For fintech firms, digital transformation is particularly important. With the industry evolving at a breakneck speed, those who lag the competition risk are missing out on growth opportunities.
From the outset, it must be understood that digital transformation technologies such as automation are not just the domain of the IT department. To be truly effective, they need to be embraced by staff across the organisation.
Consult with all stakeholders
To complete a successful digital transformation project, it’s important to involve every employee in your fintech firm and all should be provided with access to transformation tools. This may sound like an unusual step to take, but it’s one that will pay big dividends.
The latest generation of tools is well designed and intuitive to use and can allow even non-developers to create and implement automated processes. As well as empowering your users, this reduces the workload for the IT department which often finds itself buried under a pile of user requests.
It should also be remembered that no one has a better knowledge and understanding of your firm’s processes than the staff who follow them everyday. Each group is likely to have its own unique circumstances that constantly slow down processes. Equipping the people in these groups to fix their own processes can be a very powerful thing to do.
Consider, for example, how your firm might process a loan application from a new client. The existing workflow might be very paper intensive and require a large number of tedious steps. It could require the client to provide a long list of documents and to laboriously sign contracts and agreements. If one detail is overlooked, the time taken to complete the transaction can easily blow out causing frustration.
Thankfully, automation technology can take over repetitive tasks and processes, removing manual steps and speeding the overall workflow. It can also remove an element of risk associated with human error in manual processes. As a result, fintech operations will become more efficient and reliable.
Technology for the people
As fintech firms look to take advantage of new-generation transformation and automation tools, there are some key points that need to be considered. They include:
- The power of “low-code” tools: To be effective when used by non-technical staff, automation technology tools need to be appropriate for all skill levels. The emergence of so-called “low-code” tools makes this an easier thing to achieve. This approach will allow the democratisation of IT and offers the best possible chance that it will be put to work in an effective way.
- Equip all staff: No one is more familiar with processes that are broken or inefficient than those who have to use them each and every day. Once they are provided with tools that enable them to fix these issues, employees will enthusiastically embrace them. The end result will be a rise in productivity and staff satisfaction.
- Encourage IT to work with frontline staff: The trend towards the democratisation of technology doesn’t mean the IT department will no longer have a role to play. Indeed, it will remain a vital resource for the organisation as it meets employee technology requirements. But the nature of the department’s role will change. It will end up working more closely with staff to design the right solutions.
Digital transformation through automation will continue to be a powerful force for rapidly growing fintech firms for years to come. By opening up access to staff across your firm, its benefits can be put to work in new and exciting ways that add real value for the entire organisation.
Chris Ellis, manager of technical evangelism – Asia Pacific, Nintex
