Category: Business

Trust is a must: why business leaders should embrace explainable AI

The EU’s proposed regulation on artificial intelligence has earned widespread praise. The prospect of harmonised rules presents an ideal opportunity for firms to improve transparency and reduce bias in their processes by investing in AI that’s easier for humans to understand 

The European Commission vice-president responsible for media and information matters, Margrethe Vestager, neatly summarised the founding philosophy of the EU draft legal framework on AI at the time of its publication in April. 

“Trust is a must,” she said. “The EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted. By setting the standards, we can pave the way to ethical technology worldwide.” 

Trust is a must (Anna Shvets from Pexels)

Any fast-moving technology is likely to create mistrust, but Vestager and her colleagues decreed that those in power should do more to tame AI, partly by using such systems more responsibly and being clearer about how these work. 

The landmark legislation – designed to “guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses, while strengthening AI uptake, investment and innovation” – encourages firms to embrace so-called explainable AI.

If we want AI to play a role in decision-making, then we have a right to understand how the AI came to a decision, regardless of its complexity

Most business leaders have welcomed the initiative, understanding that the goal is to increase public trust in AI by promoting the use of more transparent systems. 

Peter van der Putten is director of AI solutions at cloud software firm Pegasystems and an assistant professor of AI at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He believes that the EU has produced a “sensible, risk-based framework” that distinguishes “prohibited, high-risk and low-risk” AI applications from each other.

“This is a significant step forward for both EU consumers and companies that want to reap the benefits of AI but in a truly responsible manner,” he says.

The end of ‘computer says no’ 

Given that many organisations are using opaque algorithms to make significant decisions – sometimes with disastrous results – the creation of a legal framework that would encourage them to adopt explainable AI is welcome. So says Matt Armstrong-Barnes, chief technologist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. 

“If we want AI – constructed using complex mathematics – to play a role in decision-making, then we, as citizens, have a right to understand how the AI came to a decision, regardless of its complexity,” he argues. “Explainable AI can answer the fundamental question: why? Once we know this, the decision can be evaluated to ensure that it’s made without bias. ‘Computer says no’ is no longer acceptable or desirable.”

Pip White, MD of Google Cloud in the UK and Ireland, agrees. “Your ability to understand your AI and machine-learning models entirely is key to your ability to roll out the technology confidently, particularly in regulated industries where trust is critical,” she says. “It’s also paramount in helping to unpick bias and other gaps in data or models. Ultimately, the more informed you are about the ‘why’ of AI-driven decisions, the more useful and responsible your AI deployments will be.”

But not all experts believe that that the draft law, which proposes fines of up to 6% of a company’s global revenue for the most severe breaches, will have a sufficiently positive effect if enacted in its current form. 

By setting the standards, we can pave the way to ethical technology worldwide

“You have to admire the EU for arriving late to the party and telling everyone to turn the music down,” says Mark K Smith, founder and CEO of ContactEngine, a conversational AI company. “I agree that AI needs regulation, but a regulation that stifles innovation would be unhelpful and lead only to developments being encouraged elsewhere.”

A well-timed reset

Van der Putten, who stresses that AI was never intended to replace human intelligence, believes that the proposed law will serve as a “reset moment” for the technology and its proponents, because it will help to improve trust. 

The EU’s intervention is timely, concurs Joe Baguley, EMEA vice-president and chief technology officer at enterprise software firm VMware. A survey by his company at the start of this year found that only 43% of Britons trust AI.

“This absence of trust can be attributed to AI’s perceived lack of transparency, which must be a key consideration for business leaders,” Baguley says. “There is no doubt that AI has the potential to revolutionise the workplace and society, but the need for explainable AI will become more pressing, as fears about the technology remain high.”

He continues: “If developers themselves don’t know why and how AI is thinking, this creates a slippery slope, as algorithms keep becoming more complex. Offering the public more insight into how AI makes decisions will give them more confidence and, in turn, help them feel more secure about the organisations that use the technology.”

The legal implications for AI in other jurisdictions

Kasia Borowska, managing director of AI consultancy Brainpool, believes that the rest of the world needs to catch up with the EU in regulating the technology. 

“The next step needs to involve making these regulations international, because uneven laws between different blocs could have catastrophic consequences in the long term,” she warns. “International leaders should look at this urgently. We know that AI will give unparalleled advantages to those in less controlled countries.”

How should businesses in the UK respond to the lead that Brussels is taking? “Be more guide dog than guard dog,” advises Caroline Gorski, group director of R² Data Labs at Rolls-Royce. “Create your own simple framework that meets the EU requirements. Focus on defining what can be done rather than what can’t, then break it down into steps, with auditable standards for each step. Join them all up and create a procedure.”

Simon Bullmore, co-founder and CEO of data-literacy consultancy Mission Drive, suggests that firms seeking guidance on explainable AI should engage the Open Data Institute, the Alan Turing Institute and the Office for Artificial Intelligence.

He urges business leaders to treat the EU’s initiative as a chance to invest in explainable AI – and to educate both themselves and their employees in the technology. 

“Regulators step in when they lose trust in the market’s competence and desire to self-regulate,” Bullmore says. “Part of the challenge of using AI is the disconnect between what leaders know about AI and what their organisations are doing with it.” 

Now that the rules of the game are changing, it will be the proactive leaders that gain the competitive edge by going back to basics with AI. 

This article first appeared in Raconteur’s AI for Business report in May 2021

Creating a crisis management plan

An unexpected crisis of some sort is almost an inevitability when you’re running a business – but you can avoid being severely affected by having a solid crisis management plan. Here’s how to put one in place …

What we’re talking about

One inarguable fact of running a business: there are countless things that could – and probably at some point will – go wrong. A delivery might go missing, you could inadvertently wade into controversial territory with a social media post, or a global pandemic could hit and reduce your revenues to zero overnight.

While you can’t avoid the crisis, you might be able to avoid some of the fallout by thinking ahead and putting plans in place for things that could go wrong, however unlikely they might seem. That’s what crisis management is all about: it’s the process of preparing to deal with a disruptive – and usually unexpected – situation or emergency. It involves work across all the functions of the business, from financial modelling to PR. How you respond publicly to an unplanned event can be critical when your community closely follows how you handle things.

Why it’s important

A crisis can happen to a business of any size – not just big multinational ones. And if recent events have taught us anything, it’s the disproportionate impact of a crisis on small businesses. 

The thing to remember is that although crises are unpredictable and you can’t directly control them, you can manage how you respond to them to lessen their impact. And the key to your response lies in having a well-laid-out plan and a robust strategy ready to go when one hits. Creating plans for hypothetical events might not be top of your priority list, especially when there are plenty of present issues to keep you occupied. But when you take the time to think about everything that could go wrong, you’ll soon realise the value of some prep. By being proactive and using good management, you can even turn a crisis into an opportunity – enriching relationships with your existing customers, and even gaining new ones.

Things to note

Crisis management is possible on a budget. Though you can spend a lot of time, money and effort on crafting a crisis management plan, there are plenty of free or inexpensive tools and templates to take advantage of as a small business.

A bad response to a crisis can have a longer-lasting impact than the event itself. For example, dealing with a crisis badly might sink staff morale and lead to customer loyalty, and consequently sales, taking a hit. That’s why it’s important to take all aspects of your response into account when you’re planning.

The scale of the crisis can affect your response. That’s why it’s useful to have several contingencies for the same crisis at different scales. For example, your plan might include instructions on what to do if your revenue falls moderately, and different instructions if your revenue drops to zero.

Managing a crisis might take up your time. Make sure your crisis plan includes ideas about how to keep the rest of your business running as smoothly as possible while you’re dealing with the unexpected. For example, by reassigning some of your team members to take over certain responsibilities while you manage the crisis itself.

How to create a crisis management plan

(1) Identify the crises your business could face. First, brainstorm all the possible problems that could pop up – and leave nothing off the table. To get you thinking, here are some common risks businesses face: a financial crisis such as a fall in revenue; a personnel crisis like unethical or illegal activities among your employees; an event that impacts your reputation; a technological crisis like a downed server or a cyberattack; or a natural crisis such as a flood or a storm.

(2) Examine the potential impact of each one. After listing all the possible internal and external issues that could come your way, start to explore how they might impact the various parts of your business, including your operations, finances, staff and reputation. Ask yourself what the knock-on effects of any event might be. For example, a supplier going bust might cause delivery delays that drive customers away – which in turn could lead to a temporary drop in sales, and leave you with less money to cover your overheads. Don’t forget to consider how much it’s likely to cost you to deal with each crisis as well. 

(3) Come up with potential solutions. Consider the crises and impacts you’ve listed and decide what actions you need to take to: reduce the likelihood that they’ll happen; resolve them in real-time; or reduce the impact they have on your business. Treating this as a collaborative exercise and gathering your team to get your collective ideas on a whiteboard is a great way to do this. Make sure you go into granular detail about how long it’ll take you to resolve the crisis, what tools and resources you’ll need, who’ll be involved and whether you’ll need to address your staff and customers – or even make a public statement. 

(4) Delegate responsibilities. Allocate specific duties to your team members – even if there are only a handful of you – and bring them up to speed with your plan. For example, you may want someone to handle some of your responsibilities, like ordering stock and managing customer orders, while you’re dealing with the crisis itself. Depending on the type of crisis, you’ll also need to identify who to get involved externally, such as solicitors, consultants or first responders.

(5) Update your plan regularly. As your business grows and circumstances change, you’ll need to revisit your plan and regularly update it. Aim to review your crisis plans at least every six months to make sure they still apply to your current team, business activities and facilities.

(6) Review your response. Finally, if you do experience a crisis, take the time to evaluate how you handled it and incorporate any learnings into the other plans you have in place or develop in the future.

Key takeaways

• Crisis management is all about advance planning for potentially disruptive situations for your business.

• This type of planning is essential for small businesses – which are likely to be disproportionately affected by major crises.

• Unexpected crises can lead to unexpected opportunities if your business survives them.

Learn more

Perspective. The leaders of international crisis and reputation management firm Bernstein Crisis Management have a blog that explores crisis management issues that appear in the news.

Example. Prohibition’s list of PR crises that various recognisable companies experienced in 2020 illustrates the breadth of issues that can affect a business.

Tool. Smartsheet offers a variety of templates for crisis management plans.

This article was originally published by Courier in May 2021

Banking in the near future: optimising risk management and resilience in the digital age

Roundtable highlights: Technology may be the great enabler for banks and their customers, but to achieve holistic risk management, culture change and education are equally important

Speakers

Charlotte Branfield, Head of operational resilience, Citi

Andrea Brody, Chief marketing officer, Riskonnect

Marc Leaver, European chief operating officer, Standard Chartered Bank

Jason Maude, Chief technology advocate, Starling Bank

Ralph Nash, Chief compliance officer, HSBC UK

Suresh Viswanathan, Chief operating officer, TSB

Future of banking (Expect Best from Pexels)

Q What is the current state of personalisation in banking in the UK and around the world?

Ralph Nash Last year’s events have accelerated some of the trends already emerging in banking. These include the increased use of automation and digitalisation and the concept of “the bank in your pocket”. Branch networks will remain important, but increasingly we see demand-led interaction around digital and that’s something we need to satisfy. A greater digital focus creates both risk and opportunity from a stability and resilience perspective. There are some risks, both technical and ethical, but if we get it right, it could be a win-win scenario for the bank and the customer. We are at an exciting juncture.

“Driven by demand for seamless customer experience and fintech partnerships, banks will become hubs where products can be plugged in and out. That’s pretty revolutionary”
Charlotte Branfield

Jason Maude In the next decade, affording customers immediate and secure access to their data in the same way they have access to their money will become a requirement, rather than a “nice to have”. If you, as a bank, cannot offer that connectivity or application programming interface (API) capability, you will be like a town the railroad missed out, and you will weaken and die. Customers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, are not going to do business with a bank that relies on paper processes.

Charlotte Branfield What makes a good bank is how fast they reach the customer, to solve their problems and provide financial services conveniently, efficiently and responsively. Therefore, the concept of a bank is evolving from the traditional bricks-and-mortar bank to an “embedded finance” model. Driven by the demand for high-quality seamless customer experience and fintech partnerships, banks will become hubs where products can be plugged in and out. When you think about banks’ business models, that’s pretty revolutionary. The whole system is changing and it’s an exciting time to be involved in operational resilience.

Marc Leaver I agree that we are at an inflexion point in banking: if we don’t change the traditional way of delivering products and services to clients, we will be redundant in the digital age. We see ourselves as a bank that connects clients, products and markets. To do this we utilise digital offerings to tap into the digital needs of our clients. Three pillars to build this: innovative partnerships exploring disruptive business models; investment in fintechs; and, arguably the most challenging element, greater internal innovation.

Suresh Viswanathan The definition of where a bank starts and finishes is transforming. Previously we have been constrained by physical infrastructure and analogue systems. As we emerge from a post-pandemic world, the march to digital is inevitable. However, as we move towards a world driven by open banking and APIs, you lose control of when demand hits. People trust banks and I think now it is obligatory to ensure we deliver more value to customers than just a current account, a loan, a mortgage and a card. It’s a unique position to be custodians of customer data and leverage that trust, and it means we, as banks, can offer them more connectivity.

