Tech training is essential to the success of banking and other financial institutions - as much as 70 percent of financial services leaders are concerned about the speed of change in technology.¹ Technology training can help financial services companies keep up with both technology and their competitors by upskilling staff with critical tech skills that promote digital transformation.
3 Reasons Financial Services Companies Should Implement Technology Training
Technology training is most effective when given to staff across all departments, not just IT. Here are three benefits of providing comprehensive technology training at financial services companies.
1. Technology training supports digital transformation -- Financial institutions are making digital transformation a high priority. According to Gartner, one-third of financial services CIOs said digital was their main business priority for 2019, an 8 percent increase from last year.²
“One of the keys to driving the people element of digital transformation is offering learning and development initiatives that not only train existing staff but serve to attract in-demand new talent to the business,” stated Digital Marketing Institute.³
Technology training gives employees the skills needed to support digital transformation. These skills include but are not limited to:
- Cloud computing
- Digital security
- Change management
- Leadership and development
While all of these skills help drive digital transformation, 88 percent of respondents to an IDT survey said digital security was the most important skill for digitizing a business.4
2. Technology training makes financial services companies more competitive -- Finance companies are at risk of losing up to 28 percent of their banking and payments business to fintech companies by 2020.5 To prevent this, you must move more quickly and upskill staff with relevant tech skills.
“Financial firms can be highly competitive if they learn to transform how they view technology and emerging markets. Innovation from within comes from being unconstrained by legacy technology, establishing ways to quickly adopt new ideas and driving expansion in untraditional regions,” stated a contributor to Plural Sight.6
The author encouraged financial firms to “think like a tech company” to keep up with competition. There’s no better way to promote tech-company mindsets in employees than to provide technology training that drives innovation, agility, and business strategy. To better provide training accelerate benefits, many financial organizations are leveraging learning management systems to deliver tech training to all their employees, regardless of location, schedule, or job function.
3. Technology training improves customer service -- Tech training not only prepares staff to support digital transformation, a case study mentioned by Coursera also indicated that tech training can also optimize customer service for financial institutions.7
Some organizations have already seen those benefits. To upskill its technical staff, one of the largest banks in the world created a new-hire training program that included tech training. According to Coursera, as a result of the program:
- Technical managers felt more confident giving their teams projects that were critical to the business.
- Employees made fewer technical errors, improving customer service quality.
By advancing their technology skills, the banking institution’s tech team was better equipped to meet customer demands and provide more effective customer service.
Additional Benefits of Tech Training for Financial Institutions
The benefits of tech training for financial services companies go beyond getting employees ready for digital transformation, providing a competitive edge, and optimizing customer service. Tech training can also improve employee training audits for regulatory compliance, which can be a significant benefit since the the financial sector is subject to constantly shifting regulatory requirements.8
To determine just how beneficial technology training could be for your company, evaluate your pain points. Determine the root cause of those problems and how you can solve them. If you’re like the 70 percent of financial services leaders who are concerned about technology, then implementing tech training could be a major component to driving your business forward.
References:
1. PWC. Financial services 2020 and beyond: embracing disruption. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/financial-services/assets/pdf/technology2020-and-beyond.pdf.
2. Gartner. The 5 digital transformation identities of financial services organizations. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/the-5-digital-transformation-identities-of-financial-services-organizations/.
3. Digital Marketing Institute. What’s the impact of training on digital transformation? https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/en-us/blog/whats-the-impact-of-training-on-digital-transformation.
4, 5. IDT. Skills for digital transformation. https://www.i17.in.tum.de/uploads/media/IDT-Survey_Report_2017_final.pdf.
6. Plural Sight. Technology in the financial sector: How to rise above the competition. https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/software-development/financial-services-agility.
7, 8. Coursera Blog. Why tech training is the next big thing for financial services companies.
