The biggest barriers banks have to break for process optimisation
Interview with leading experts in the financial industry
The ‘war for talent’ is one of the biggest challenges many organisations are currently facing, one which probably won’t be solved in the foreseeable future. Also customer expectations are increasing. Banks are confronted with the challenge of providing both employees and customers with smart and attractive (workplace) solutions and a smooth experience. As fully replacing existing processes is a massive hurdle, process optimisation is the answer. However in order to execute and implement this, banks need to break three big barriers.
3 Key barriers
1. Finding the right people
Banks require personnel with a skillset that includes a deep understandig of technology and a broad view of the business to optimise processes via technology automation and digitisation.
2. Finding the right technology
Financial organisations need to comply with the strict regulations for new technologies, but low-code technology like Mendix, using reusable building blocks, can automate processes efficiently and securely.
3. Managing costs
Financial organisations must optimise processes with consideration for costs and future costs, and low-code technology using reusable building blocks can help by reducing development time and costs, and replacing multiple software packages, leading to savings in licensing fees.
1. Finding the right people
The majority of process optimisations are achieved by using technology to automate and digitise processes. This work should ideally be put in the hands of the right people who are able to not only digitise a process and be done with it, but understand the impact they can achieve for the organisation and its customers by leveraging technology to improve the old ways of working.
This means that the responsible people in your organisation need to have a skillset which not only consists of a deep understanding of the technology landscape, but also a broad view of the business and its challenges and possibilities. This particular skill set is very valuable and hard to come by. Recent research by the UK Financial Services Skills Commission found that the financial sector lacks a couple of key skills in order to successfully apply technological transformation. Three out of five of these skills are technical: data analytics, software development and digital literacy.
2. Finding the right technology
Financial organisations have to adhere to strict rules and regulations, which has implications for the use of new technologies. Banks often have to inform the regulator about downtimes caused by technology, or face penalties. This means that the application of new technologies has to be paired with a deep understanding of its impact and potential risks.
Low-code is a technology that can help with these challenges. It can automate processes and create workflows using building blocks, instead of technical code. Additionally, these building blocks are reusable, so a component which checks if address information is correct can be used in multiple applications. This way, applications can be built (and rebuilt) in a fast and efficient manner. Some low-code platforms, such as Mendix, have security certified components to guarantee safety and compatibility, which helps banks adhere to regulations and be compliant.
3. Managing costs
Process optimisation must represent value to financial organisations and not be implemented for the sake of it. If a process can be optimised from a technical perspective, you have to take costs and also future costs into account. When an optimised process functions perfectly, but turns out to be more expensive than the old situation, it obviously doesn’t meet the business goal.
This is another area where low-code comes in, as reusing and rebuilding at a faster pace means less development time at lower costs. Due to their flexible nature, some low-code application frameworks are also able to replace multiple software packages, which helps you save on licensing fees as well.