Andrea Brody We talk with our financial services customers all the time. The same topics are discussed; the drive for greater automation and data analytics is taking centre stage because of the need for connectivity. It’s imperative to leverage technology, but improved risk management in corporate strategy is required and the pandemic has exacerbated the need for better reporting.

Q What are banks’ biggest operational challenges in 2021 and what problems are on the horizon?
RN The last year emphasised the importance of banks as a transmission mechanism of government policy to support individuals and businesses through the coronavirus crisis. We have effectively done years of lending in a few months, at an unprecedented level. Managing the exit from government support schemes will be a significant operational challenge for HSBC and the industry, this year and next, particularly in the UK. Customers’ payment holidays will end, but some will be unable to resume repayment on their debt. Historically banks have been worried about cash and keys, and now they should treat data and systems as crown jewels and focus on building resilience for the latter. The operating model and technologies need to support that, as well as meeting regulatory and societal expectations.

JM To keep pace with those expectations, it’s essential to have the architecture to operate faster. It’s often thought that for banks there is a seesaw-like balance between security and reliability on the one side and speed of delivery on the other. At Starling Bank, we have constructed a system that makes these two things mutually reinforcing. We rapidly deploy feature changes, new products and services, and seek bugs daily to increase resilience. This system will be vital as we look to enter new markets globally in 2021.

“We are marching to the cloud. As networks become smarter and 5G is more widespread, we can push more content into the hands of devices customers hold”
Suresh Viswanathan

ML Standard Chartered Bank has moved to a cloud-first strategy and we are looking to shift our core banking platform into the cloud by 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Regulators are beginning to become more comfortable with banks’ evolution to digital and familiar with safe data storage. Certainly, the strides made by Starling Bank and others are fabulous for the industry and the customers we serve. Partnerships with technology specialists are critical to our strategy because we know clunky platforms and traditional banking methods are not sustainable, frankly.

SV Today, 90 per cent of TSB’s customer services are digital, as is 70 per cent of our sales. In terms of operational resilience, it is very important to have a multichannel approach because you want to comfort and support customers and be readily available. We are marching to the cloud and, as networks become much smarter and 5G is more widespread, we can push more content through the pipes into the hands of devices customers hold. That capability gives us the ability to educate customers and improve financial literacy. A key imperative, though, is to become more holistic in our management of risk.

CB I agree that banks need to embrace holistic risk management and think about processes differently. At Citi, our priorities lie in better understanding our clients’ experience of using our services and improving upon it. As an industry, we have to move away from the mindset that cybersecurity, for example, is only a tech expert’s responsibility. That approach causes a disconnect concerning operational risk because, in today’s digital economy, the fundamental commodities at risk are trust, data and connectivity, not just money. If we want to manage cyber risk properly, we are going to have to have far greater engagement from the client relationship managers, the user experience designers, and the product sales and development teams, and not just within banking, but in the public sector as well.

AB Considering the customer’s viewpoint is a perfect way to look at risk holistically. Every department in a bank is responsible for risk. Thus, silos need to be broken and communication between the different functions improved, and this can now be enabled by technology.

Q How can technology help optimise risk management?
RN Increasingly, we feel there are some challenges in using data from an ethical perspective. How do we ensure we don’t end up with unintended consequences due to modelling our customers’ data? For instance, if we become more sophisticated at modelling the propensity of a customer to commit financial crime, or pose a compliance risk, do we end up inadvertently becoming less inclusive and less able to target the unbanked at a time when probably we should be trying to do the complete opposite? There is also the question of staff surveillance; what is legal but fails on the “creepiness” test?

ML The debate about vaccine passports has dominated the news recently, showing that the ethics of handling customer data is no longer a horizon risk. As banks, we are grappling with the same challenges: we know if we use data-driven insights, we can make better business decisions and we can improve the way we serve our clients. But what is the tipping point? While customer data protection has long been part of the design of a bank’s processes and systems, with increasing digitalisation, data management best practice needs to be embedded into its DNA. Ultimately, the customer’s data is a gift and we must keep it secure.

JM We think of cybercriminals as competitors who are trying to steal our business, so we combat them by making it too expensive for them to spend time trying to hack our systems. A security bug is a big draw because it allows you to hit multiple people all at once and in banks no one has coded everything from scratch. Chaos engineering is going to become more prevalent in our industry. We deliberately attack our systems in a controlled manner to test and prove we are resilient.

SV There is a lot of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in the banking industry, though some applications are more mature than others. Smart partnerships that drive innovation will be vital to delivering super specialisation, for example if you want to optimise the noise-to-signal ratio in ATM fraud. It’s about adding value to the customer, but not at the cost of impacting operational resilience. For this reason, we need to be bold, be innovative, fail fast and move on.

CB There are so many shiny new tech toys and it’s easy to think a bank has to have the latest gadgets and be deploying the latest piece of AI, but without actually understanding why. It’s critical to go back to basics and back to your first principles. Ask yourself, “What benefit is this bringing to either the business or my customers?” It’s an exciting time to be involved in resilience and risk management because it means looking carefully at your organisational structure and culture.

AB It is indeed an exciting time and there is clearly a real focus on operational resilience in the digital age from those in the financial services space. There are many challenges, but a bank’s technology stack must support the desired outcomes. It will be fascinating to see how the ethics and compliance concerns evolve in the coming years.

This article was originally published in The Times, as part of Raconteur’s Future of Banking report, in April 2021. The videos for the roundtable session, which I moderated, can be accessed here

From lean to agile: Harrods’ supply chain director on how the pandemic sparked a revolution

Simon Finch says the coronavirus outbreak left retailers grappling for new supply chain models and now organisations must scale new heights to put people and the planet before profit

The iconic doors of Harrods’ Knightsbridge store closed for the first time in its 172-year history in March 2020, when prime minister Boris Johnson enforced an initial lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus. But what did this mean for the supply chain of arguably the world’s leading luxury department store?

Incredibly, the London stalwart remained open throughout the Blitz and only shut for half a day following a 1983 terrorist attack. Consider the joy, for staff and customers alike, when the doors were unlocked on April 12. 

Speaking on the eve of the reopening, Harrods’ supply chain director Simon Finch reveals a “back-to-school feeling” and is optimistic that footfall will be impressive, despite the lack, for the moment, of wealthy tourists. “People are very keen to come back in and Harrods has the benefit of being 1.1 million square feet, so there’s plenty of space for social distancing,” he says.

From now on, the supply chain must be more about agility, to cope with volatility and uncertainty, and less about being lean

Finch began his career at Harrods 25 years ago as a graduate trainee. The amateur high-altitude mountaineer, who has scaled Himalayan peaks as well as the highest reaches of Africa and Europe, has climbed the corporate ranks and was appointed to his current role in October 2019, less than six months before the first lockdown.

While both his employer’s online operations and warehouse remained open for the duration of the pandemic, the 46-year-old concedes, with admirable honesty, that like so many other supply chain professionals, he was forced to grapple with unforeseen operational challenges and struggled initially. 

“We were probably all a bit too overconfident in the system, a bit like those in financial services when the economic crash happened in 2008, and when something unexpected hit, there was a lot of scrambling around to make things work,” he says.

Championing the technology-driven supply chain revolution

Like other UK retailers, Harrods has been buffeted by the coronavirus crisis and, more recently, Brexit fallout. It is the pandemic, though, that exposed operational weaknesses. 

“The pandemic has triggered a supply chain revolution,” says Finch. He argues, convincingly, that businesses were “obsessed with making supply chains as lean as possible” before COVID, moving items around quickly, with minimal stock and expense.

“Coronavirus completely screwed up that approach,” Finch continues, “as the organisations holding themselves up as having the leanest supply chains were the ones that had the most significant challenges as soon as there were global disruptions.

“From now on, the supply chain must be more about agility, to cope with volatility and uncertainty, and less about being lean. However, that agility has to be fully supported by technology and data insights. Whereas previously we have used technology to create a leaner supply chain, now the tech needs to provide the knowledge to make better decisions to drive agility and visibility.”

Data can’t get stuck in the Suez Canal, nor does it get held up at the borders with Europe

Given that Harrods was established in 1849 with the rather ambitious motto of omnia omnibus ubique (all things for all people, everywhere), the consumer behaviour trends accelerated by the pandemic forced the business to keep pace with change and embrace the digital age. Little surprise, then, that Harrods has recently employed more data scientists. 

“Understanding our customers, and how we can serve them better, and starting to use artificial intelligence, whether for our replenishment operations, to make sure we have the right amount of stock, or to manage outbound fulfilment volumes, is paramount,” says Finch. “Data can’t get stuck in the Suez Canal, nor does it get held up at the borders with Europe. And the sharing of data with our partners delivers a better operating model for the end-to-end supply chain.”

Data insights and deeper relationships driving sustainability

Technology alone, though, is not enough to drive the supply chain revolution, according to Finch. He contends that it is critical for those operating in the industry to “go retro” and forge or nurture deeper relationships with suppliers, service providers and brand partners. 

“Because the pandemic messed everything up, and we didn’t know what was happening, we picked up the phone and spoke to trusted partners and suppliers to all pull things together,” he says. “It was a return to the supply chain of the 1900s.”

Moreover, the combination of emboldened trusted relationships and data insights, plus greater diversity in terms of distribution nodes, inside and outside the UK, enables Harrods to develop a more sustainable supply chain. 

The sustainability agenda is critical to the luxury industry and we will lose sales if we don’t do this right

“As a father to two eco-conscious girls, I’m incredibly passionate about sustainability and building a brighter future,” says Finch. “I believe it’s the responsibility of all supply chain professionals and businesses to ensure we are doing the right thing for our customers. Therefore, putting the product closer to the consumer, through a decentralised supply chain and more localised distribution, is a win-win scenario. 

“Also, from a purely commercial perspective, this is the direction in which our customers want us to go; the sustainability agenda is critical to the luxury industry and we will lose sales if we don’t do this right.”

To illustrate his vision, Finch uses an example of how inefficient and harmful to the planet the supply chain and fulfilment processes can be from an ecommerce perspective. Goods might be manufactured and shipped from the United States to the UK only to be then sold online and shipped back to an American-based customer. 

“We are doing everything wrong if we create that unnecessary movement from a sustainability perspective, and also it increases costs and length of delivery time,” he says.

The COVID crisis may have sparked a supply chain revolution, but it is a work in progress for many retailers, including Harrods. Stressing the importance of diversity, data insights and developing trusted relationships for supply chains of the near future, Finch adds: “By having products that are local to customers, we can serve them more quickly, more cost effectively and more sustainably, while reducing risk, because the goods aren’t moving as far.” 

Through shifting its business model and with this smarter, tech-powered approach to the supply chain, Harrods will stand a good chance of keeping its doors, both physical and virtual, open for many years to come.

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Procurement and Supply Chain Innovation report in April 2021

Dell’s digital boss on being a change agent for transformation

Jen Felch is leveraging her deep knowledge and experience from 17 years at Dell to manage change, drive collaboration and supercharge innovation

What’s the secret to achieving as smooth a digital transformation journey as possible? Taking your people every small step of the way with clear communication and, more specifically, letting them help plot the route. This insight is shared by an expert perfectly placed to offer an opinion on the subject: Jen Felch, Dell Technologies’ chief digital and information officer.

In September 2019, she took on the dual roles for the first time in the computer technology company’s 37-year history. Back then, like everyone else, Felch had no inkling of the coronavirus-induced disruption that lay ahead. 

During the pandemic, from her home in Austin, Texas, she has been at the helm to navigate the organisation’s road to recovery, driving the strategy, direction and delivery for Dell Digital, Dell’s IT arm. 

As if that wasn’t enough, Felch combines her responsibilities as CDO and CIO alongside “the emerging role of change agent for digital transformation”. No wonder the 53-year-old has taken up hot yoga to help increase her physical and mental flexibility.

Aside from an eight-month stint with Boeing in 2010, she has been employed by Dell since April 2003. Her deep knowledge of the company is hugely beneficial to steering digital transformation, particularly in a period of epochal change. Felch has access to all areas, is a trusted ally and understands various stakeholders’ pain points.

“I started my career as a software developer and spent two years working in the Dell factories as part of a development rotation, and it was a fabulous experience,” says Felch. “That hands-on operational experience is invaluable and I still leverage it today. I don’t have to imagine what it is like in a factory because I have first-hand knowledge.”

Digital transformation: a never-ending continuum

Felch boasts a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an alumnus of the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, where she earned her MBA and a Master’s in computer science. She continues: “Thanks to my 17 years with Dell, I can make use of a network of people across the company. 

“I can pick up the phone to find out what is really happening in a certain area and what people are truly thinking. By understanding what they are trying to achieve and how we can make them more effective, employees are less resistant towards technology adoption and change.”

We might have great technology, but it is having highly skilled people who are available and have the environment in which to innovate that makes the difference

Indeed, when asked about the biggest challenge to successful digital transformation, Felch is quick to answer: change management. “You need the right mechanisms – people, tools and processes – for managing and leading change. You need people within your organisation who will champion change, interact with the business and with the technical teams, and drive understanding and solutions to opportunities.” 

