In the past five years we’ve seen a substantial shift towards hybrid and fully remote working patterns with the financial services industry. Combined with lower overheads and a broader talent pool unrestrained by location, major advancements in Fintech have led to an optimum business model for remote firms.
The use of AI and remote-first software such as Salesforce and similar CRMs, secure cloud storage, video conferencing and collaborative working environments are dominant in this industry, and provide a solid foundation for successful remote operations.
How to scale up
Once a remote business model is established, it’s important to take steps to stay ahead of your competitors in order to expand your operation. The broader business strategies here could, in theory, work in both remote and traditional finance firms, but have been tailored to a remote-first environment.
Diversification of services
The remote financial services industry is highly competitive, so broadening the pool of customers you’re able to serve will offer the best opportunity for success and growth.
Continual investment in technological advancements
Remote working tools are improving by the day, so it’s important to make the most of any available with your industry. Digital lead capture is incredibly important in the finance field, as it provides a continual flow of new business opportunities, as well as attracting top talent to follow them up.
Lee Trett of LeadCrowd and the newly established lead-generation platform Money Helpdesk, said “Investing in further lead generation through our new platform Money Helpdesk means that we can provide a much greater variety of leads to our partners. We saw a greater demand for leads in the fields of pensions, investments and estate planning and saw this as an ideal opportunity to serve even more brokers and financial advisers with high-potential, real-time opportunities”.
Making the most of automated data collection tools to offer a smooth transaction for customers is another important area to pay attention to. Modern clients often prefer to have greater control over their financial transactions. Many want to complete forms themselves remotely and expect to be kept in the loop every step of the way. Collaborative communication tools and automated updates can go a long way towards receiving a higher score on online review platforms – which are key to the continued success of any modern business.
Don’t shy away from AI, but recognise human value
AI tools have been widely adopted in the financial services industry, so it’s important to consider which elements of business can be delegated to remain competitive and future proof your business. However, balance is key, and there are certain functions that are still better dealt with by experienced human resources.
AI can be best utilised in many industries to speed up certain elements of your business process. Automation, preventing duplication of effort, security and improvements to the customer journey are key benefits, but it’s important to keep in mind that human beings must remain central to the process in fields such as financial services, as this is important for maintaining trust and empathy.
AI isn’t necessarily taking jobs in this sector, but it is forcing some of them to evolve. Mortgage administrator roles, for instance, could well become more about inputting AI prompts and pulling the technology’s strings, rather than manual tasks that support the day-to-day work of advisers.
Conclusions
The dawn of the remote working age was not a problem for the financial services industry to solve. It only presented opportunity by forcing every business within it to think nationwide, and in some cases, globally.
It has made finance firms more proactive about recruiting and serving customers from anywhere in the country and often further afield, and encouraged them to adopt tools and technologies that enable this.
Although there are growing voices calling for a return to office-based working, the benefits of being able to offer flexible and hybrid work for a finance business with aspirations to scale up should not be overlooked.
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