There’s a hidden component that may determine a bank’s success or struggles in its digital or technology initiatives: talent.
Executives need to consider the key role that internal talent plays when they think about using technology to achieve their desired outcomes. Elia Blankenship, director of management consulting and technology at RSM US, joins Reinventing Banking to highlight some of the ways that talent interacts with technology, including what it looks like when these are done well and poorly.
It can be difficult to identify or pinpoint all the ways talent intersects with technology throughout a bank. It can look like employee resistance to using new systems and processes, due to a preference for the familiar legacy system they were trained on. On the other hand, talent that is aligned with adopting and using new technology, she says, can act as a multiplier for change within a bank.
“When … you have the right team members that are looking forward to this change, and they know that it’s going to be a specific solution or a tool that you’re going to unleash — like an AI technology tool or automation — the beauty of that is that you’re able to move organizations forward,” she says.
She’s also seen tech decision-making change over the last 15 years. In the past, executives may have relied on the information technology group to identify solutions for problems the bank or its customers may have experienced. Over time, employees within various business lines — like commercial lending or audit — began to take greater interest in the various technologies their units could use. Business units have also shared their experience during the due diligence phase. That’s led to the refrain today that “IT doesn’t own technology,” she says. A business unit’s role as the technology user means that they should lead the research and due diligence, with IT supporting and enabling those efforts.
But she cautions institutions not to overcorrect in this area, with business lines taking too great a lead in technology decisions. She’s seen business units at some institutions purchase solutions without involving colleagues in IT, information security or data who can assist with due diligence and ensure the solution fits within the existing technology stack or furthers the technology road map. Her advice is to bring everyone together and strike a balance of perspectives between different business units.
“I always recommend this: Bring everyone when you launch a new product or service, because you’re going to need your compliance team members, you’re going to need your folks from your project management side, your technology [side and] accounting,” she says. “Then segment your meetings to that audience as you go forward in your purchase.”
The role talent plays in successful tech adoption may only heighten in the future. Blankenship says more complex technology projects like data analytics and AI may require new roles, such as data analysts and data engineers. Banks may also need to increase employees’ general knowledge about AI, automation and data quality — something that several institutions that encourage their employees to use artificial intelligence are already doing.
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