She posits it is “human nature” to find change daunting, hence why there is resistance, at least initially. However, Felch acknowledges the irony of IT professionals needing to be more communicative, collaborative and, well, human in 2021. Man and machine must comprehend one another and stride ahead together to enable an optimal digital transformation journey.

“Today, IT all depends on developing the right engineering culture within an organisation,” Felch says. “At Dell, we are highly dependent on how we engage with others and we have to draw out those latent needs, so we understand where we are going and innovate accordingly. 

“We might have great technology, but it is having highly skilled people who are available and have the environment in which to innovate that makes the difference.”

Little surprise, then, that Felch views digital transformation, both for her company and its clients, as a “continuum that doesn’t end”. She explains: “For us, digital transformation is much more than upgrading a server rack; it is about a mindset to keep the whole business performing and moving forward. As we look ahead, we’re finding the balance between security, privacy and ease-of use, which I believe can be accomplished with good design.”

Further, she is a “firm believer” in Dell’s lean and agile methodology concerning development that drives transformation. “Our iterative approach is delivering great results,” Felch says, lauding a more open, collaborative mindset across the business and also with trusted partners. 

“It’s incredibly powerful when you pair strong technologists with strong business partners and modern IT, like a developer experience rooted in self-service, to drive transformation. That’s where you see multiple wins of creating better experiences, improving employee satisfaction and driving out cost.”

Lean and agile development: delivering results

The outcomes are impressive. She claims that by eliminating redundant work and reducing manual tasks or testing, Dell Technologies has shifted around 10 per cent of its workforce into the development team to “be able to engage with our business partners directly to develop new solutions”.

The company has also reduced its cycle time to deploy new capabilities by 30% and the number of incidents – when a user calls for help – by 31%. It has done this, Felch says, through a focus on user experience, fixing the root cause of existing problems and driving quality in new capabilities.

“The net of it all is that we’re getting faster and more responsive, quality is improving and we have better engagement with our business partners. That’s what digital transformation is all about,” she says.

Finally, Felch stresses how business-critical it is for organisations to “embrace digital transformation”. Those that do not, and are closed to change and constant evolution, will fail – and sooner, rather than later.

“Digital transformation can drive growth opportunities, enhance customer experiences, better connect employees and continue to accelerate positive change within a business,” she explains. 

Given Felch’s wealth of knowledge and experience, it’s worth heeding her words of wisdom.

Felch’s top five tips for leading through digital transformation

  1. Start small
    Find the people who are willing to drive change and solve their first problem. Solve it, celebrate it and let that be the example that you build upon for broader transformation. Having people who can step back, see the larger opportunity or problem that could improve other areas or be replicated, and interact with designers, developers, and so on, can serve as powerful change agents within your organisation.
  2. Focus on the end user experience
    Take the time to listen and observe the problem or opportunity. This avoids the “telephone game” and helps surface latent needs that will delight the user.
  3. Invest in your own processes and team
    Create and embed common ways of working and interacting for the entire team so that it is easy for people to focus on the problem. Have common processes for tracking status and priorities so that people can bring their expertise, whether that’s in DevOps, design, or user experience, to solve the problem efficiently. 
  4. Stay connected to your teams
    Keep providing context and communicate priorities left and right, up and down, to help keep everyone pulling together in the same direction. Stay close so that you can jump in to help remove obstacles, celebrate successes and to remind people that change can be hard. Mistakes will happen but if we commit to learn quickly and to move forward together, driving real change is hugely rewarding.
  5. Be optimistic
    Stay flexible, agile and be ready to pivot. Be optimistic about the present and excited for what transformation will deliver in the future.

This article was first published by Raconteur in April 2021

Five priorities for CIOs in 2021

Trends accelerated by the coronavirus crisis present challenges and opportunities; dealing with both has increased the workload for chief information officers

1 Regulatory compliance and security

The entry might have been number one in the charts for the past few years, but the mass jump to working away from the office catalysed by lockdown has meant chief information officers (CIOs) must be on top of data management, security and compliance. 

“The shift towards remote work and digital operations has meant the information security posture of many businesses, faced with an increasing amount of threats, has had to improve,” says Federico Baldo, CIO at Eurotech, a multinational company supplying internet of things solutions.

“Security starts at the top of an organisation and, while chief executives do not need to be security experts, they do benefit from an accurate understanding of the relevance of security to their organisation. And for many smaller businesses, in particular, it is the CIO’s job to lead the internal security programmes.”

Caroline Carruthers, chief executive of data strategists Carruthers and Jackson and former chief data officer at Network Rail, says a mindset transformation is required. “My biggest piece of advice for CIOs when it comes to regulatory compliance is they need to stop thinking about security and privacy as a tick-box exercise,” she says. “It’s essential they see this as a positive opportunity rather than a hurdle to overcome.”

There are enormous advantages for the organisations that get compliance right, she insists, from increased customer trust to more secure intellectual property.

2 Modernise IT infrastructure and systems

COVID has tested the robustness of supply chains, business models and information technology systems alike. In many cases, it exposed worrying vulnerabilities. 

“After the immediate response to the pandemic, it allowed the time to look at IT systems and assess whether they remained fit for purpose,” says Jean-Sébastien Pelland, deputy managing director of Eland Cables, a global supplier of cables and cable accessories.

“Businesses constantly evolve, requiring IT systems to adapt rather than making wholesale changes, simply due to the pace and perhaps uncertainty of the new avenues. Now is the time to make sure the systems match the business as it stands today.”

This chimes with Sharon Mandell, CIO of Juniper Networks, a multinational cybersecurity company. “As we ‘cloudify’ and ‘SaaSify’ our entire product line, Juniper also needs to update its IT architecture. We need one that’s more nimble, that brings new capabilities and that’s more user aware to enable the experience our customers and partners desire throughout their journey with us,” she says.

Like many organisations, Juniper has pivoted its offering, in part because of the pandemic fallout. “Modernising IT is a priority now as many of our systems were built around a business model that delivered hardware, with embedded software only, and traditional technical support and services,” says Mandell.

3 Ensure real-time visibility of critical data

“The world we’re living in is moving faster than ever and organisations relying on data even one week old are behind the curve,” warns data strategist Carruthers. “The nature and speed of change in 2021 will make real-time visibility of critical data the single biggest factor in winning new business across almost all industries this year.” 

She advises that “CIOs need to make sure they have insight into what is going on in their industries in real time” to make accurate predictions.

Rich Murr, CIO at Epicor, a global provider of enterprise resource planning software for the manufacturing, distribution, retail and service industries, agrees. He calls actionable data “the holy grail” of IT. “And sometimes it’s seemingly just as difficult to obtain,” he says. “The challenge is less about systems and more about the business processes that produce and consume the data. 

“CIOs need to educate their business peers, not to sit back and expect clean data to appear magically in their systems, but instead to take strong ownership and execute the hard business process improvement work necessary to create actionable data.”

4 Engage and educate the workforce

On Murr’s point of driving education and training, so employees can use all IT systems capabilities and have a good handle on data management, this is another important CIO task. “IT needs to work for the worker,” says Tim Christensen, chief technology officer at workforce communications platform SocialChorus.

Football Association CIO Craig Donald says: “Facilitating tech literacy will be central to my role in boosting enjoyment and attainment as the football community comes back to life in 2021. Particularly in non-tech organisations, CIOs shouldn’t just go in there being the mystical gurus of technology. Get a dialogue going and show how tech can directly impact relationships.”

Educating staff is particularly challenging for Jo Drake, CIO of The Hut Group, the retail and property company that in September attracted the largest initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange since 2013. “As part of a global business that is expanding at a rapid rate, it’s important to have the best team possible and the right talent to grow with us,” she says, pointing to several schemes that attract and nurture tech talent.

5 Make full use of cloud computing 

Eurotech CIO Baldo urges businesses to “go full-on cloud”. He says: “If the business gross margin is not sensitive to slightly higher costs, there are many more advanced and integrated security capabilities that smaller businesses can leverage through the use of cloud services from AWS, Azure, Google or IBM than could be achieved on-premise, within the same budget.” It is the CIO’s responsibility to manage the move to the cloud and beyond.

Dr Anjali Subburaj, chief architect of digital commerce at multinational manufacturer Mars, believes businesses can move up a level in this area. “Adoption of cloud computing allows IT teams to focus exclusively on driving business outcomes via their endeavours instead of grappling with IT infrastructure issues,” she says. 

Once the cloud is embraced, more tech opportunities become accessible. “CIOs should also be prioritising the introduction of an artificial intelligence-embedded approach,” Subburaj adds. “This will improve the accuracy and relevancy of outputs, such as supply and demand, and personalised product recommendations to consumers.”

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Future CIO report in March 2021

The pros and cons of Bill Gates’ green premiums

Bill Gates recently published his “green manifesto”, but is it feasible for organisations to follow and, if not, what should businesses be doing instead?

You could argue it is a bit rich that Bill Gates, co-founder of technology titan Microsoft and one of the world’s wealthiest people, is calling for businesses to drive climate change. However, there is no debating that consumer and investor demand is forcing organisations to clean up their processes for the future of an endangered planet.

In How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, his latest book styled a “green manifesto”, published in February, the 65-year-old billionaire introduces the concept of “green premiums” or the differences in cost between a fossil-fuel-based way of doing something and the clean, non-emitting way of doing the same thing. But how achievable is Gates’ vision?

A fresh approach to doing business is essential to avoid a climate disaster, posits Gates. This new way requires courage from business leaders to take on risks they are not used to taking and also that investors are not used to rewarding. It’s a simple problem, he suggests: we must stop greenhouse gases by the middle of the century or else.

Green premiums essentially show how much it will cost to “zero out emissions” in all sectors of the economy where fossil fuels are involved, including producing electricity, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and heating and cooling. 

There are four areas where organisations can make “a practical difference”, according to Gates. The first involves “mobilising capital” to reduce green premiums. Second, businesses should buy greener products. Next, they should expand research and development. Finally, drive down green premiums by shaping public policies.

“Working in these four areas will not always be comfortable,” Gates concedes, though he adds: “These are short-term costs required of every business leader who wants to do more than pay lip service to climate change. In the long run, these risky steps will be good for business.”

The global reaction to his green manifesto, and green premiums in particular, has been ambivalent. Molly Scott Cato, a Green Party politician, who from 2014 until last year served as a member of the European parliament for South-West England, is in two minds about them. 

“As an economist, I like and agree with the green premiums principle of using market incentives to tackle the climate emergency and the consideration of how to achieve wellbeing with minimum energy use is important,” she says.

On the flip side, the professor of economics and finance at the University of Roehampton, says: “Green premiums are too technologically focused and adopt the adage that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Scott Cato contends the planet’s systems are highly complex and ungovernable: “Many of the solutions require social rather than technological innovation.” 

Stressing the need for greater international collaboration and higher appreciation of the complexities, she says: “Gates’ proposal is also too exclusively focused on the climate and consequently risks displacement, for example where are the biofuels grown and have they destroyed peatlands for food growth?”

Oliver Bolton, chief executive of Earthly, a tech platform that helps businesses become “climate positive” through science-backed natural solutions, identifies another hurdle. “The use of green premiums is ultimately going to be driven by governments changing policy,” he says, “so it could be hard at the outset for businesses to use the model.”

Dr Jane Davidson, pro vice chancellor for sustainability and external engagement at the University of Wales, is more scathing of green premiums. “I’m disappointed at the proposition that ‘green’ is more expensive,” says the former minister for environment and sustainability in Wales. “This is classic short-term thinking, when each year the costs of us not being green goes up, contributing to climate change. 

“Green premiums are the wrong answer to the wrong question. We need a new value system that drives climate and biodiversity-led action, and drives out fossil fuels, waste and obsolescence.”

Despite the headlines and promises, there is concern that environmental, social and corporate governance strategies are largely meaningless, in part because they are not regulated and tricky to measure accurately. Moreover, could it be that by committing to a net-zero target in 29 years, as many have, businesses are delaying action on climate change, as it is not an imminent worry?

Indeed, while a search on financial data service Sentieo indicates that references to 2050 in corporate literature have doubled in the past two years, a PwC survey released in mid-March found climate change ranked ninth among global chief executives’ perceived threats to growth. Additionally, 27 per cent of the executives surveyed reported being “not concerned at all” or “not very concerned” about climate change.

Worryingly, this tallies with research from French-headquartered digital design software corporation Dassault Systèmes, published in September, that shows the coronavirus crisis caused 32 per cent of organisations to scale down attention given to environmental sustainability, while 18 per cent paused it completely.

“As organisations come out of crisis mode, it is vital they quickly return to making environmental sustainability a priority,” urges Séverine Trouillet, public sector and education director for Dassault Systèmes in Northern Europe. “This can be done by setting short to mid-term goals to help reach long-term ambitions, as well as building upon the already accelerated adoption of technology to reduce their footprint and increase their handprint, making positive impacts on the environment and communities.”

Trouillet believes those companies that act now can still achieve a competitive advantage. “Eco-conscious consumers will continue to vote with their wallets, meaning businesses failing to take it seriously will lose revenue and struggle to keep pace with rivals,” she says.

