Digital transformation

 

Speed of digital transformation is changing the job requirements of client advisors and increasing the urgency for adaptation

 

Inclusion of technology in personal client advice is critical, and that the corresponding personnel development, is therefore given high priority.

 

As many as 38% of respondents assume that technological changes will proceed gradually, so that the command of digital tools can be acquired continuously on-the-job. However, the financial services institutions are gearing up to ensure that this process is supported by targeted training measures.

 

We have also observed that the speed of adoption of technological advances for advising clients viewed differently across business areas. The most relaxed view is taken in corporate banking, where 63% of respondents assume that adaptation will only be gradual and therefore see little need for training. Respondents working in corporate banking primarily believe that the current personal advice offering provides a stable relationship basis that allows more time to adapt.

 

However,  corporate bankers also confirmed that the requirements placed on client advisors are changing significantly. This point is even mentioned most frequently by this business unit of all business segments, with 86% of the mentions.

 

In retail banking, the respondents were relatively less relaxed about this aspect: only 32% expect a gradual shift, while 48% have stated that they expect changes in the requirements placed on client advisors to be imminent.

 

Respondents working in private banking and wealth management stand between the two poles of corporate banking and retail banking: In this segment, as many as 40% expect a gradual technological shift and 49% expect imminent changes in the requirements placed on client advisors. One possibility is that comparatively closer client relationships with more human-to-human interaction in private banking compared with retail banking will allow more time for adaptation.

 

Diagram: Assessment of job requirements in the future and the speed of change