We recently asked our LinkedIn community where they believed their businesses were on their digital transformation journey. Almost half (49%) of our poll respondents admitted that they had “barely started” on this pathway, despite digital transformation being a vital avenue for businesses to explore.
This led us to delve a little deeper into why digital transformation is important for all businesses, how to implement a future-proof strategy and the skills and talent required for the task.
Now, we turn to examine the top trends and insights which are particularly prevalent across the Financial Services and Banking space specifically and why they came to be.
Digital Transformation Rises to the Fore
The increasing requirement for digital transformation in the Banking and Financial Services industries can be attributed to several factors. Covid-19 has accelerated the already established decline of in-branch banking and this comes alongside changing customer expectations, increasingly complex regulations and the pressure to streamline operations.
In addition to this, a new era of open banking and the proliferation of FinTech companies has not only transformed the Financial Services landscape, but has resulted in a push for continual reinvention, innovation and improvement.
Physical banks and paper systems are quickly being replaced by digital platforms across all types of organisations; from more traditional Banking institutions to Insurance providers and the aforementioned FinTech startups.
Regardless of whether a business was borne out of the digital era or is now catching up to it, none of them remain unaffected by digital transformation. The journey can be challenging because, while some organisations have digital transformation built into their core, the majority will need to adapt and adjust, which takes considerable foresight and planning.
To become a digital business, they will need to embrace an end-to-end overhaul of processes, practices and frameworks in order to optimise and modernise all business operations.
This encompasses shedding old habits, updating outmoded cultural standards and upskilling employees accordingly. In addition to this, learning to join the dots between digital initiatives and overall commercial strategy is imperative.
Taking a holistic approach such as this will unlock a host of benefits, including efficiency improvements, better customer service, reduced errors, optimised productivity, a more sensible allocation of resources and a healthier bottom line.
2022 Digital Transformation Top Trends
The rise of paperless transactions
The manual processes of old are typically cumbersome and rely on reams of paperwork, while being costly and time consuming. These days, organisations are aiming to use digital transformation to upgrade their internal systems with paperless alternatives.
Not only are they more seamless, but they’re also easier to track, trace and manage. Putting all of your processes in one centralised place and maintaining a digital trail for financial transactions will improve overall efficiency, record keeping, transparency and accountability. It will also ensure that businesses can offer customers services which are tailored to their needs, rather than adopting an inflexible, shoehorn approach.
Embracing advancing automation
Workflow automation, as part of a digital transformation push, involves implementing a system where software robots execute mundane and repetitive tasks instead of relying on people, whose skills can be put to far better use elsewhere. Several everyday processes can be optimised by implementing a fit for purpose workflow management system. Doing this ensures better allocation of resources and allows you to utilise talents in more dynamic and creative capacities, where human intelligence is invaluable.
Harnessing digitisation
Digital banking is on the rise and is now being accessed by people of all ages, rather than once being the preserve of younger, more tech-savvy users. The digitisation of processes will make them easier to navigate, safer, quicker and more cyber secure. This all means that transactions can be executed quickly and are completed with greater accuracy than ever.
AI becomes more prevalent
The digital trends of artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have been a priority in various industries because they serve several important purposes. Trained AI systems can help Financial Services providers identify trends and automatically implement measures to eliminate unfavourable patterns of behaviour. For example, a sophisticated AI system can help identify the opening of a fraudulent bank account or the execution of a fake transaction.
Welcoming more eco-friendly, cloud-based services
An increasing number of Financial Services institutions are migrating their services and processes to the cloud. This offers more scalability, making it easier to keep up with increasing customer demand. They are also more secure and cost-effective to implement than existing, more antiquated banking systems. In addition to these direct benefits, many organisations in the Financial Services sector can use cloud services as a means to meet their Environmental and Social Governance commitments, especially in terms of decarbonisation, sustainability and achieving net zero targets.
However, it’s important to understand that adopting a digital transformation strategy won’t completely replace human effort. The best way to approach digital transformation is to think of it as a symbiotic relationship between technology and a highly skilled team. An efficient digital transformation initiative will only work for an organisation with an experienced team which is trained to identify and implement the most effective technology trends.
The takeaways...
The work required to execute a company-wide digital transformation initiative may seem daunting but failure to take the next step may result in losing valuable ground in today’s competitive market. This is why it makes sense to embrace digital transformation, simply because implementing forward thinking changes and solutions which will drive better results and greater efficiencies.
Our new BC&T division meets your requirements across the Financial Services landscape
We recently launched a dedicated Business Change & Transformation team in response to the increasing demand for talent in this field. Covering both permanent and interim roles throughout the UK, our industry experts can support your hiring needs across process management, continuous improvement, project management, transformation leadership, change, business analysis and more.
To discuss how we can help, get in touch with:
Barry McDonald, Business Manager – Customer Contact, Business Change & Transformation (Scotland)
bmcdonald@merje.com, 0141 737 2479
Neil Johns, Director – Customer Contact, Business Change & Transformation
njohns@merje.com, 0161 883 2743
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