Peter Bakker, president and chief executive of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, concurs. But he says a new wave of leadership thinking is imperative. “Three radical and strategic business mindset shifts – reinvention, resilience and regeneration – are critical to realising a sustainable and inclusive society,” the Dutchman says. 

Bakker concludes: “It is time to move beyond ambition and targets and make net zero real, within the next decade.”

This article first appeared in Raconteur’s Sustainable Business report, published in April 2021

Why occupational health is now a top priority

Ethics aside, supporting the physical and mental health of employees creates a win-win scenario in the post-pandemic workplace, but there are challenges to providing better support

The coronavirus crisis has squeezed the life out of so much we previously took for granted, at home and at work. Things have changed, irreversibly. Many people express both a heightened appreciation of life and respect for mortality. But how does this translate to occupational health? 

As organisations begin to coax their employees back to the workplace, the expectation that employers should support the mental and physical health of staff, particularly in a workplace setting, has been dialled up in the past year. 

To instil confidence in employees that a return to work is safe, many companies provide COVID-19 rapid lateral flow tests, promise better ventilation, rigorous cleaning programmes and gallons of hand sanitiser. But is it enough? Should businesses take more accountability for their workers’ health?

According to employee benefits provider Unum’s Value of Help study, published in December, 86 per cent of UK employers have changed their approach to staff health and wellbeing because of the coronavirus situation. 

Moreover, 95 per cent of the 350 employers surveyed revealed the pandemic has “impacted their need to make employees feel more protected”, says Glenn Thompson, chief distribution officer at Unum UK. “Whether it is from individuals, communities or organisations, 2020 has brought the value of help and support to the front of all our minds,” he adds.

Dr Robin Hart, co-founder of Companion, which offers mental health support tools, is pleased organisations are showing a greater willingness to look after staff. “A lack of focus in this area historically has seen an increase in lost revenue and diminished productivity,” he says. “Attitudes have had to change in a very reactive way due to the pandemic. In reality, it’s accelerated a process which would have played out anyway, eventually.”

Win-win scenario

Besides, supporting staff health and wellbeing creates a win-win scenario. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) data shows that in the 12 months to March 2020, when the first lockdown came into force, approximately 828,000 workers, the equivalent of 2,440 per 100,000 people, were affected by work-related stress, depression or anxiety. This absenteeism resulted in an estimated 17.9 million working days lost. In the previous year, the cost of workplace injury and ill health was calculated by HSE at £16.2 billion.

“Nobody’s health should be worse at the end of a shift than it was at the start,” says Dr Craig Jackson, professor of occupational health psychology at Birmingham City University. “If it is poorer, then there is something morally, ethically and legally wrong in that workplace.”

He believes there is a newfound respect for occupational health departments. “The excellent, proactive work undertaken by many professionals in preparing COVID-secure workplaces – assessing staff return to workplaces, COVID screening, testing, tracking and tracing – will lead to people realising occupational health is not just somewhere to go to when you are ill and unable to work,” he says.

Jackson acknowledges “supporting staff better than before does involve additional time and costs”, but argues such spending is a good investment. This is backed by research from Deloitte, published last year, that estimates for every £1 spent by employers on mental health interventions, they gain £5 back in business value.

“Not only is there a strong moral case for employers to look after staff health, but it makes good business sense, too,” agrees Oliver Harrison, chief executive of Koa Health, provider of mental health programmes. “Healthy workplaces attract the best talent. They also avoid the negative impact of illness on productivity, measured in staff turnover, absenteeism and presenteeism.”

Wellbeing challenges

From a legal standpoint, organisations have a statutory obligation to protect their staff from physical and mental harm. However, Elena Cooper, employment consultant at Discreet Law, reports that “a large number of employees are taking advantage of what they perceive to be their employer’s duties around mental health”.

She asks: “We know a caring and supportive employer is a good employer, but where do you draw the line between being a profit-making entity and a nanny state?” With the prospect of businesses having to afford time off to long-COVID sufferers in the coming months, if not years, it’s a pertinent question.

Ethical and legal debates aside, organisations face other pressing challenges to improve staff wellbeing. “One of the greatest barriers is ensuring healthcare support tends to the needs of all who work within a company,” says Bob Andrews, chief executive of private medical cover provider Benenden Health. 

“There is often a disconnect between what employees want to see from a health and wellbeing programme and what businesses offer. Also employees are not the same and therefore a one-size-fits-all approach is outdated and ineffective.” He advises using a range of tools, including mental health apps, as well as low-cost human management.

Luke Bullen, chief executive in the UK and Ireland at Gympass, which seeks to improve wellbeing through exercise classes, spots another issue. “One of the major challenges for a post-pandemic workforce is going to be the hybrid workplace,” he says. “How do employees ensure their wellbeing strategy works just as well for those working at their tables as though working in the office?” Empowering staff to “tailor the wellbeing offering” is critical, he suggests. 

Spurred by events of the last 12 months, occupational health will surge in importance in the coming years. “By 2025 I expect it to be available anywhere, anytime, thanks to digital advancement,” predicts Paul Shawcross, clinical lead of occupational health services at physiotherapy provider Connect Health. His company employs an artificial intelligence-chatbot as a method of referral that “triages the patient to the right support for them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.

Whether it is bot therapists, wellbeing apps or human professionals, employers need to prioritise occupational health in the post-pandemic workplace. Support, of any kind, is what staff truly want and need right now.

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Future of Healthcare report in March 2021

How can purpose support growth targets?

Company culture is central to achieve staff engagement and motivation, and the coronavirus global crisis has provided an opportunity to pivot and rewrite business models

A happy worker is a productive worker, goes the oft-repeated business aphorism. It is incredibly challenging, though, to keep the workforce motivated through periods of significant change, such as during the early stages of a digital transformation journey or while a startup is experiencing rapid growth. However, change is something most organisations have experienced in 2020, as the coronavirus chaos has touched every part of our lives.

Business leaders should be sensitive to this current climate of uncertainty and potential bad news. Further, they must be careful not to become fixated on the bottom line and drive staff to hit growth targets. Taking this myopic view, and not paying due consideration to staff wellbeing and happiness, runs the risk of alienating the workforce.

Focus on your culture and the business will take care of itself

Organisations that foster and communicate an inclusive, company-wide culture driven by a clearly defined purpose are likely to find scaling more manageable. And now, following the global crisis, is the time for organisations to seize the opportunity to reset their culture.

“Focus on your culture and the business will take care of itself,” says Eissa Khoury, executive director for culture and engagement at Landor, a global branding and design agency. “Having a strong culture often translates into fewer checks and balances, and boosts efficiency as employees have much better clarity on what is expected of them, and how they’re meant to work collectively towards a common goal.”

Good communication and positive contributions

David Mills, chief executive of technology giant Ricoh Europe, goes further and posits an organisation looking to attract and retain top talent while scaling, and also appealing to consumers, must lead with a purpose that benefits society.

“Financial margins are no longer the sole indicator of business success or growth, sustainability must be at the centre of a modern business,” he says. “People are looking to employers to set an example and make more positive contributions to the communities in which they operate.”

Indeed, for positive contributions to permeate throughout an organisation’s culture, they must come from the top down, says Khoury. And leaders have to be transparent and communicate plans and progress, as well as setbacks, to staff.

Company news, he says, ought to be disseminated regularly and through various channels, particularly when people aren’t physically in the same space. Moreover, leaders should engage employees by encouraging their ideas and acting on them, so staff become more emotionally invested in the project.

“When scaling and growing a company, stress and long hours are often unavoidable,” says Khoury. “The essential advice for leaders is not to lose their sense of humanity and to appreciate that pushing teams too hard for too long is a terrible long-term strategy.

“If companies want their employees to be ‘bought in’ to the strategy, then they need to have a sense of ownership. The easiest way to accomplish that is to keep employees aware of how the company is doing, warts and all.

“Should companies try to push the company line to make employees think everything is rosy, they will see right through it, which creates mistrust and disengagement. Treat employees with respect, let them know what’s happening and make them feel like their contribution matters.”

Transparency breeds trust

Abbie Walsh, chief design officer at Fjord, an Accenture-backed design and innovation agency, agrees. “A focus on financial growth means companies risk losing sight of the very culture and values their brand was built on,” she says. “And if employees aren’t already feeling like a cog in a machine, the new hires, team restructures, redefined roles and a mountain of new processes that come with business expansion is sure to lead to levels of dissatisfaction.”

Walsh believes having a clear purpose will increasingly become critical for organisations, small and large. She points to the Fjord Trends 2020 report that suggests we should care more about our impact on the planet.

“In 2019, questions about capitalism’s trajectory of endless growth with profit as the sole measurable moved from shouting on the streets to conversations in the boardroom,” she says. “There is an urgent need for businesses to redefine value, reassess their goals and scale in a way that serves the interests of investors, society and employees at the same time.”

This article – sponsored by Nespresso – first appeared on Raconteur’s Return to the Workplace for SMEs report in March 2021

How can a coffee break help the bottom line?

Communal coffee breaks, whether working from home or in the office, are an increasingly important way to relax and unwind, and boost productivity

In Sweden, they call it fika. Essentially it is a coming together where staff take a break and time out to socialise and promote wellbeing. York-based staff management software company RotaCloud introduced fika to the workplace in 2018, to “help make people’s days better”, according to co-founder James Lintern. “It’s a time when everyone can make a cup of coffee, have a snack and talk,” he says. 

“We don’t force people to take a break, but we strongly encourage it and we use automated alerts on Slack to remind people.” Lintern says the practice has had a positive impact on staff and, in turn, productivity. 

“Having this time set aside within the working day is very important,” he continues, “because it creates an environment of sharing and learning, and helps employees build a support system within the office. This is about fostering a mentality that makes it OK to stop, slow down and reflect.”

While the coronavirus has driven new ways of working and triggered an initial exodus from the office, this practice is even more important for both people and businesses. The stress of having to work away from the office, possibly juggling family commitments in addition to the uncertainty of the future, has led many people to work harder than before. This approach is counter-productive, says Dr Argyro Avgoustaki, associate professor of management at ESCP Business School.

“The more the employee is working, especially if there is no break or resting time, the more the productivity decreases, because they do not get the chance to recover physically, mentally or emotionally,” she says. “Working constantly without taking any breaks between or within working days may result in employees who are exhausted, fatigued and stressed.”

Healthy body, healthy mind

Given the sudden shift to mass home working, where conditions might not be optimal, there is even more reason to take regular breaks, argues Mark Fletcher, clinical director at occupational physiotherapy provider Physio Med. 

“Sitting for longer than 20 minutes has negative effects on your body, including an increase in musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain, while extended periods of sitting can affect the spine, neck and shoulders. This, in turn, can also affect the arms, elbows and wrists,” he says, suggesting employees should move away from their desks every 30 minutes, even if just for a few paces.

When it comes to better managing remote-working teams, regular check-ins are vital, to ensure employees are happy with their work and also, arguably more importantly, that their mental health is supported. Business leaders should view this as an opportunity to show their human, compassionate side, says Susan Hodkinson, chief operating officer at Canadian accounting firm Crowe Soberman in Toronto. 

“Communication should be frequent and transparent,” she says. “We have a virtual coffee event, which replicates the kitchen coffee chat with co-workers. You’re trying to have those touchpoints you would have in the office.

Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Facebook, agrees that virtual coffee meet-ups help keep colleagues connected, even virtually. She enjoys “coffee roulette”, using videoconferencing tools. “You enter your name and then play coffee roulette with colleagues. The random nature of it creates surprise. It’s a great way to get to know people in 15 minutes,” says Mendelsohn, adding it’s especially good for people joining the company.

Benefits of informal catch-ups

Tania Garrett, vice president of international employee experience at Adobe, says relaxing coffee breaks, whether in the office or while remote working, with other members of the team are essential for boosting morale. “One of the things we hear a lot from our employees is that they are missing their colleagues and the informal catch-ups,” she says. “As such, we have strongly encouraged our people managers to create opportunities for non-work catch-ups like ‘coffee chats’ or team events.” 

For the more introverted employees, Garrett encourages small groups for coffee chats so “everyone can feel safe and included in conversation and managers can ensure everyone’s voice is heard”. She adds: “These informal moments are critical for our teams to take time out from work and connect on a personal level.”

Organisations seeking to make their offices more welcoming to staff should think about the provision of quality coffee, says Beth Hampson, commercial director of The Argyll Club, which offers more than 35 flex-work spaces in London. “Coffee at work isn’t just for the caffeine-fanatic anymore; most professionals now want a quality hot beverage every day so offices can no longer afford to have below-par coffee,” she says. 

Coffee at work isn’t just for the caffeine-fanatic anymore; most professionals now want a quality hot beverage every day

Members of The Argyll Club can now take advantage of Nespresso on offer at their workplaces. “We’ve even had all of our teams retrained on how to make an exceptional cup of coffee,” says Hampson.

Ultimately, it’s people who power any business, so looking after them, in the office or at home, and providing them with ample opportunity to take coffee breaks creates a win-win situation. And as employees do return to the office, those workplaces that can offer quality coffee on-site will claim the hearts and minds of staff.
“After months at home, members told us they miss the city’s quality coffee shops, bars and restaurants as well as their offices and teammates,” adds Hampson. “So bringing all these much-loved elements together in one safe destination is the future of work for us.”

