Only Thomas Cook among the FTSE 250 have taken the plunge in appointing a digital advisory board (DAB) citing its digital strategy as a key element of its turnaround.

Only Thomas Cook among the FTSE 100 have taken the plunge in appointing a digital advisory board (DAB) citing its digital strategy as a key element of its turnaround.

I believe that the establishment of such boards will increasingly happen through 2014 for companies looking to gain perspective and council from outside their specific sector or market whether that’s retail, travel, consumer goods, media or banking. The value of these DABs will be significant.

Every day we hear about companies looking to ‘transform’, ‘pivot’ or ‘innovate’ and there’s good reason for this. But who’s helping with the answers? Equally importantly who’s asking the right questions of not just what’s possible, but also what’s fundamental for future business growth in this fast evolving digital world.

Most boards are made up of industry veterans, those that have worked up through the sector and sometimes through the ranks of the company itself. And of course that wealth of experience is important, but it exposes a risk in this day and age of not better understanding the nuances of how other businesses in other sectors approach selling, marketing and communicating with their customers.

Let’s take a major UK high street bank that is about to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in technology to further improve the way the business is run, by putting technology in place to best serve its increasingly digitally savvy customer.

A DAB of five experienced digital specialists, helping the board make the right decisions might, in theory, look like this:-

·         A product director at PayPal

·         An online trading director at Argos

·         A content director at Expedia

·         A director of advertising sales at Forbes.com

·         And a chief technology officer at Amazon

These members meet the board quarterly to share knowledge and insight, especially helping the chief executive and the finance director. This doesn’t expose ignorance; it helps ensure the right questions are being asked, with the added benefit of learning from others from leading companies outside of the banking sector.

This is likely to cover lessons from; ‘test and learnt’ initiatives, accurate digital marketing budgets, optimal team structuring and advice on the right external technology partners to work with.

Some people might say that their chief executives will have the fear that their lack of digital knowledge would be exposed.

Maybe, but if we in the UK continue to pioneer much of the ever growing global ecommerce and digital industry, then we must truly invest in knowledge and how other businesses embrace the incredible technology available to drive growth and impress customers.

Rupert Jupp is managing director of digital recruiter Princedale Partners