Questions to consider when 'doing digital'

Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in a discussion panel with FST Media for their ‘Future of Banking & Financial Services’ conference. With my fellow digital leaders within the industry we debated the future of digital  and what we have seen working  - or not - when moving organisations into digital future.

The discussion raised some fantastic points which upon reflection are worth sharing. From disruptive technologies to how to successfully manage rapid transformation – these are all incredibly relevant as we learn to become more agile and continue to grow. So here are some things the panel shared when asked about what to consider when taking your company to 'digital future':

Start with the customer

Customer centricity was a huge focal point on the day, but I think it’s important to start this conversation with asking how our customers want to be served – do customers want E2E services with no or only little human touch involved? Or do customers want to deal with people and value in person services – and why? If the first option, then what is the role of the ‘banker’ in this scenario? Customer-centricity is the catalyst for our digital services, not the other way around, as we work towards giving our customer what they want and need from us.

Look for role models and inspiration outside your industry

There are many organisations and brands outside of the financial services industry that we can look to for inspiration here. Chinese brands such as WeChat and Alibaba – companies which have mastered turning data into insights – provide platform services with multiple entry points and offers to service both providers and consumers, and brokering an ecosystem model that befits both. Also technology giants - the likes of Google, Apple, and Facebook - while possibly seen as new competition, are opportunities for us to seek partnerships to compliment the capabilities our existing technology partners bring to us. At BOQ, some of these capabilities that have already enabled us to improve our business  - one of these is our very successful Facebook for Branches program. The third area we look for inspiration is the start-up community; their passion, energy, mindset of ‘try and learn in pivoting and continuously improving their business models, and application of new technologies can all show us what is possible. And also panellists referred to the fact that there seems to be growing collaboration happening with industry and universities, which is great to see!

Speed up Legacy

While financial services companies are currently looking a lot into innovation and technology to help make the lives of their customers better, there are of course challenges to overcome for companies that have been established for a long time. Legacy was a word that got used a lot in the panel. However, focusing on strengthening, modifying and aligning existing IT capabilities in parallel to investing in new capability has been key to help drive digital initiatives. This has meant changes in how systems are developed and run, and multiple delivery and operational processes and frameworks have been modified to act with agility - all to ensure that we can deliver value to our customers and employees in a much faster pace.

Keep the goal clear and invest in right culture & mindset

Managing and leading rapid digital transformation, while staying agile, means we must be clear with what we’re trying to do and achieve. Having a strong ‘why’ driving your digital transformation not only provides clarity and purpose for all teams, but it aligns resources and focus on the correct priorities across the board. The adaptation of agility as a leadership capability is important because it promotes and emphasises collaboration, agile and data/fact based decision making, and fosters a culture of continuous learning and ability to ‘fail fast’.  Having the right culture is key. Touching on risk culture – many panellists saw this as vital point for Financial industry to - we are heavily regulated industry and continue to do so, we have our customers interest to look after as well as our shareholders – yet, moving from a mindset of risk adverse to risk aware is key enabler transforming organisation towards digital one.

Be ready to adjust as future opportunities reveal themselves  

Looking to the future, we thought that customer touch points will keep growing; there will be many more indirect and direct customer touch points that we don’t even have today, and as a consequence of this, the supply chain of services will become more complex. I believe that digital capabilities will help us in serving our customers better in this model. The disruptive technologies that are emerging will pose both opportunity and threat to financial industry service models and products. We are already seeing services being provided by and powered by new technologies - wearables, virtual 3D service assistants and customer ‘bots’ powered by AI, greater crypto technologies used for better security, blockchain for currencies and smart contracts, sustainable resources for energy generation, and IOT for insurance related use cases. However, many applications of these are yet to be imagined as there really are no boundaries for what could happen.  Just one thing is certain. As new technologies and services will continue to be innovated and deployed to market at a more rapid pace, its the ones who can adjust their models, and apply these  at pace to truly delight and serve the customers unmet needs, will come out of the game as a winner.

Thanks to my fellow panellists for sharing their insights; John Arnott, ING Direct; Sam McCready, Bankwest; Kristina Curtis, BT Financial Group and Jennie Bewes.