This article – sponsored by Nespresso – first appeared on Raconteur’s website in March 2021

Virtual onboarding: the new reality

Having to join a company virtually is likely to outlast the coronavirus pandemic as many companies shift to more permanent remote working. But this raises challenges over how to get new starters up to speed and feel part of a company

The deep trepidation felt by Jeevan Singh when she was appointed finance officer of influencer marketing platform Fanbytes in September is relatable for those who have endured a remote onboarding process in the past year, especially workers at the start of their career.

“Starting a new job in lockdown was terrifying,” says the 23 year old, who in 2019 graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London. “I thought I’d feel like an outsider and lack the essential team-working environment. Above all, I was worried that I’d miss out on training and be left to figure out how to do things.”

Fanbytes’ suite of online collaboration tools and a “fantastic culture” of frequent, virtual meetings and social events soon allayed her fears, though. “For anyone looking to start a new job remotely or for businesses wanting to create a more inclusive culture, regular face-to-face calls and chats should be at the top of the agenda,” recommends Singh. “While I haven’t met any of my colleagues in person yet – and they may all turn out to be catfishing [creating a fake identity] – I nevertheless feel like I know them well.”

Charlie Johnson, founder and chief executive of BrighterBox, a London-based recruitment firm that places graduates with startups, agrees that for younger talent beginning a full-time job virtually is particularly daunting. His organisation’s research reveals that more than a third (36 per cent) of respondents feel less confident about starting a role remotely, although 44 per cent say it would make no difference.

“Ultimately, what new starters are looking for in 2021 is plenty of contact time: one to ones with their direct managers as well as the wider team and virtual socials to get to know teammates on a more personal and less formal level,” says Johnson.

Managing a remote team by example

What about remote onboarding as a new manager? Having amassed 16 years’ experience working in financial services, Cedrick Parize was perhaps not as terrified as Singh when, last March, he joined MUFG as Europe, Middle East and Africa head of internal audit for the bank’s global markets. However, 12 months after he took up his position, Parize is yet to meet any of the eight-strong team, two of whom he hired, in the flesh.

“Initially, with it being the start of the first lockdown, it was a challenge to get a feel for the team,” he says. “So much human communication is performed through body language and experiencing a person’s energy.”

From the outset at MUFG, Parize was open minded and flexible, even agreeing to reschedule meetings so they didn’t clash with Joe Wicks’ workout sessions, and keen to display his human side. 

Ultimately, what new starters are looking for in 2021 is plenty of contact time.

“I encouraged video calls and switched my camera on, no matter how bad my outfit was,” he says. “There was no pressure for others to do the same, but I was happy to see that through leading by example, and slowly building up relationships, my team began to feel more comfortable, turning on their cameras. This change helped enormously to gain a sense of each individual.”

Clearly, the coronavirus crisis has transformed hiring practices and talent management. While organisations are struggling to keep pace with the change necessitated by government-enforced remote working, the direction of travel is evident. “Virtual recruitment and onboarding are undoubtedly here to stay,” says Jon Addison, vice president at professional social network LinkedIn. 

Indeed, 84 per cent of the 1,500 human resources and talent professionals surveyed from around the world for LinkedIn’s The Future of Recruiting report predict virtual recruiting will outlast COVID-19.

Winning the war for talent in 90 days

Addison argues that as the war for talent intensifies, organisations must sharpen their remote onboarding, career development and training capabilities. “The first few days in a job are extremely important in setting up new joiners well,” he says. “Remote onboarding can make that challenging, particularly for younger generations joining the workforce who may not know what to expect.”

The most progressive organisations will start the experience well in advance of the new hire’s first day. Addison says this is achieved by connecting them to their team, ensuring home office equipment arrives, if remote working is possible, and sending a welcome package that includes information about company culture and explaining what the coming days and weeks might entail.

As vice president of people and operations at ClassPass, the fitness and wellness network that hit a $1-billion valuation last year, and with almost 400 employees distributed across 30 countries, Hollen Spatz has had to ensure her organisation’s remote onboarding runs smoothly. 

All hires join a programme coined “the 90-day warm-up”. The onboarding process starts with “a few surprises in the mail, including some company swag” and a personalised note from the ClassPass leadership team. The programme consists of a series of sessions introducing new team members to various aspects of the organisation over a three-month period.

“Onboarding and staff retention go hand in hand,” says Spatz. “An employee’s experience in the first 90 days of their role will have a massive impact on their happiness, productivity and longevity with a company.”

To accelerate the assimilation, ClassPass has also created a series of virtual check-ins with managers so beginners are clear on their role expectations and have ample opportunity to raise questions.

Finally, Spatz acknowledges that the remote onboarding process requires continuous tweaking. “We used to send out gift cards for a welcome lunch over Zoom, but quickly realised people might not feel comfortable eating in front of new colleagues on camera,” she concedes. 

With remote onboarding and virtual training set to remain, there’s plenty for business leaders to chew over to improve the recipe for success.

Five tips to improve remote onboarding

1. Divide and conquer interview duties

Moneypenny, a global outsourced communications provider, has recruited more than 350 new staff members since March 2020, and group chief executive Joanna Swash believes the secret to a successful hire is to divide and conquer. “We have two people to carry out remote interviews,” she says. “This allows each person to ask different questions and enables them to watch body language while the other person is talking.”

2. Use technology solutions to ease the load

Alexander Nicolaus, chief people officer at Paysend, a UK-based international money transfer fintech, urges business leaders to embrace technology solutions to improve hiring and training efficiencies. “We built an onboarding intranet that acts as a self-service toolkit for new joiners,” he says. This facility relieves the pressure on the business and allows employees to access a wide range of information.

3. Build a remote culture

GitLab is a fully remote technology company that has 13,000 employees spread across 67 countries. Head of remote Darren Murph says the key to successful remote onboarding is instilling a company culture. “The three key aspects are our commitment to working handbook first, being outcomes focused and having intentional communication,” he says.

4. Buddy up new hires

Being assigned a work buddy is vital for remote hires, according to Nicole Alvino, co-founder and head of strategy at SocialChorus, a workforce communications platform. “We added ‘sidekicks’ early on in the pandemic to ensure every person would have a personal connection. The sidekick is a person who can help navigate the culture.”

5. Introduce the CEO

In many ways remote onboarding has improved efficiencies, not least when it comes to including the C-suite in the process. “It has offered an opportunity for our chief executive to join the new hire training sessions,” says Joan Burke, chief people officer at DocuSign. “Booking in time to lead a Zoom session is much easier than clearing his schedule for a face-to-face orientation session.”

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Employee Engagement and Wellbeing report in March 2021

Tech, humanity and humour: meet the new CFO

When Govia Thameslink Railway suffered a 95 per cent drop in footfall, chief financial officer Ian McLaren drove recovery by being open to innovation and investing in staff

Drag queens, diversity and inclusion, and data-driven decisions are unlikely to be among the first words you would associate with a typical chief financial officer (CFO). However, Govia Thameslink Railway’s Ian McLaren is far from a stereotypical CFO, although he argues no such thing exists in 2021.

As the 52-year-old cycling enthusiast, who took up his position at GTR in December 2017, can attest, the tumultuous events of the past year have elevated the role of CFOs and significantly expanded their list of responsibilities, across the board. “When I started at GTR, my remit was a lot simpler and I was focusing on a narrow scope of my skillset, whereas now I’m using a much broader range,” he says.

“Today, it’s more about the human side of things, thinking about very practical stuff: keeping almost 8,000 colleagues safe while being able to carry out their duties, alongside supporting the varying ambitions of stakeholders and looking for opportunities to create value.”

The inference is the train has left the station for those who still believe a CFO’s primary journey is counting the beans. Business continuity has been paramount through the coronavirus crisis and those in McLaren’s position, at their respective organisations, have become more central to steering strategy.

Considering GTR, which handles 250 locations and some of the busiest train stations in London, went from “moving over a million people” in and out of the capital on a normal day, pre-pandemic, to footfall crashing by 95 per cent when the first lockdown was enforced in late-March, it has been a mighty challenge to get the business back on track. 

Broader range of skills required

Connecting with, and looking after, customers and staff alike has enabled McLaren to navigate a quicker route to recovery. “As an organisation, we are looking to build back better, greener and faster,” he says, “and part of that is drawing on the ability to listen and adapt.”

Today, it’s more about the human side of things, keeping colleagues safe while supporting the varying ambitions of stakeholders and looking for opportunities to create value

A good handle on technology also augments modern CFOs and, most importantly, their employers. McLaren has this in spades; his curriculum vitae lists two-year stints as CFO and head of finance at Nomad Digital and Digital Barriers, respectively. Indeed, he has been in the driving seat for GTR’s digital transformation journey, which began in 2017, and it “came into its own” last year, allowing colleagues to “work with technology in an untethered way”.

Further, through utilising products provided by technology partner Microsoft, McLaren and his fellow GTR strategists can gain “real-time insights that have led to data-driven decisions”. He says: “These insights have meant our colleagues can optimise their time on the ground and it has empowered people to do the job we’ve required of them, which has been ever-changing.”

Dealing with the pandemic has taught us that our ability to change can move at lightning pace, so over the next five years we need to become very good at rethinking everything we think we know

Since the first lockdown, that agility and flexibility, following the data, has been vital for GTR’s service operation and particularly for hospital staff and those they aid. “We realised there are nearly 70 NHS trusts across our network, and first-responders and critical workers relied on the train service, so we adapted our timetable predominantly for them,” says McLaren. “We became more of an off-peak rather than a commuter service. The old rush-hour peak has disappeared and now travel patterns are more evenly spread throughout the day.”

Value-creation officers: open to innovation

A suite of new digital applications has minimised disrupted running of services. These include an app, introduced in May, that indicates to train drivers and station staff how recently a long-lasting virucide, designed to stick to surfaces and kill viruses, including COVID-19, for up to 30 days, has been applied. 

“It has given all our colleagues confidence about going into a clean workplace,” says McLaren. Another app allows GTR staff to access the latest Public Health England information about the pandemic and report sickness and absence from work, thereby limiting potential bottlenecks.

“Technology has helped us all throughout the pandemic and understanding technology is increasingly important for CFOs and others in executive positions,” he says. “I’m lucky because tech has been my background, but it’s essential to know the risks associated with technology and cybersecurity especially. I would encourage all organisations to think more like technology companies, but being technology-savvy certainly raises a CFO’s stock.

“Dealing with the pandemic has taught us that our ability to change can move at lightning pace, so over the next five years we need to become very good at rethinking everything we think we know.”
McLaren, who has thrice cycled from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, owns ten bikes of various vintages, the oldest being a 1935 “speed racer”, and regularly clocks up 200 miles a week, finds strategy brainwaves often hit him when pedalling.
The secret is being open to innovation and new ideas. “Some might think the finance director is there to say ‘no’ and it’s all about cost-cutting. But to me, it’s more about value creation; we are becoming value-creation officers,” he says, suggesting that adopting a “beginner’s mindset to everything” helps in the current CFO’s role.

Invest in employees

“If you consider yourself an expert then you are closed to many things,” he adds. “I try to approach things with novelty and understand the art of the possible.”
Ultimately, the success or failure of an organisation is down to its employees, argues McLaren. “You have to understand the business and, more importantly, what makes its people tick.” Hence, he is passionate about diversity and inclusion, and keen to invest in and join events that “demonstrate my more human, fun side”. 

For example, he and his daughter have recently enjoyed tuning in to virtual drag queen shows, featuring the amusingly monikered Annabelle Lecter, put on for GTR’s LGBT+ Network. “Spending a tiny amount on a diversity and inclusion event is nothing compared to the huge value it generates to us as a business,” says McLaren. 

“It’s intangible, but you know you are creating something quite special when you see the brilliant reactions from colleagues, which then resonates with their service to customers.”

The anatomy of the modern CFO

The chief financial officer’s role has evolved somewhat since Ian McLaren gained his accountancy qualification over three decades ago; finance credentials alone are no longer sufficient.

“Today, finance roles need to be augmented with many more skills,” says Govia Thameslink Railway’s CFO. He suggests, in addition to being good with numbers, the modern CFO must understand legal and broader governance issues, and be technology savvy, not least to manage cybersecurity risks and data. On top of being able to structure commercial deals, they ought to be excellent negotiators too. 

In terms of personality traits, the best CFOs are armed with “a good sense of humour, can understand and show humility, and have tenacity”, says McLaren. Further, given the business agility necessitated by the pace of change, they require a certain amount of creativity, plus an openness and a “growth mindset” that enables them “to question, listen and rethink” strategies and business models.

Being a courageous leader, who can communicate with and energise colleagues and those across the business, is increasingly valuable for a CFO. “Having good people skills is essential,” McLaren concludes. “This skill helps with negotiation and, if you can be authentic and intentional, it will inspire those around you.”

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Future CFO report in March 2021

Why companies are struggling to build a ‘single customer view’

Investing time, resources and money to create personalised and valuable customer experiences can reap big rewards, but there are challenges in aligning data for a business-wide strategy

Organisations that invest heavily to build a data-driven “single customer view”, enabling personalised experiences, are likely to reap huge rewards. And I can vouch for that.

