Firms are shifting towards a new way of working, what will this mean for businesses and employees?
Let us tell you more about these predicted changes and how they’ll shift over the next few years as well as how they may potentially impact your business…
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives and the way we interact. This will continue to impact us for years to come and that is why many businesses are looking at new ways to work. But how will this effect different industries and what changes might we expect to see?’
Remote working is here to stay
Over the past year, we‘ve had to move from working in offices to working from home. This has raised a debate on the ability to make remote working a norm. The FS industry has previously been reluctant to embrace this due to its high-pressure and fast-paced working environment. As COVID-19 forced most businesses to operate remotely, financial teams were sceptical. Most firms in this industry have a company culture that expects employees to turn up to work every single day, due to lack of trust as it was seen that if employees were not seen to be working, they weren’t doing their jobs. But we can see for the first time, FS firms have been able to embrace this change with the help of technology.
At Aveni, we smoothly transitioned to this new way of working. In March last year, we were placed in a position of uncertainty, like many businesses and knew the best decision was to shut up shop as early as possible to ensure the health of our team members. We were able to move all meetings online and worked together to support one another to continue building our vision. As we use technology more for personal and business purposes, it is likely that this will continue to evolve and we will see the ability to work and live in different locations being the norm in years to come.
Giving people the flexibility to work at times that help them to live their lives has also become more important. From the pandemic, some parents have had to home school, which has left them feeling overwhelmed with work as well as teaching. A study by Deloitte mentioned that 61% of FS CFOs plan on making remote work permanent for roles that have the ability to do so. By introducing more flexibility, it provides an opportunity for growth and gives those as a place where they can better manage their time as well as improve their performance because they can work at their own pace.
FS firms have come to learn the benefits of remote working. Technologically enabled employees have been able to build trust over the last year and demonstrated how unnecessary it is to solely work in an office environment. This is a win-win for all as staff are no longer expected to commute every single day of the week and businesses can reconsider their office space, which may mean downsizing and significantly reducing overheads.
Quicker adoption of automation and AI
Historically, businesses have controlled cost and mitigated uncertainty during difficult times by adopting automation as well as redesigning the work process. This reduces the share of jobs involved in a number of routine tasks. A survey conducted by McKinsey mentioned that in 2020, 800 senior executives said they would step up investment in AI to some degree or significantly. Many organisations have already deployed automation and AI in call centres, grocery stores to reduce workplace density and deal with the surge in demand. From further research, it has been assessed that areas of high levels of human interaction will most likely see the greatest increase in the adoption of automation and AI in the near future.
We have seen through this transition, FS firms have implemented intelligent automation and AI to steer change and in turn revolutionized the future of work. Through using these technologies, organisational efficiency will increase customer and employee experience as well as the impact on risk management.
We know the true potential of this as we use clients’ data to enhance, and help automate decisions and processes that drive growth, manage risk as well as reduce cost to serve. Our Aveni Detect solution combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing to structure unstructured data as well as voice. The use of this is that areas of operation that have been previously haven’t had the attention it requires will be able to do so in a more effective and efficient manner.
Reskilling and upskilling
Prior to the pandemic, the rise of automation and new technologies had already entered the scene and had been transforming the world of work which meant that there was a need for upskilling and reskilling. We know that more than ever this need has become more important.
Last year, the World Economic Forum prepared a report that states half of all employees globally will need to reskill by 2025. This does not include those who are currently not in employment. This identifies the market and the demand for people to develop their skills in order to meet external demand. This will help to create new jobs as well as provide people with the ability to explore new industries. Upskilling is greatly beneficial as it can help countries with high inequality and create new jobs. Long term, it can improve wages as well as the livelihoods of those who have made the effort to
The pandemic has accelerated the need to upskill as it has forced digitisation and automation at a rapid pace. This means economics could progress further and help to level the playing field with other countries in an attempt to compete on a wider scale.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to organisations experiencing a burst of acceleration. It has fast forwarded companies into the future of work through the ability to blend people and technology. We now work in a dynamic business environment that will continue to thrive and help grow industries and create new opportunities that will rebuild our economy as well as establish how to support those who need it the most through the benefit of new technologies.
Learn more about our risk-monitoring software, visit Aveni Detect
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