Evie Rusman speaks with Barry Tarrant and Danny Baker of Fiserv and ClearBank CEO Charles McManus about how the Covid pandemic is accelerating an immediate transition to a digital workplace

The future of work debate is gathering pave around the world across multiple industry verticals in general and the financial services sector in particular.

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Research from Ezra, the provider of digital coaching released on 5 July notes that more than half of UK office workers have now returned to the workplace on either a full or part-time basis.

The research finds that 30% of office workers have now returned full-time, up from just 17% in April. A further 24% have returned on a part-time basis, again up from 17% in April, with the number of employees working fully remotely falling by 21% in the last three months.

Ezra also asked what positive impact a return to the workplace has had on their lives and, perhaps surprisingly, the most prominent was the work-life balance (29%).

Return to the office: greater productivity and reduced fatigue

A positive impact of productivity also ranked high (23%), with many also benefitting from a reduction in personal fatigue (13%) and an increase in career progression opportunities (13%).Perhaps predictably, Covid anxiety and career-related stress saw the least positive influence.

Cost-effective operating models may boost outsourcing

Barry Tarrant, EMEA Director Product Management, Fiserv tells RBI: “Going forward, the post-crisis recovery situation is likely to prompt organisations to explore a more competitive and cost-effective operating model in which some functions are outsourced to specialised third-party providers.“For financial institutions this will include essential technology functions that have traditionally been managed in house, including payments. Given the increasingly innovative current payments’ space in the European Union, Payments as a Service, also known as PaaS, will become the choice of organisations seeking to reduce capital expenditure, maximise revenue, deliver value-added services and experiences, and thereby stay competitive.”He says that by adopting PaaS, organisations will gain competitive edge with the ability to invest more of their scarce resources of time and money on value-adding innovation and the creation of transformational customer experiences.

“Not only does PaaS address some of the fragilities of existing infrastructures, it also positions organisations to better realise the digital opportunities that have been accelerated by the pandemic. Namely: delivery of new payment experiences, enhanced mobile app capabilities, and the acceleration of dynamic omni-channel digital solutions and customer experiences.”

Covid accelerates the drive to become digitally customer-focused

Danny Baker, Vice President of Market Strategy for Digital Efficiency Solutions, Fiserv adds: “Covid-19 prompted an immediate transition to a digital workplace, whether or not financial institutions were ready. Those institutions that were prepared to switch to a completely digital experience for their employees and customers had an advantage – and that advantage continues, as these trends are not going away.“So what do financial institutions need to focus on now? First and foremost, becoming digitally customer-focused, which means equipping employees to understand customer needs and be immediately responsive.“Second, automating processes to eliminate reliance on spreadsheets and manual tasks for greater efficiency, especially when working remotely. Third, driving agility and resiliency through tools that provide integrated insights into forecasting, planning and execution. With these steps in place, financial institutions will be prepared no matter what the future holds.

Digital sea change post-Covid

Charles McManus, CEO at ClearBank adds: “Digital transformation is shaping the future of work. This has been mentioned so frequently that it’s almost become meaningless, but it is important that financial services fully adapt to the realities of it.“Whilst COVID-19 has prompted real and immediate change in the way banks operate, the crisis has also demonstrated that we have a long way to go before ways of working evolve to adequately meet the demands of this digital sea change.“Whether transformation plans involve banks supporting hybrid models of working, reducing branches or office space in line with financial recovery plans or adjusting growth strategies, the historic resistance towards automation will not support their long-term plans.

“With significant proportions of bank resources currently dedicated to ‘task junkies’ or generalist staff, who manually drive processes and tools, the resistance to automation was rooted in the common misconception it would make humans obsolete and that jobs would be ‘stolen’ by robots. This narrative, which is outdated and prohibitive to growth, must be shaken off and we must look to fintechs and banks that embrace digital transformation as leaders in best-practice.

“Digitalisation means that employees move away from generalist and repetitive tasks, to managing specialised automated ones. Not only will this empower employees to drive growth and allow them to gain mastery in their field but will also result in higher productivity and increased revenue.”

One in four prepared to accept wage cut in return for flexibility

With many big-name companies now encouraging a return to the workplace, Deloitte recently announced that those wishing to maintain an aspect of remote working may not be able to expect a full salary while doing so.This sort of stance may encourage more to return to the workplace, although Ezra’s research shows that 26% of office workers would be willing to take a reduced level of income in order to maintain a flexible working lifestyle.So much so that the same number also stated they would seek alternative employment should their employer fail to offer an ongoing level of flexible working.

Founder of Ezra Nick Goldberg, says: “The process of going to a place of work allows us to define clear boundaries and allows us to switch on and off more effectively when it matters. As much as we need to perform professionally, the ability to rest and recuperate at the end of the day is also incredibly important and this is something we’ve lost since our homes have become our offices.”