It’s approaching that time of year when we step back and think about what’s happened and what’s ahead. Only this time, we’re doing it from a very different perspective.
When I look back at some of the trends I thought would dominate 2020 it turns out the game-changer came along a lot sooner than expected. It wasn’t blockchain and it wasn’t APIs. And while the implications of the Hayne Royal Commission have continued to play out, this too wasn’t the driving force behind the biggest changes to the industry.
It was a pandemic which fast-forwarded us into the future and a new digital way of working. We’ve been living through a strange, unsettling, challenging time ever since. But for all the lows, there have been highs too and many changes for the better as we’ve adapted to our new world.
So what have we learnt so far?
THE NEED FOR ADVICE IS STRONGER THAN EVER
Despite some pretty dire predictions towards the end of last year, reports of the death of the advice industry have been greatly exaggerated.
COVID-19 brought twin crises in the form of a once-in-100 year public health event and an associated economic downturn.
Along with supporting clients watching volatile financial markets and worrying about their retirement futures, financial advisers have been providing recommendations about the suitability of Government stimulus measures such as the early release super scheme. They’ve been embracing technology to support and stay close to clients, using an array of digital touchpoints to do what they do best.
The pandemic came hot on the heels of a Royal Commission and the previous decade of immense regulatory and legislative change for the industry. And yet, the profession is adapting, resilient and strong.
As we look toward 2021 the financial services industry remains critically important as does the ability of technology to ensure it continues to evolve and adapt.
TECHNOLOGY RULES. BUT DON’T LET IT RULE YOU
We’ve seen digital transformation that I thought would take years to achieve, happen in months.
The rapid shift to remote working was relatively simple for many businesses. This suggests they had the right tools, technology and training to handle the uncharted territory of the pandemic.
While digital ways of working have been around for a long time, some businesses had been persisting with old, manual and paper-based processes because it seemed easier than changing. In 2020, this was no longer possible – and by changing to digital and data-driven business models, silver linings have emerged.
More of our clients have accelerated adoption of financial technologies like digital signatures and client portals, others have brought forward strategies to digitise and automate further, driven by the momentum they’ve made.
Tools like Zoom, Slack, and Miro have become mainstream and using them to stay connected and collaborate is almost second nature, even for people that never touched them before. Most events and conferences have moved out of the real world and into a virtual one – just as we all have. Don’t underestimate how much of a leap forward this has been.
The flipside of all this? It wasn’t long before too much screen time started to suck the life out of us. When Zoom fatigue became very real at Iress, we didn’t hesitate to ruthlessly shake up the way we do meetings. Like many businesses grappling with the realities of the current situation, there’s a lot we can’t control so we focus on the things we can – meetings are one of them, and so is technology – don’t let it rule you.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PRODUCTIVE
In the beginning, no-one really knew how long we’d be in this situation. From our homes, driven by the novelty of remote working, we threw ourselves into a huge surge of productivity – lots of people got a lot of things done.
But as the situation continues to stretch out, the initial euphoria has worn off and task-based productivity has dropped.
That’s no bad thing if it’s replaced with deep, strategic thinking but if you’re going from one Zoom meeting to the next, when does that get done?
To perform at our best we need to have the discipline to switch off and focus – we’re humans, not machines. And so 2020 will also be known as the year we became more mindful and realised that productivity isn’t just about tasks.
Interestingly, this is where technology can play a key role. By having the right tools and processes in place, leaders are able to step back from the detail and work ‘on the business’ rather than ‘in it’.
Employees too are freed up to focus on getting critical work done rather than responding to requests for status updates or repeating the same, low-value tasks over and over.
Technology has the potential to support deep, value-creating work – when it’s deployed in the right way.
WHAT DO I NEED TO ACHIEVE TODAY?
We’re all thinking and talking about the future of work. While I think anyone making firm predictions right now is likely to come unstuck, I do see a new model emerging for many businesses.
Some companies have already announced a permanent move to remote working and it will be interesting to see how that goes. Others want to recreate the past with a more forced approach to get people “back into the office”. For us, it feels too soon to make any assumptions or bold predictions.
We’re thinking more about ‘what’ and less about ‘where’. Less about home versus office and more about ‘what do I need to achieve today and how am I best set up to achieve that’. A secondary question will be ‘where do I need to be to get the best result for me and my team’. The balance between individual, team, business and clients will be the focus and will be different for each business.
YOU’RE MORE RESILIENT THAN YOU THINK
We believe a more sophisticated world of work will emerge, based on factors we won’t fully understand for some time – like how the virus continues to impact social distancing and the economy, as well as personal pressures such as childcare. All that’s just too unpredictable right now.
More sophisticated businesses will emerge too – with smarter ways of working, focused on the right things with less waste. As individuals, we’ll be more resilient, more considerate of time (and that of others), digitally skilled and more open to change.
The adjustments you’re making means you’re already some of the way there.
The big digital transformation might have happened faster than any of us expected and some days it might not feel like progress is being made at all, but stop scrolling, switch off for a moment, and take a step back to see just how far you’ve come.
Andrew Walsh is chief executive of Iress.
