The future of banking: The employee experience (EX) imperative
Employee experience in banking
Over the past decade, the expectation for personalised experiences has permeated beyond the customer sphere and entered the employee sphere, giving rise to employee experience (EX). Delivering a best-in-class EX, by redefining talent management, is a preeminent corporate priority for banks – and the COVID-19 pandemic is heightening its importance.
After surveying over 2000 financial services employees we explore the key EX challenges faced by banks and set out how banks can transition to a best-in-class EX. By delivering a best-in-class EX, banks can increase by four times their profit per employee than those that don’t.
Challenges
Why is employee experience a challenge for banks?
For banks, the EX challenges are, to an extent, generational. Gen Z lacks pride in their work, worries about purpose in their jobs, and has concerns about psychological safety.
Are banks ready to change their employee experience?
This challenge is complicated by technological disruption and by societal demands for banks display a sense of purpose. As a result, banks’ requirements, in terms of both hard and soft skills have changed. In addition, the pandemic has exacerbated the need for banks to deliver a best-in-class EX.
Recommendations
Banks should become better at identifying the moments that matter to each employee
Banks’ X-data systems (i.e. telling the story of employees’ feedback) are less mature and are often disruptive to the flow of employees’ journey. Hence, more X-data, collected seamlessly throughout the employees’ lifecycle, is needed.
Banks should use moments that matter to deliver best-in-class EX
Banks can learn how to trigger employees’ positive emotional responses, as part of each moment that matters during an employee’s lifecycle. They can also become better at detecting the moments that matter outside the workplace, as these too can have an impact on job satisfaction.
Banks should create the safeguards that sustain a best-in-class EX and build employee trust
These would allow employees to have a sense of purpose, feel valuable and experience psychological safety. These would activate employees’ pride, loyalty, and enthusiasm.
