Technology plays a huge role in an organization’s success, but do you know your company’s Digital Intelligence Quotient (IQ)?

Digital IQ, which measures a company’s ability to profit from using technology solutions, is rapidly becoming one of the most important factors in business resilience. Increasing your Digital IQ is essential if you want your company to survive and thrive in the future.

Here are four ways to close the digital IQ gap so you can drive your business’s success and stay competitive.

start with the board

Improving your digital IQ must start at the top of your organization. It starts with the board of directors.

Have a board seat to oversee your company’s digital strategy and ensure that the person you choose for that role is well respected by all other board members for their expertise please confirm.

Another option is to have one (or more) advisors on the board if there are no internal representatives suitable for this role. For example, I often provide this kind of insight and advice to the boards of organizations I work with.

Recruit and retain the right people

Once you have a board member to oversee Digital IQ, focus on getting the right people across your organization.

Hire candidates who are digital natives and have cutting-edge technical skills. This can be challenging in today’s job market, with many companies finding it difficult to hire workers with AI and blockchain experience. Workers with these skills are in great demand, with smaller companies competing for talent against the world’s largest organizations with much larger budgets.

To attract and retain skilled talent, establish an organizational culture that invests in learning and development. For example, one of his clients of mine, Shell Oil Company, has invested heavily in organizational learning. We created a customized technical skills course on Udemy that any Shell employee can enroll in.

Additionally, provide an atmosphere that fosters innovation in your company and allows people to be inspired and empowered to experiment and make mistakes without being embarrassed or condemned.

Build community and partnerships

Building community is another key component to improving your digital IQ.

Build partnerships, especially if you’re struggling with internal talent development and recruiting the right candidates. For example, you can build relationships with universities and government agencies, build your talent pipeline, and boost your digital IQ.

Shell Oil Company has created a community around data science, blockchain, and other key skills they want to build within their organization.

I also work with a number of law enforcement agencies, but these organizations often have trouble attracting data scientists and analysts because they don’t have the same salary flexibility as private companies. However, these police teams work with universities who are willing to access the data and analyze it. This is a win-win for all parties involved.

Create an innovation hub

Another tip is to create an innovation hub. Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), which owns brands such as Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, beer garage, an innovation hub in the heart of Silicon Valley. The Beer Garage gives AB InBev access to local talent and is fully integrated into the local tech culture. Levi Strauss also founded another of his innovation labs, Eureka, in Silicon Valley. It is dedicated to research and creative development, as well as advanced prototyping.

If you take this approach, integrate your innovation hub with your local ecosystem so you can transfer skills and influence culture. Create a “hub and spoke” model that can draw people from your main business to your innovation hub and vice versa.