5 Processes Your Financial Services Transformation Has Overlooked
Sabrina McClune
Financial services leaders are concentrating on next-generation technologies to drive change. However, 73% of enterprise transformations fail to scale and deliver a lasting return on investment. Here are five processes often overlooked in financial services digital transformation.
We've gathered insights from over 16 research sources to identify the commonly neglected processes in digital transformation.
1. Institutional Knowledge Flows
Institutional knowledge encompasses the collective expertise within a company, including technical skills and the ability to build customer relationships.
Retaining this knowledge is crucial because it:
- Reduces resources and time required to onboard new hires
- Minimises disruption caused by employee absence or sudden departure
- Prevents mistakes due to inexperience and levels the playing field
- Highlights the value of employee knowledge and fosters transparency
Companies can preserve institutional knowledge by auditing their existing information and creating systems to capture and share knowledge effectively.
Encouraging a culture of openness and sharing among employees is essential for success in this area, and the outcomes are promising.
Organisations that utilise digital tools to make information more accessible are twice as likely to succeed in their transformation efforts.
“Organisations spend significant time and resources developing knowledge and capabilities. While some of it gets translated into procedures and policies, much of it resides in the heads, hands, and hearts of individual managers and functional experts."
2. Leader Placement And Management
Appointing digital-savvy leaders is critical for creating and maintaining digital transformation elements. Research indicates that 70% of organisations alter their management team during periods of change.
Effective leaders stay updated with the latest technology, utilise available tools, and motivate their teams.
Businesses are nearly twice as likely to succeed with digital transformation when management encourages staff to:
- Challenge traditional methods
- Experiment with new ideas
- Collaborate across departments
"Strong leadership is one of the key pillars of success at any organisation.”
— Dominique Jones, Vice President of HR at Halogen Software
3. Continuous Learning Programmes
Many companies overlook the need to align employee knowledge with new technologies and processes when implementing digital transformation strategies.
Studies show that about 14% of staff have a low digital aptitude, with 41% demonstrating moderate aptitude, highlighting the significant potential for upskilling.
Providing up-to-date training in crucial areas ensures that ongoing changes are well-supported. Companies offering training programmes to enhance employee knowledge are 1.6 times more likely to succeed in digital transformation.
Upskilling boosts staff productivity, improves job performance, and increases engagement, which in turn affects retention positively.
According to a Forbes article, 93% of employees would stay longer at a company that invests in their career development.
“Organisations need to develop new skills, embrace new technology, and uncover new approaches to ensure the business has a workforce that can deliver on its imperatives”
4. Company Culture Initiatives
Successful digital transformation relies on putting people at the heart of the change process.
A unified team with a strong emotional connection to the brand can elevate your organisation. Companies focusing on fostering culture are five times more likely to achieve breakthrough performance.
The foundations of a positive company culture include a shared purpose, pride in work, and gratitude.
It's crucial to support and enhance existing initiatives that nurture your culture during transformation.
Often, digital strategies overlook how legacy technologies facilitate interaction and collaboration.
Removing these aspects might decrease overall efficiency, despite improvements in other areas.
Consider whether your change strategy:
- Aligns culture with overall business strategy
- Facilitates communication with employees and stakeholders
- Addresses anxieties or uncertainties about change
- Promotes transparency and accountability while allowing room for error
“When organisations undertake digital transformation and focus only on technology at the expense of culture, that can hinder progress in many areas”
5. Protection And Security
As digital transformations migrate services and communications online, the need for strong cybersecurity grows.
Cybercrime occurs every 30 seconds, costing the UK an estimated £27 billion annually.
A significant portion of these costs comes from data breaches, with 10% of breaches in 2020 occurring in the financial sector, and 58% involving the loss of personal data.
It's crucial to match any digital advancements with proportional cybersecurity measures.
Given the vast amount of personal data held by financial institutions, protecting sensitive documents and communications is essential for maintaining business operations.
Key security measures to consider include:
- Email and attachment encryption
- Two-factor customer authentication
- Automated email security alerts
- Last-resort message revoke
“More than ever, businesses and individuals are starting to understand that data is a valuable currency that needs to be protected. This means that cyberculture is increasingly embedded into both our work and everyday lives . Cybercrime is now just an inevitable part of everyday life.”
Are all your processes covered for change management? Use these five often-overlooked aspects to ensure your transformation strategy is robust.
Find out more about our research.
References:
Unlocking Success in Digital Transformations, McKinsey, 2018
5 Things You Should Know About Capturing Institutional Knowledge, RightWayMed, 2019
How to Make Digital Transformation Easier, Enterprise Times, 2021
Developing Your Employees Is the Key to Retention: Here Are 4 Smart Ways to Start, Forbes, 2018
Digital Transformation Overview, BCG, 2022
Cyber Crime Statistics, Legal Jobs, 2023
The Cost of Cyber Crime, UK Government, 2022
Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon, 2024
Reviewed By:
Sabrina McClune, 19.06.24
Sam Kendall, 19.06.24
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Originally posted on 01 10 21
Last updated on July 4, 2024 Sabrina McClune, an expert researcher with an MA in Digital Marketing, was a finalist in the Women In Tech Awards 2022. She excels in conducting and compiling research for B2B tech companies. Sabrina enjoys reading fantasy novels and collecting special edition books. |
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