Technology is transforming almost every area imaginable, but education and recruitment are surprisingly yet to be disrupted, and consider themselves to be relatively early in the adoption of technologies. These technological developments, combined with data analytics and job-specific simulations are at the forefront of driving this disruption, particularly in the financial sector. Below Finance Monthly hears from William de Lucy, CEO of Amplify, who delves into the drive behind technology development in the recruitment departments of finance teams worldwide.
Businesses are now delivering targeted training for companies throughout the fintech ecosystem, providing them with new, innovative ways to enhance the learning environment for prospects, resulting in a higher calibre pool of talent for the client.
It would appear that despite a certain level of volatility existing in the financial sector, leading financial institutions are still chomping at the bit to secure the best candidates, demonstrating the overall buoyancy of the market. Much like certain aspects of the financial ecosystem that is witnessing a transformational shift away from manual, human-oriented tasks, the level of automation and simulation in financial recruitment can reap huge rewards for leading institutions.
Evolution of technology and data allowing real world simulation
Technology and data expectations have never been higher, due to the major advancements in technology that have driven this change. Not only has technology significantly increased the amount of data being generated, but it has also provided affordable and efficient ways to collect and store this data so that organisations can leverage data-driven strategies to innovate, compete, and obtain value from information. With technology upending workflow and processes, tasks that were once handled with paper money, bulky computers and human interaction are now being completed entirely on digital interfaces.
Data analytics have come a long way in recent years. From e-commerce businesses tracking who visits their websites and what pages they visit, technology has moved to the collection of huge amounts of data about consumers and their behaviours. This has led to a huge paradigm shift from focus on products, to focus on consumers and what they want and value. Financial services institutions that use big data to drive their decisions will win the competitive race in the long run.
Education with the implementation of technology
Technology has previously been seen as a disruptive influence in the classroom, however this perception is slowly changing. With apps that change how we shop, eat and communicate, technology is moving at a fast pace, and society is having to adapt alongside it. Education with the help of technology has opened up a world of opportunities for students. From collaboration through the use of emails to easy sharing of information - technology is and will continue to alter the education sector into the future.
Students are now looking at the value they receive for their investment. They want to know how this experience will help to secure a place in their chosen careers, rather than the academic ambitions that their professor may have harboured when they were a student. Technologies can give students the same on-the-job training experiences delivered to clients, which enables them to directly connect with such institutions when they perform.
The simulations of real-life work roles give students a broad experience across the entire industry, from any area including investment bank market-making and sales-trading to portfolio and risk management. The objectives are for students to learn through ‘doing’, allowing them to enhance their academic skills and to better prepare them for their future workplace and their best suited role.
Technology and recruitment within the finance and education sectors
A recent LinkedIn study of 12 global investment banks has found that analysts and associates who left their positions in 2015 had stayed in their roles for an average of 17 months. This compares to a 26 month average in 2005. Furthermore, the study also revealed that some banks are incurring significant costs that are associated with replacing employees who leave.
Bridging the gap between what students are taught in theory, to what happens on a day-to-day basis in an office environment, proved difficult before the implementation of certain technologies. Technology has enabled the disruption of traditional recruitment paths of many major financial institutions which often recruit from only a select few universities and use rigid, automated processes. Along with this, companies are now able to broaden their search and identify talent that may not have been uncovered previously. A candidate could have a distinct ability to perform a specific function outside of their pure academic achievements, which allows for a more diverse workforce and greater overall performance and output.
Technology these days, can give businesses the ability to measure so many different data points over a long period of time. For example, technology platforms can measure how well a potential sales trader, or broker uses voice versus typed communication and how well they can use that communication to leverage client relationships. With this actively taking place over a full-day, or a series of days, it can help to provide corporate partners with graduates who possess soft skills that are required in client facing roles. This can often be hard to find from an initial CV review or telephone interview.
Along with this, technology allows businesses to gather innovative approaches to enhance and revolutionise graduate recruitment, this helps firms find the right candidate for the right role, without having to sift through thousands of CV’s or rely on behavioural data that has been collected from a short game or questions unassociated with the role in question. Due to the innovative approach that technology has enabled, candidates can gain a practical understanding of what their day-to-day role would actually involve, which helps them identify in depth the specific role they can see themselves committing to long-term.
It’s evident that technology is and will continue to revolve and bridge the gap between what students are taught in theory, to what happens in a day-to-day office environment. It has broadened the playing field and identified talents that may never have been uncovered previously. This can lead to businesses becoming more diverse in their workforce and have a greater overall performance and output for their company.
Oracle and the MIT Technology Review recently released a new study that highlights the importance of collaboration between finance and human resources (HR) teams with a unified cloud. The study, Finance and HR: The Cloud’s New Power Partnership, outlines how a holistic view into finance and HR information, delivered via cloud technology, empowers organizations to better manage continuous change.
Based on a global survey of 700 C-level executives and finance, HR, and IT managers, the study found that a shared finance and HR cloud system is a critical component of successful cloud transformation initiatives. Among the benefits of integrating enterprise resource planning (ERP) and human capital management (HCM) systems is easier tracking and forecasting of employee costs for budgeting purposes. Additionally, integrated HCM and ERP cloud systems improve collaboration between departments, with 37 percent of respondents noting that they use the cloud to improve the way data is shared.
The report also reveals the human factors behind a successful cloud implementation, with employees’ ability to adapt to change standing out as critical. Among organizations that have fully deployed the cloud, almost half (46 percent) say they have seen their ability to reshape or resize the organization improve significantly – as do 47 percent of C-level respondents.
The productivity benefits have also been significant. Nearly one-third of respondents (31 percent) say they spend less time doing manual work within their department as a result of moving to the cloud and that the automation of processes has freed up time to work toward larger strategic priorities.
“As finance and HR increasingly lead strategic organizational transformation, ROI comes not only with financial savings for the organization, but also from the new insights and visibility into the business HR and finance gain with the cloud. People are at the heart of any company’s success and this is why we are seeing finance and HR executives lead cloud transformation initiatives,” said Dee Houchen, Senior Director of ERP Solutions at Oracle. “In addition, improved collaboration between departments enables organizations to manage the changes ahead and sets the blueprint for the rest of the organization’s cloud shift.”
The survey also reveals there is a blurring of lines between functions and individual roles as the cloud increasingly ties back office systems together:
- Increased Collaboration: 46 percent of finance and HR professionals say a full cloud deployment has led to significantly improved collaboration between departments, and nearly half expect a significant improvement in the next two years.
- This extends to IT as well. 52 percent of C-level respondents said the relationship between IT, HR and finance is even better than expected following their cloud implementation
- Cross-Corporate Intermingling: With the new roles of HR and finance professionals requiring them to work more closely with data and the cloud, 43 percent of businesses plan to bring IT people into these departments to help employees take advantage of new technologies.
- New Skillsets: Desired skills respondents want to improve upon include:
- Time management, with 40 percent saying this is currently an issue
- Active learning
- Problem solving, mathematical reasoning and analytical skills
- The IT function also changes. Post-deployment, 56 percent of C-level respondents report that IT has significantly improved when it comes to producing innovations.
Andy Campbell, HCM Strategy Director at Oracle added: “As organizations navigate technological changes, it’s critical for the C-suite to empower its employees to evolve their individual business acumen. Many businesses understand this and it’s encouraging to see 42 percent planning to provide their teams with management skills training to help them break out of their traditional back-office roles. The learnings from the move of finance and HR to the cloud will ultimately spread across the organization as, together, they conceptualize the shape of the next disruption.”
(Source: Oracle)