At the risk of offending family and friends, by far the greatest highlight of a recent birthday was receiving a personalised celebratory email from the captain of the football club I have supported since I could kick a ball. 

While it was a surprise to see his grinning portrait and accompanying message landing in my inbox, it triggered a giddy response. The feeling of being unique and valued overpowered any rational scepticism that my Premier League team’s superstar skipper had taken the time to congratulate my age milestone. 

This nifty, cost-effective note, made possible because the club somehow knew my birth date,  emboldened my trust and loyalty. I duly spent hundreds of pounds in the online shop on kits, mugs and hats, and marked with a flag the email, which I often click on when needing either a mood lift or guidance.

Businesses will score if they use real-time data to communicate with customers at appropriate times, and it comes across as sincere and authentic, says Adam Spearing, chief technology officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Salesforce. “Brands can build trust through meaningful interactions with their customers, anticipating their needs and delighting them,” he says. 

“Having a 360-degree customer view is crucial for enabling brands to have more personal and contextually aware interactions with customers. The more valuable an interaction is for a customer, the more inclined they will be to continue to trust a brand to use their data appropriately.” 

Spearing warns there is “a fine line”, though: “Only if brands use the data respectfully will they gain that trust.” Herein lies the main challenge with building a single customer view.

Slow and steady wins trust

There are myriad benefits to investing in digital identity specifically to build a single customer view by unifying all relevant data into a centralised profile. Done well, aside from improving all-important customer trust and loyalty, it can guide marketing, boost customer service, better model consumer habits and, therefore, generate more accurate predictions and increase revenue.

Yet there are many pitfalls to dodge to obtain this view. For instance, brands need to connect all historical data with real-time behavioural data, which means digital identities should grow organically over time.

“Achieving a single customer view remains a huge challenge for many businesses due to the multiple touchpoints the average customer faces when dealing with an organisation and the rapid rate at which data is generated,” says Gavin Laugenie, head of strategy and insight at dotdigital, an omnichannel marketing automation platform.

He points to a recent Experian study that found 92 per cent of companies do not have access to a single customer view. Laugenie says this “staggering” figure is mostly because the many touchpoints result in fragmented and siloed data. “The key to getting around this is by adopting technology that not only allows you to communicate with all of your data touchpoints, but pool the data and enable you to use it quickly and easily,” he says.

A single customer view will provide the foundation from which an organisation can “easily read the data and plot the right messages to send individuals as they navigate their unique journeys with you”, says Laugenie. Once armed with the data, it is crucial not to bombard customers, though.

“It’s a continuous process and that mutual sharing process will generate trust, which is essential, especially for older online shoppers,” he adds. “Slow and steady will win the race.”

Rising appetite for personalisation

Benoit Soucaret, group creative director at LiveArea, a global customer experience agency, concurs. “Good personalisation shouldn’t appear personalised at all,” he says. “Instead it should appear fortuitous, delivering value to a consumer at the right time, in the right place, in the right way. 

“It is less about selling consumers products and more about complementing their life experiences. At no point can it appear disconcerting, intrusive or annoying.”

There appears to be a rising appetite for personalisation, according to research published by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA). Some 39 per cent of consumers are “personalisation fans”, a group whose members prefer offers to reflect their interests instead of being surprising. A further 33 per cent appreciate both personalised offers and those that are more random. Only 28 per cent do not favour personalisation. 

“This strong desire for personalisation is encouraging for brands wanting to strengthen their relationship with existing customers,” says Tim Bond, head of insight at the DMA. But he identifies something else brands seeking to build a single customer view must beware: poor quality or misused data. 

Consider how, in January 2020, Aviva addressed its entire email base as “Michael”, proving that mistakes can creep in, even with basic data. “The assumptions, errors and insults will be amplified with each step more personal,” says Tom Kennedy, M&C Saatchi’s senior art director.

Bond agrees: “For a centralised profile to have meaningful value, businesses must have a system in place that can analyse data on previous interactions and combine it with insights from real-time user journeys. Only then can businesses truly understand a customer’s preferences and values.

“Having the right data, consent and preference management processes in place is imperative for businesses that want to guarantee and gain the maximum value for and from their customer data.”

Connecting online and offline data

In particular, marketers understand the merits of a single customer view, according to another recent DMA study. Such a system enables brands to offer more personalised experiences (45 per cent of respondents recognised this as a benefit) and increased transparency (44 per cent gave this the thumbs up). “These are two key factors in fostering long-term customer loyalty and trust,” says Bond.

Consumer expectations in this area are also rising. Some 78 per cent now expect consistent interactions across departments and four in five won’t buy from companies they don’t trust, a report from Salesforce shows.

Given the uptick in demand for customer personalisation, there is an urgent need for businesses of all sizes to evolve for the digital age. “The growing prevalence of ecommerce and multichannel customer journeys through 2020 only increased the importance of understanding your customers’ digital identity,” says Matthew Avery, enterprise sales manager at Infinity, a cloud-based call-tracking platform. 

Avery argues that many businesses are not taking advantage of the technology now available to connect online and offline data, including telephone calls and point-of-sale systems. “If you’re currently only monitoring the touchpoints where customers finally convert, you risk neglecting your understanding, and optimisation, of pivotal engagements higher up the sales funnel,” he says. 

However, Megan Jones, senior strategist at R/GA London, worries that some larger companies, where departments work in silos, are simply not set up to maximise the potential of a single customer view. “Legacy organisations struggle to execute these grand visions,” she says. “This failure can be caused by many reasons, including a lack of digital talent or poor data proficiency. Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of strategy and understanding.”

Clearly, for those who have their sights set on crafting a single customer view, the road to glory is fraught with challenges. To help guide the way, perhaps business leaders can make use of an inspirational personalised email from their favourite football team’s captain, too.

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Digital Identity report in February 2021

Why content is king – especially now

If business leaders have learnt one thing this year it is that good, authentic communication is critical – both for employees and customers. Trust is essential to attract and retain staff, consumers, and other stakeholders – including investors – alike. And to drive good communication and build trust you need excellent content.

Much in the same way many companies have had to pivot – or at least adapt their business strategies – in 2020, the content needs to evolve to keep pace, and celebrate those changes. It’s all about storytelling, and being honest – don’t try to be something / someone you are not, as when you are found out it will erode that all-important trust. It’s also easy to see through. Equally, if there have been bumps in the road it would be of interest to people to learn how you overcame them.

Thankfully these days there is a range of content you can utilise to tell your story, set out your goals and articulate your purpose and key messages – and none of it is expensive, if you know where to look.

great content drives communication and engenders trust

Often a variety, or suite of content, works best, and this might include ghostwritten thought leader website blogs (which can be filleted for social media platforms, including LinkedIn), videos (the rawer, the better), infographics, roadmaps, data-driven articles, listicles, newsletters, podcasts, and much more. And content can be proactive and reactive – the main point is to keep the content tap open, so that people want to keep coming back.

Good content can help you find your voice and your business’ voice, and trigger change by uniquely expressing ideas and showcasing your goods or services in a way that interests, informs, influences and inspires readers (or viewers).

However, often it is tricky for business leaders to whip up winning content in-house. There might be time-commitment issues, and usually the process of telling the business’ story to an outsider (with expert content production skills) can help articulate the important messages and unearth the nuggets that will appeal to a wider audience. This is true for companies of all sizes – indeed, the biggest businesses certainly understand the value of outsourcing content to freelancers.

Many times I have been parachuted into a business when there was a clear goal: to produce better content. But they no real idea of how to reach that point. And that’s fine – and understandable. It takes some time to research and interview key stakeholders and perform a kind of content audit, to understand what has already been produced (and what can be reused / updated) and tease out the interesting use cases and stories.

Indeed, content production is often elevated by freelancers whose task it is to better understand the business and ask questions you might have not thought of, or think of ways in which the content might be presented.

Ultimately, great content drives communication and engenders trust, and together those two factors are paramount to business success in 2020 and beyond.

This article was originally published on YunoJuno in December 2020

Fighting fraud in times of crisis

Cybercrime is always distressing for those affected, but when the resultant losses come from the public purse, it must be taken even more seriously

Coronavirus has coursed through every facet of our lives, and society and business have already paid a colossal price to restrict its flow. We will be counting the cost for years, if not decades. And while people have become almost anaesthetised to the enormous, unprecedented sums of support money administered by the government, it was still painful to learn, in October, that taxpayers could face losing up to £26 billion on COVID-19 loans, according to an alarming National Audit Office report.

Given the likely scale of abuse, it raises the question of how authorities should go about eliminating public sector fraud? Could artificial intelligence (AI) fraud detection be the answer?

Admittedly, the rapid deployment of financial-aid schemes, when the public sector was also dealing with a fundamental shift in service delivery, created opportunities for both abuse and risk of systematic error. Fraudsters have taken advantage of the coronavirus chaos. But their nefariousness is not limited to the public sector.

Ryan Olson, vice president of threat intelligence at American multinational cybersecurity organisation Palo Alto Networks, says COVID-19 triggered “the cybercrime gold rush of 2020”.

Indeed, the latest crime figures published at the end of October by the Office for National Statistics show that, in the 12 months to June, there were approximately 11.5 million offences in England and Wales. Some 51 per cent of them were made up of 4.3 million incidents of fraud and 1.6 million cybercrime events, a year-on-year jump of 65 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

Cybercrime gold rush – counting the cost

Jim Gee, national head of forensic services at Crowe UK, a leading audit, tax, advisory and risk firm, says: “Even more worryingly, while the figures are for a 12-month period, a comparison with the previous quarterly figures shows this increase has occurred in the April-to-June period of 2020, the three months after the COVID-19 health and economic crisis hit. The size of the increase needed in a single quarter to result in a 65 per cent increase over the whole 12 months could mean actual increases of up to four times this percentage.”

In terms of eliminating public sector fraud, Mike Hampson, managing director at consultancy Bishopsgate Financial, fears an expensive game of catch-up. “Examples of misuse have increased over the last few months,” he says. “These include fraudulent support-loan claims and creative scams such as criminals taking out bounce-back loans in the name of car dealerships, in an attempt to buy high-end sports cars.”

AI fraud detection and machine-learning algorithms should be put in the driving seat to pump the brakes on iniquitous activity, he argues. “AI can certainly assist in carrying out basic checks and flagging the most likely fraud cases for a human to review,” Hampson adds.

John Whittingdale, media and data minister, concedes that the government “needs to adapt and respond better”, but says AI and machine-learning are now deemed critical to eliminating public sector fraud. “As technology advances, it can be used for ill, but at the same time we can adapt new technology to meet that threat,” he says. “AI has a very important part to play.”

Teaming up with technology leaders

Technology is already vital in eliminating public sector fraud at the highest level. In March, the Cabinet Office rolled out Spotlight, the government grants automated due-diligence tool built on a Salesforce platform. Ivana Gordon, head of the government grants management function COVID-19 response at the Cabinet Office, says Spotlight “speeds up initial checks by processing thousands of applications in minutes, replacing manual analysis that, typically, can take at least two hours per application”. The tool draws on open datasets from Companies House, the Charity Commission and 360Giving, plus government databases that are not available to the public.

“Spotlight has proven robust and reliable,” says Gordon, “supporting hundreds of local authorities and departments to administer COVID-19 funds quickly and efficiently. To date Spotlight has identified around 2 per cent of payment irregularities, enabling grant awards to be investigated and payments halted to those who are not eligible.”

We need to watch how the technology fits into the whole process. AI doesn’t get things right 100 per cent of the time

She adds that Spotlight is one of a suite of countermeasure tools, including AI fraud detection, developed with technology companies, and trialled and implemented across the public sector to help detect and prevent abuse and error.

Besides, critics shouldn’t be too hard on the public sector, argues David Shrier, adviser to the European Parliament in the Centre for AI, because it was “understandably dealing with higher priorities, like human life, which may have distracted somewhat from cybercrime prevention”. He believes that were it not for the continued investment in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the cost of fraudulent activity would have been significantly higher.

Work to be done to prevent fraud

Greg Day, vice president and chief security officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Palo Alto Networks, who sits on Europol’s cybersecurity advisory board, agrees. Day points to the success of the government’s Cyber Essentials digital toolkit. He thinks, however, that the NCSC must “further specialise, tailor its support and advice, and strengthen its role as a bridge into information both from the government, but also trusted third parties, because cyber is such an evolving space”.

The public sector has much more to do in combating cybercrime and fraud prevention on three fronts, says Peter Yapp, who was deputy director of incident management at the NCSC up to last November. It must encourage more reporting, make life difficult for criminals by upping investment in AI fraud detection and reallocate investigative resources from physical to online crime, he says.

Yapp, who now leads law firm Schillings’ cyber and information security team, says a good example of an initiative that has reduced opportunity for UK public sector fraud is the NCSC’s Mail Check, which monitors 11,417 domains classed as public sector. “This is used to set up and maintain good domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance (DMARC), making email spoofing much harder,” he says. Organisations that deploy DMARC can ensure criminals do not successfully use their email addresses as part of their campaigns.”

While such guidance is welcome, there are potential problems with embracing tech to solve the challenge of eliminating public sector fraud, warns Dr Jeni Tennison, vice president and chief strategy adviser at the Open Data Institute. If unchecked, AI fraud detection could be blocking people and businesses that are applying for loans in good faith, or worse, she says.

