work with various organisations, I've noticed that both risk aversion and resistance to change often lead to quick fixes and sticking plasters when it comes to DXP implementation challenges, such as:

• Avoiding change until it’s impossible to avoid, by which time the transformation typically requires more resources.
• Keeping existing out-of-date platforms running for as long as possible, which prolongs inefficient process pains.
• Inefficiently building new functionality on top of existing legacy systems, which increases complexity and costs.

These stopgap measures may appear cost-effective initially, but typically lead to higher operational costs for ongoing support and maintenance while failing to address mounting technical debt. Such approaches prevent sustainable transformation and limit the organisation's ability to adopt new technology efficiently. And perhaps most concerning, I've witnessed them frustrate technical teams who value working with innovative solutions, potentially driving valuable talent toward competitors offering more forward-thinking environments.

Key strategies for overcoming cultural barriers

From my experience, the best way to avoid this short-term approach—and minimise employee resistance—is to take a more long-term view that encourages workforce buy-in along the way. To do this, it’s helpful to view DXP implementation as a dynamic product that delivers business outcomes rather than a project with fixed deliverables.

Having guided numerous organisations through successful DXP implementations, I've found the process works best when it comprises four key stages:

• Understand: Assessing current working practices and challenges so that cultural barriers to progress can be identified and solutions designed with them in mind.
• Prove: Starting with pilot implementations that demonstrate the value of new solutions to customers and employees, as well as the benefits to the wider business.
• Scale: Rolling out the new approach/platform across more teams and business areas, with measurement against established metrics charting progress and keeping implementations on track.
• Optimise: Refining processes and insights continuously, based on user feedback, to drive ongoing improvement.
  
  This approach has proven to be most effective when implemented alongside employee training and coaching at every stage, so that everyone has the right level of support and engagement in adopting a more effective DXP solution and ways of working. 

In summary: Connecting cultural change to wider DXP success

While cultural considerations are crucial, they represent just one piece of a larger transformation puzzle. Throughout my career, it's become clear that organisations face multiple challenges alongside culture—from navigating deeply rooted business processes to balancing legacy technology migration without abandoning previous investments, all while bringing financial decision-makers along on the journey.
These challenges might seem daunting but are entirely surmountable with the right approach. The difference an effective DXP implementation can make to your organisation's customer experience, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning makes addressing these challenges well worth the effort.

Get in touch with the Crosstide team today to discuss your specific DXP challenges.