This is a unique time in the history of your financial institution and a new test for leaders. In order to succeed, you must respond effectively to market changes and the needs of your clients or members. But in order to respond, you need to know what the new, post-pandemic normal looks like.
As a financial services leader you make decisions daily. In the face of trying times, opportunity often appears scarce, yet your decisions will hold a lasting impact.
What do the highest performing companies and professionals focus on in the face of adversity? Preparation!
Will you and (perhaps more importantly) your teams be prepared for what comes next?
When the dust clears in the coming weeks, financial institutions need to talk about the impact of the Coronavirus. There are two parts to answering this question.
- What can we do now that gives us a leg up when the pandemic lifts?
- What kind of new normal should we be prepared for post-Coronavirus?
How financial institutions can take advantage of “downtime” during the pandemic
Now, more than ever, you have an opportunity to leverage your team’s downtime to focus on compliance training, professional development and maximizing the effectiveness of your workforce when the current slowdown heats up again. Your customers and members will be looking for solutions quickly as the economy comes back to life.
If you aren’t currently serving your customers or members, the next best thing is to spend time ramping up your skills and industry knowledge in order to serve them even better!
Leaders are providing virtual learning opportunities to their staff while they are at home to prepare for post-pandemic.
Taking this time to offer your staff virtual learning opportunities not only keeps their skills sharpened, but keeps employees engaged. For your less rounded employees, provide them additional training that pertains to their specific role. Other employees may want to take this time to explore a topic they haven’t had the time to dig into. For example, provide them courses that explores Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services or cybersecurity fundamentals such as Phishing Best Practices
Leverage physical distancing to offer more training will prepare your teams to offer first-class service and solutions while capturing new customers and members who are not receiving it elsewhere. Invest in your teams so your customer and members invest in you post-pandemic!
Professional Development
To the right is a video example of how OnCourse Learning creates engaging courses for your employee’s personal development. In addition, OnCourse Learning has several Professional Development courses:
- Dynamic Leadership
- Personal Productivity
- Prescriptive Selling
- Impactful Communication
- Customer Service
How financial institutions can take advantage of “downtime” during the pandemic
Now, more than ever, you have an opportunity to leverage your team’s downtime to focus on compliance training, professional development and maximizing the effectiveness of your workforce when the current slowdown heats up again. Your customers and members will be looking for solutions quickly as the economy comes back to life.
If you aren’t currently serving your customers or members, the next best thing is to spend time ramping up your skills and industry knowledge in order to serve them even better!
Leaders are providing virtual learning opportunities to their staff while they are at home to prepare for post-pandemic.
Taking this time to offer your staff virtual learning opportunities not only keeps their skills sharpened, but keeps employees engaged. For your less rounded employees, provide them additional training that pertains to their specific role. Other employees may want to take this time to explore a topic they haven’t had the time to dig into. For example, provide them courses that explores Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services or cybersecurity fundamentals such as Phishing Best Practices
Leverage physical distancing to offer more training will prepare your teams to offer first-class service and solutions while capturing new customers and members who are not receiving it elsewhere. Invest in your teams so your customer and members invest in you post-pandemic!
Professional Development
Below is a video example of how OnCourse Learning creates engaging courses for your employee’s personal development. In addition, OnCourse Learning has several Professional Development courses:
- Dynamic Leadership
- Personal Productivity
- Prescriptive Selling
- Impactful Communication
- Customer Service
How OnCourse Learning can help during and post-pandemic
At OnCourse Learning, we provide compliance training and professional development education for your entire staff – from the frontline to the boardroom. Our training courses are available in a variety of formats designed to fit every learning style – online self-paced, videos, live and webinars. Through our Learning Management System, your people get educated and certified – and your financial institution can efficiently manage complexity, change and growth.
What should the financial industry be ready to embrace as their “new normal?”
Financial leaders are doing more than just leveraging the downtime, they are preparing for what the new post-pandemic normal will look like. After weeks of social distancing, business won’t be exactly as we left it.
Here are examples of where normal will be redefined:
Digital Banking
The communications we have seen from financial institutions all focus on that while branches are partially or completely closed, customers can do business digitally. Digital banking brings all banking services online through online portals and banking apps. Digital banking allows customers to do everything from transferring funds to paying bills and applying for credit cards. Financial institutions who offer expert digital banking can provide advice and service all online.
Prior to COVID-19, some were hesitant to fully embrace digital banking. However, post-pandemic, consumers have needed to move to digital banking to make payments and deposits. Clients essentially being forced onto the digital platform may lead to a greater number of clients using this mode of banking going forward.
Digital Lending
Even with social distancing restrictions, loans still need to be closed, applications processed, and credit extended. Customers who were previously cautious or uncertain about taking out a loan without meeting in person have been forced to give it a try. Now that they have experienced digital lending firsthand, they will be more likely to expect the same experience and convenience going forward.
Vendor Management and Business Continuity
The current pandemic and resulting impacts on economic environment and financial institution operations has tested business continuity plans. Pressures facing institutions are disseminating to their vendors and partner service providers. This is a real-life stress test that will undoubtably break some things. As businesses stabilize their operations in the current environment, it will be paramount that they continue to closely monitor their continuity plans and vendors for stability during this time of increased inherent risk. It is also a critical time to update and realign your vendor management risk assessments and responding plan of action. No one quite knows where this will all end nor what path it will take to get there. However, we do know that it is a critical time to monitor closely and treat your plan like the living document it must be.
Remote Employees
Most businesses, including financial service providers, have been forced to move vast populations of workers to remote work environments. This change impacts how employees engage with one another as well as clients. It also changes the risk environment within which they operate. Working remotely (at home or similar) introduces new risk such as personal devices, less-secure networks and exposure to new types of scams. These with additional physical information security threats compound an already hectic time in most worker’s and employer’s lives. How are you addressing these risks?
There is little doubt the current pandemic has accelerated the move to conduct and transact financial services business via digital channels. Are your employees and leaders prepared to support this post-pandemic?
These are only a few ways the future of doing business as a financial institution could change as a result of the current crisis. Many of these changes were coming, eventually, however being forced to go virtual may have sped the process.
For more resources to support you during this pandemic, visit our Pandemic Preparedness COVID-19 Guide.
About the Author
Jeff Kelly
VP of Product Management
Jeff Kelly is the vice president of Product, Professional Education, for OnCourse Learning, a leading provider of governance, risk and compliance training for the mortgage, bank, credit union, and nonbank financial-services industries. Kelly has more than 10 years of experience in financial services compliance, risk management, and training and development sector.
About the Author
Jeff Kelly
VP of Product Management
Jeff Kelly is the vice president of Product, Professional Education, for OnCourse Learning, a leading provider of governance, risk and compliance training for the mortgage, bank, credit union, and nonbank financial-services industries. Kelly has more than 10 years of experience in financial services compliance, risk management, and training and development sector.
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