“We need to watch out how the technology and AI fit into the whole process,” says Tennison. “As we have seen this year, with the Ofqual exam farrago, AI doesn’t get things right 100 per cent of the time. If you assume it is perfect, then when it doesn’t work, it will have a very negative impact on the people who are wrongly accused or badly affected to the extent they, and others, are fearful of using public sector services.”

There are certainly risks with blindly following any technology, concurs Nick McQuire, senior vice president and head of enterprise research at CCS Insight. But the public sector simply must arm itself with AI or the cost to the taxpayer will be, ultimately, even more significant. “Given the scale of the security challenge, particularly for cash-strapped public sector organisations that lack the resources and skills to keep up with the current threat environment, AI, warts and all, is going to become a crucial tool in driving automation into this environment to help their security teams cope.”

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Public Sector Technology report in December 2020

Creating a culture of change

Legacy infrastructure and outmoded ways of thinking can trip up digital transformation projects in the public sector

Private sector organisations that began digital transformation before the coronavirus pandemic suffocated business as usual were equipped and agile enough to revamp their strategies and operations, and thrive despite the chaos.

And laggards quickly realised that to keep pace they needed to invest in digital technologies and accelerate digital transformation plans. Meanwhile, those operating in the public sector, lumbered with legacy systems unsuitable for the digital age, looked on with envy, twiddling their thumbs.

A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but it is a truism that the public sector is notoriously slow to embrace technology. There is a pervading sense, though, that COVID has necessitated a levelling-up across the sector.

Given the mass shift to remote working, the strain on public services, especially the National Health Service, and the immediate need to streamline operations and reduce spending while improving efficiencies, digital transformation is critical. As private sector business leaders can attest, change management is paramount when deploying new technologies and ways of working.

While there is great urgency for speedy improvement, it’s appropriate to acknowledge digital adoption within the UK public sector is well behind other countries. Johnny Hugill, head of research at PUBLIC, a govtech venture firm, notes that although many public services have been moved online, to http://www.gov.uk, the harmonisation of digital services has much ground to make up. For instance, he says, around 60 per cent of citizens fill out online forms to public authorities here, while digital front-runners such as Denmark, Norway, Estonia and South Korea enjoy rates of up to 80 per cent.

Constrained by legacy infrastructure

The coronavirus fallout served to expose the UK public sector’s woeful lack of readiness to operate in the digital era. Indeed, a meagre 6 per cent of public sector workers said they were “extremely prepared for the pandemic”, according to research published in mid-November by Pure Storage, a global data storage solutions firm.

More than two-thirds (67 per cent) responded that “legacy infrastructure is holding up digital transformation progress”. This hindrance leads to “increased operational costs, reduced efficiency, and reduced operational agility”, says Shaun Collings, Pure Storage’s director of public sector in the UK.

The organisation’s research suggests eight out of 10 public sector workers believe agile methodologies and design-thinking are more important now than before the pandemic. “Clearly, many are constrained by legacy infrastructure,” says Collings. “The challenges and upheaval that public sector organisations have been faced with should act as a catalyst for reviews of supporting infrastructure and consideration of what is needed for the future.”

This advice is supported by new data from SAP, which indicates that 28 per cent of UK civil servants say they still lack adequate IT systems to support remote working. Leila Romane, the enterprise software provider’s head of SuccessFactors in the UK and Ireland, says: “Public sector organisations often operate independently and many are burdened by old and siloed technology infrastructure, which has made digital innovation more challenging.

“In the private sector, however, technology is increasingly seen as a tool to drive efficiencies by sharing data across departments and geographies.” Romane urges public sector organisations to be more collaborative, digitally focused and flexible, not least because they will otherwise find it harder to attract and retain top young talent, she warns.

Collaboration with suitable tech partners is vital

While public sector leaders may realise the need, and show a willingness to upgrade their digital capabilities, there are, frustratingly, many hurdles to overcome. Professor Julie Hodges of Durham Business School lists them. Of the many barriers, budget constraints and legacy infrastructure is a big one. Lack of leadership and vision also ranks highly, as does a reluctance to change among managers and frontline staff. Possibly most limiting is a culture that does not support transformational change, says Hodges.

PUBLIC’s Hugill agrees. “Together, culture, skills and practice form a fairly significant stumbling block to getting the public sector on board with projects,” he says, making the case that tech companies and startups should be considered over traditional partners that might not be best placed to drive digital adoption.

“Public sector officials have fallen into a routine of ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ when choosing preferred suppliers. The truth is that these suppliers were often chosen because they were good at what they did 30 years ago, but then became better at winning contracts than they were at innovating.”

Culture, skills and practice form a fairly significant stumbling block to getting the public sector on board with projects

Thankfully, there is a growing list of case studies where public sector bodies have teamed up with tech organisations to great effect. For instance, the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), a completely mobile and essential frontline organisation with 2,500 staff covering 32,000 square miles, uses Workplace from Facebook’s communication platform to enable employees to connect and communicate better with each other.

“When the pandemic hit, I wanted a safe and secure space for staff to ask questions, challenge each other, share stories and help us build a stronger team and supportive culture,” says Helen Ray, chief executive of NEAS. “Workplace has helped us move away from having conversations behind closed doors to more openness and transparency. The social media platform has helped to bring us closer together and instil a sense of belonging.”

The last word of advice for public sector leaders seeking to navigate their digital transformation journey, which once started should never stop, comes from Romane at SAP. “To drive change in any organisation, leaders need to first listen to their employees, especially those who are on the frontline,” she says. “Then empower them with the tools and training to manage the change effectively and efficiently. Finally, create a mechanism for them to collaborate and feedback any learnings about their experiences.”

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Public Sector Technology report in December 2020

Taking a peek at the new retail calendar

What happens to Black Friday when customers can’t jostle in the aisles? Or Christmas shopping season when we can’t hit the high street? Experts think these dates will become part of a whole new online retail calendar

Will it be a happy Christmas for UK retailers? After the coronavirus pandemic squeezing the life out of the high street, they certainly deserve some cheer. Data shows their fortunes could be resurrected by ecommerce. But given the shift to online, and the evolution of shopping habits, what does it mean for the traditional retail calendar?

New data from Adobe indicates activity around key retail dates will begin earlier, and peak retail occasions will be higher and more prolonged. According to the software giant’s international president Paul Robson, online holiday sales will “shatter all previous records”.

This is supported by Adobe’s projections that, in America alone, Black Friday will generate $10 billion (£7.5 billion) in online sales. “That’s a 39 per cent year-on-year increase,” says Robson. “Cyber Monday will remain the biggest online shopping day of the year,” he continues, adding that $12.7 billion (£9.6 billion) is expected to be spent in the United States, up 35 per cent on last year.

Robson says: “Our research into the online shopping habits of UK consumers during lockdown found that while they were up to four times more likely to buy from marketplaces like Amazon, it’s not always at the expense of smaller independent retailers. Where marketplaces may have the edge when it comes to convenience and speed, shoppers have also shown they are keen to support local, independent retailers where they can.

“The extended shopping period, coupled with the ability of independent retailers to deliver great, personalised digital experiences, could see them have a happier Christmas period than many might expect.”

Looking beyond traditional retail peaks

Google data also implies the retail calendar needs updating. “As a direct result of COVID-19, we have witnessed heightened search queries for online retail this year that will lead to a new baseline for Black Friday,” says Becky Power, director of consumer retail and technology at Google UK. “Google searches for ‘early Black Friday deals’ were up by 150 per cent versus November 2019.” Further, Google searches for “Christmas shopping” are up 1,800 per cent compared to the same period last year.

“The message is clear: consumers are looking beyond traditional peaks in the retail calendar as they continue to enjoy the flexibility of browsing online,” says Power, who points out that Enders research estimates there will be an additional £4.5 billion-worth of online sales in 2020.

Retail owners must keep pace with customer expectations and arm themselves with technology that enables multi-channel personalisation and improves data analysis. “Given that a continually growing number of consumers are already shopping online for traditional peaks, retailers will have to adapt to be ready for this rise in demand,” says Power. “Digital tools are imperative for applying product promotions easily and quickly, boosting retailers’ visibility to new customers, and can uncover meaningful insights from their performance.”

Kyle Harbinson, of global technology consultants REPL Group, agrees. “To reduce the impact of the troughs, retailers need to connect with and understand the circumstances of their customers, in a dynamically changing environment,” the consulting partner says. “We are in uncharted territory, so retailers need to pivot from instinct-driven decision-making to a data-driven culture.”

Taking steps to bolster the online offering

Warnings are being heeded. Capgemini’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey reports that while more than a third (36 per cent) of UK retailers expect an increase in holiday sales compared to previous years, 91 per cent have taken deliberate steps to bolster their online offering. Almost half (47 per cent) have improved their ecommerce propositions and 52 per cent will offer more generous discounts both online and in-store.

The benefit ecommerce brings allows you to create and build your own peak retail event

However, Dr Rajesh Bhargave, associate professor of marketing at Imperial College Business School, cautions that one issue retailers will face post-COVID-19 is the dilemma of “sticky prices”. “Consumers tend to remember what they would have paid previously for a product, so would view price increases as unjust in poor economic conditions,” he says. “Similarly, cutting prices would erode pricing power.”

No retailers should be discouraged from embracing ecommerce, however, stresses author and business consultant Erica Wolfe-Murray. “The hype surrounding traditional retail peak days has a halo effect across the board whether you are actively marketing or not,” she says. “But the benefit ecommerce brings allows you to create and build your own peak retail event. Think ‘Founder’s Day’, ‘Dress-Up Day’, or whatever.”

Embracing technology is business-critical

Technology can also help with the morphing of traditional peak retail periods, from dealing with stock management and the supply chain, to predicting when more staff might be required. Or with improving the delivery process, posits Mike Hancox, chief executive of UK couriers Yodel. “The five months stretching from November to the end of March have long been the busiest period for those in logistics as they encompass retail’s traditional peaks of Black Friday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day,” he says.

“This year we’re expecting Christmas to be higher in intensity and longer in duration than previous years, but a greater increase in overall volumes means the fluctuations seen in previous years could be less pronounced in the future.”

Yodel has developed a parcel-scanning app to streamline the delivery process. “It gives more flexibility to the growing numbers of self-employed couriers out on the road who can download the app on their own devices rather than having to get up to speed with a handheld terminal.”

Striving to reduce touchpoints and frictions through tech is now business critical, argues Professor Laurent Muzellec, founder and director of Trinity Centre for Digital Business. “Big digital players such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple use artificial intelligence to produce an effortless experience; this should be a source of inspiration for all retailers,” he says.

Retailers that act on this advice and tailor their offerings, both online and offline, look set to have a happy Christmas and beyond.

This article was originally published in Raconteur’s Future of Retail report in November 2020

Brexit and COVID-10 accelerate move to digital

The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum was inevitable when David Cameron won the 2015 general election, having promised such a vote during his campaign. Coincidentally, 2015 was when branchless challenger banks Monzo and Revolut were founded, with Starling launching a year earlier. 

While the direction of travel was established five years ago, the combination of Brexit and now COVID-19 has quickened the drive for older financial institutions to transform their business and operating models, because it’s clear: the future is digital.

Technology is enabling fintechs to enter the banking market, and thrive. Experts predict traditional banks will have to partner with tech organisations to keep pace with developments. 

A study of 200 UK and European banking executives by Marqeta – an open-API card issuing and processing platform that MasterCard has recently invested in – found that in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic over three-quarters (78 per cent) of banks have been forced to change their future banking strategy. 

Some 72 per cent of those surveyed are planning to grow the number of in-branch digital services, and two-thirds will invest more in digital banking and services. Further, nine in 10 respondents (89 per cent) says the COVID-19 situation has “drastically increased” the speed of change in banking from years to months.

Max Chuard, chief executive of Geneva-based banking software fintech Temenos, says: “Uncertainty is a catalyst for innovation. The 2020s were already set to be the decade for digital banking transformation. But now the coronavirus crisis has accelerated this process. It has made the need for advanced banking technologies – like artificial intelligence, cloud and SaaS – even greater.”

Defining moment for the banking industry

The Temenos CEO points to his organisation’s global survey that shows almost half of the respondents (45 per cent) say their strategic response to the rapidly changing banking landscape is to build a “true digital ecosystem”. He adds: “It’s a defining moment for the banking industry, and those who can harness the potential of digital technology will shape the future.”

Michael Plimsoll, industry head of financial services at computer software giant Adobe, thinks the same. “Banks have to ensure they keep pace with digital-first challenger banks, such as Monzo or Starling, to deliver new experiences that both enhance and complement their bricks-and-mortar branches,” he says. “This has included implementing new technologies within apps and websites that enable customers to perform tasks previously exclusive to the branch, like cashing cheques or remote meetings with advisors.”

This need to evolve banking operations provides an opportunity to streamline typically time-intensive tasks, such as setting up an account or applying for a loan, Plimsoll says. “As an example, TSB implemented digital signature technologies using Adobe Sign to allow customers to carry out important processes from their own home, moving over 15,000 account sign-ups that would normally require a trip to the branch,” he adds.

