BUILDING A DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES BUSINESS: DON’T IGNORE THE HUMAN FACTOR (16th July 2020)

A FUTURE OF FINANCE WEBINAR IN COLLABORATION WITH FINTECH WALES BRINGING TOGETHER EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES, RECRUITERS AND EXPERTS IN CORPORATE CULTURE

16th July 2020 14:30-15.30 UK time

The biggest obstacle to digitizing a traditional banking or insurance business is not legacy technology. It is legacy culture. It is well known that incumbents have struggled to recruit and retain digital talent. In fact, Glassdoor is replete with stories of how badly they get it wrong. Yet their existing workforces are more fearful than antipathetic. If they are to compete successfully with new entrants, established financial services businesses have to transcend legacy cultures in ways that enable them not only to attract new talent but bring their existing employees with them. At this Future of Finance webinar, hosted in conjunction with FinTech Wales, businesses which have made the transition successfully will share their knowledge and experience with experts in digitization, recruitment, education and corporate culture.

The panellists:

1. Admiral Finance, Dan Mines – Chief Information Officer https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-mines-9970976/

2. Starling, Harriet Rees, Head of Data Science https://www.linkedin.com/in/harriet-rees-74138054/

3. GoCompare, Sally Foote, Vice President of ECommerce https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyfoote/

4. Confused.com, Andy Brockway, Chief Technology Office https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbrockway/

5. National Software Academy, Dr. Kathryn Jones – Lecturer and Deputy Director of Teaching at Cardiff Uni School of Computer Science
6. TalentBe, Victoria Wood – Chief Executive Officer https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-wood-bedigita…

7. Illustrate Digital, Scott Jones- Managing Director https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjonesuk/

8. Wealthify, Simon Holland, Chief Product Officer https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonholland-digitalnu…

There is no financial services business which is not facing the challenge of engaging with its clients digitally, at any time, on any device, from anywhere, and in a manner which is personalized to the customer. The modern customer experience is primarily a digital one. And meeting the challenge of digitizing the customer experience entails more than modernizing existing systems and automating internal processes. It also means changing the culture of the company, and digitizing corporate culture is the hardest form of digital transformation. A truly digital business is never closed. It responds immediately. It delivers rapidly. These demands are incompatible with analogue methods of working, such as employees working five-day weeks and eight-hour days in offices in major city centres. Digitization requires robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to digest vast quantities of data, open systems, Application Programme Interfaces (APIs), the Cloud, rapidly evolving data and system security measures and – above all – employees that are knowledgeable, flexible and curious enough to work with them. While these technologies can have a natural appeal to newer members of the workforce – millennials tend to shun companies which use out-of-date technology – they threaten can appear to other types of employee as a threat, to deskill them or even dispense with them altogether. In fact, digitizing financial services is less a challenge for technologist than for educational experts, recruiters and managers. Which is why this Future of Finance event, hosted in conjunction with FinTech Wales, brings together employers in digital banking and insurance, graduates, employees, experts in customer apps, heads of recruitment and academic experts in corporate culture.

Topics of discussion include:

– What is corporate culture
– Can you measure corporate culture?
– In what ways (if any) does digital technology change corporate culture?
– Can you digitize an established business without jettisoning legacy systems?
– What does a great digital experience feel like for a customer?
– What does a great digital experience feel like for an employee?
– Is the education system producing relevant (a) skills and (b) attitudes?
– How do traditional and new entrant apps compare – how do consumers tell the difference?
– Are legacy systems a barrier to recruitment of talent?
– Are employees right to fear robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)?