That convenience will be central to winning customers, believes Aaron Archer, chief executive and founder of London-headquartered challenger bank Finndon. “Digital banks will see a major increase in their market share compared to high street banks, due to their lack of flexibility to adapt to market conditions, and customers will be seeking greater opportunities to save.” 

He wouldn’t be surprised if big tech firms, including Apple and Google, begin to “offer banking products to their customer base to create a robust ecosystem”. Archer adds: “You will see an increase of mergers and acquisitions between tech firms and traditional banks looking to stay relevant.” 

Sophia La Vesconte, a fintech lawyer at Linklaters, agrees. “With increasing digitalisation, we are likely to see a growth in outsourcing arrangements between the financial sector and technology service providers.” However, she warns: “Regulators across the globe are quite concerned about the sector becoming overly dependent on a small number of – unregulated – technology companies.”

This article was first published in Raconteur’s Future of Banking report in November 2020

Are boring jobs a thing of the past thanks to technology?

Technology has the ability to rid employees of repetitive, mind-numbing tasks, but it will be up to organisations to ensure workers’ adapted roles are challenging and rewarding enough to keep them engaged

Will it soon be impossible to have a wholly boring job, given the gallop of automation and artificial intelligence? Already, technological capabilities enable workers, across the gamut of business sectors, to relinquish repetitive, menial tasks and use that clawed-back time to focus on more exciting and engaging endeavours.

Perhaps it was a surprise when, in June, a French court ruled that Frédéric Desnard’s former employer, a perfume business, should pay him €40,000 after his mental health deteriorated due to “boreout”, the antithesis of burnout. Under closer inspection, though, Desnard’s unfortunate mismanagement was the result of strict legislation that complicates the redundancy process in France. French employment law needs updating, evidently.

Consider that by 2030 up to one fifth of the global workforce, or 800 million people, will see their jobs replaced by robotic automation, according to an oft-quoted McKinsey & Company report from November 2017.

This headline figure fails to account for all the new, and more exciting, roles that technology will create in the coming decade. The key takeaway for business leaders, though, should be that it is crucial to invest in employees or risk paying a higher price for not evolving boring jobs. Employers that narrow the digital skills gap and help human and machine work side by side will gain a competitive advantage.

Autonomy is critical to interesting jobs 

Psychologist Portia Hickey, co-creator of the Smart Collaboration Accelerator, posits the model presented in the mid-1970s by organisational psychologists Greg Oldham and Richard Hackman still remains the blueprint for job design today. “They identified the significance of the job, being able to see the outcome of their work, variety, autonomy and feedback were all key,” she says.

“Jobs are generally becoming more interesting, partly because organisations are more aware of job design, but also because technology can take over highly repetitive, lower-skilled work. However, what makes a job more enjoyable is autonomy.”

The gathering of knowledge allied with autonomy is the perfect combination to motivate workers, according to Karthik Krishnan, chief executive of Britannica Group. “Learning happens when one is stretched outside one’s comfort zone,” he says. “Dopamine is the brain’s reward system and is secreted when accomplishing a challenging task. If the task is too challenging or not challenging enough, negative emotions set in, such as stress, apathy and boredom.”

Krishnan, who lists TikTok content creator, drone operator and driverless car engineer among the most exciting jobs spawned by tech recently, also notes that people’s boredom threshold has never been lower. “The ‘always-on’ mode, the 24/7 information flow and stimulation lead to constant distraction and craving for newness,” he says.

Employers should “design jobs and identify the right talent to be successful”, says Krishnan, adding that it is vital to understand a worker’s ikigai – a Japanese expression that translates loosely as “reason for being” – to keep them engaged and happy.

How tech is improving employee happiness

He says the ultimate goal is to create a culture where employees feel inspired, challenged and empowered. “The good news is that today, technology increasingly performs jobs that are well-defined, regimented and repetitive, thus reducing boring and risky jobs. From taxi drivers to shop workers to soldiers, the range of traditional jobs that will decline or disappear is huge,” says Krishnan.

Research published in September by multinational software company Pegasystems suggests intelligent automation has a critical role to play in crafting a new, tech-enabled, post-pandemic future of work. The global study surveyed more than 3,000 global senior managers and frontline IT staff, and 76 per cent agreed that increased use of tech is improving employee satisfaction, says Pegasystems’ chief technology officer Don Schuerman.

Technology increasingly performs jobs that are well-defined, regimented and repetitive, thus reducing boring and risky jobs

Further, more than half of the surveyed UK businesses (51 per cent) say intelligent automation currently saves them over ten working hours per person a week, freeing up roughly a quarter of their time. And with that available time, the top-three activities are working alongside machines, engaging more with customers and innovating. “What this study makes clear is that technology is one of the top trends shaping the future of work,” says author and futurist Jacob Morgan.

Research presented by robotic process automation (RPA) leader UiPath supports this insight. “Some 35 per cent of UK workers believed that automation would deliver more interesting and creative jobs for future generations,” says Chris Duddridge, UiPath area vice president and managing director in the UK and Ireland. He offers UiPath’s work with Brent Council’s housing benefits departments as an example to highlight how RPA “cuts out the dull parts”.

Making ‘mind-numbing’ tasks history

Before embracing RPA, all rent adjustments had to be uploaded manually on to the system. “It was described as ‘mind numbing’,” says Duddridge. “A single rent change that could take a staff member over four minutes manually now takes fewer than 40 seconds. The council estimates that this automation alone has saved it over £32,000 in the overtime costs needed to ensure deadlines were hit.”

Having the right tech is paramount for workers’ happiness. In a new Freshworks study, some 82 per cent of business leaders around the world acknowledge that how their workplace tech performs is imperative to engage employees. “This is especially true now in the time of home working,” says Arun Mani, president of Freshworks Europe. “Not having the necessary IT services on hand in the same building means businesses need to ensure their technology works and provides a flawless experience for users.”

Alarmingly, the Freshworks research also found 77 per cent of employees will look for a new employer if their current job does not provide the tools, technology or information they need to perform.

Workplace tech

It’s not all about tech, though. A balance must be struck and leaders have to understand what motivates individuals. “You have to foster a culture where employees feel comfortable talking about what they need and want,” says Nabila Salem, president at Revolent Group, who recommends holding regular one-to-one meetings.

Organisations unprepared for mass remote working when lockdown was enforced in March are playing catch up in terms of engaging staff, particularly new hires, says Charlie Johnson, founder and chief executive of BrighterBox, a London-based recruitment firm. “A lack of contact time or on-the-fly coaching has left a few joiners feeling lost, unable to ask simple questions,” he says.

Creating the best environment for employee success

Janine Chamberlin, director at LinkedIn, agrees and points to her company’s research that shows 75 per cent of UK C-level executives say workers now expect greater availability and transparency from leaders. “This closer connection is a great way to engage employees, motivate them to achieve their potential and keep them focused on business goals,” she says.

You have to foster a culture where employees feel comfortable talking about what they need and want

“Great employers recognise the importance of change and present opportunities for internal mobility and skills development so employees can benefit from a new experience and progress in their career.”

This chimes with Erica Brescia, chief operating officer of leading software development platform GitHub. “Forward-thinking companies have found new ways to drive employee engagement beyond activities and modes of working that are tied to physical offices,” she says. “They adapt how they operate to support a distributed team, from changing how they communicate to how they track, manage and report on projects.

“They move from highly synchronous ways of working to more asynchronous and collaborative work. And they encourage team camaraderie through virtual activities, such as quizzes, scavenger hunts, cooking classes and happy hours.”

Looking ahead, Brescia concludes: “The new future of work is not dependent on office locations or physical workspaces, but rather on adapting to new ways of getting work done to provide employees with the best environment for their success.”

The article was first published in Raconteur’s Future of Work and Collaboration report in September 2020

Is London still king in post-Brexit banking?

The EU referendum may be a distant memory, but as the end of the transition period approaches, global banking hubs are gearing up for a post-Brexit world

Will it be a happy new year for the UK banking sector? When the transition period of Britain’s exit from the European Union ends on January 1, business leaders and bankers alike will tiptoe into a post-Brexit reality. Enmeshed by confusing and in some cases yet-to-be-determined rules, they will be entering a new global banking landscape.

But given that financial institutions inside and outside Europe have been preparing for this day since the EU referendum on June 23, 2016, will things be markedly different?

Whatever happens, British banks and their European counterparts have had enough time to ready themselves for post-Brexit life. Admittedly, some details still need to be finalised, though Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has been warning the largest UK lenders to plan for a no-deal Brexit since June.

Legally, there will be changes, if only slight to begin with, on a global scale. “As of January 1, banks located in the EU and the UK will have to operate in two separate regulatory and supervisory environments,” says Yves Mersch, a member of the European Central Bank’s executive board. “Providers of financial services between the EU and the UK will no longer enjoy the benefits of the single market.

“Many euro-area banks doing business across the Channel, as well as UK banks operating in the euro area, have made considerable progress in view of this event.” Mersh adds that most are “on track to finish their preparations” this year, but others “have much work to do”.

For the latter, the coronavirus fallout has disrupted post-Brexit plans. “Broadly speaking, the main priority for banks over the past few months has been tackling the multi-faceted consequences of the pandemic,” he says.

No excuse for banks to be unprepared

Indeed, the “C” word has obscured the “B” word since March, and although COVID-19 may provide a reason for the sluggish progress of Brexit negotiations, it is not a just excuse for banks to be ill-equipped. Many big players lined up their moves long ago.

EY calculates that banks and fund managers have committed to moving £1 trillion of assets out of the UK and into the EU because of Brexit. US lender JPMorgan Chase & Co., for 

instance, is expected to shift around £180 million in assets to Germany. Further, it has ordered 200 staff to move out of London to other European cities including Paris, Milan, Madrid and Frankfurt, in the expectation that the UK and the EU will not firm up an agreement on financial services.

The UK has always been, and continues to be at least for now, a world leader in financial services

Considering the UK exports more than £26 billion in financial services to the EU, according to the Office for National Statistics, perhaps the global post-Brexit banking landscape may transform quicker if no deal is reached.

However, James Butland, vice president of global banking at cross-border fintech Airwallex, argues the “mass exodus” from London “has not happened to the extent so many were sure it would”. He says: “London remains an attractive place where people want to live and work. Equally, the ecosystem in London is truly global, like New York or Hong Kong, and has always been regarded as a crucial financial hub.

“The UK has always been, and continues to be at least for now, a world leader in financial services, eclipsing many of its EU rivals across the sector. And despite uncertainty around Brexit, one thing is clear: Europe will remain a leader within the global banking industry, mainly due to the strength of the euro as a currency.”

London has critical role to play

But Butland says ”a new leader needs to take London’s crown” within the region. He continues: “The European banking community may start to face geographical fragmentation, as the position to become the epicentre of the eurozone opens up. The race to become the financial capital of the EU seems to be between Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels and Amsterdam, with no winner yet in sight. Wherever this location may be, it should look to London to continue Europe’s legacy as a leader within the global banking economy.”

Alastair Holt, financial regulations partner at global law firm Linklaters, agrees. “Other European cities will not be as influential as London, at least in the short to medium term,” he adds. “London can play a critical role in bridging the East and the West, particularly given the increasing tensions we have seen between the world superpowers in those regions.

Brexit and London

“The UK will still be a leading global financial centre, boosted by its language, time zone, the legal system, and the pre-existing ecosystem of financial institutions and suppliers, the vast majority of which will remain in the UK.”

Professor Brian Scott-Quinn, director of banking programmes at Henley Business School, is more cautious and believes the global banking landscape has been fragmented since the 2008 financial crash.

“Just as trading relationships between the major blocs – the United States, Europe and China – have been damaged in recent years, as well as the relationship between the UK and the rest of Europe, so globalisation of banking and finance has been in low gear now since the financial crisis,” he says. “Most UK banks that had plans for internationalisation or for building up their investment banking capabilities have since abandoned such plans.”

Contingency plans needed for uncertain year

Regardless, Holt argues that coronavirus is more of a threat to the banking sector’s future. “COVID-19 is clearly a worry, more so than Brexit,” he says.

Chris Ganje, chief executive and co-founder of Cardiff-based fintech AMPLYFI, which focuses on developing artificial intelligence for banking, expands upon this theme. “The banking sector should have already dealt with Brexit over the past two years with robust models in place to move on,” he says. “The fallout of COVID-19 is a major unknown. For example, any FCA Section 166 notice into how a bank handled crisis-related loan applications could cost it tens of millions of pounds to review.”

Additionally, Alessandro Hatami, co-author of Reinventing Banking and Finance, says it is hard to quantify the effect of Brexit at the moment. And he points out: “The impact of leaving the EU financial passporting scheme, making it harder for UK fintechs to serve European customers from the UK, is also not clear and won’t be until the final deal is negotiated.”

Butland at Airwallex concurs that 2021 will be pivotal in shaping the global banking landscape. “The next 12 months will certainly be interesting, as both the pandemic continues and the repercussions of a potential Brexit deal loom ahead,” he concludes. 

“Whatever happens over the coming year, disruption lies ahead. Financial institutions will be making contingency plans for every possible eventuality.”

This article was first published in Raconteur’s Future of Banking report in November 2020