By: Larsen Chung

We hosted a roundtable of bankers from across the US last week and while we had some good laughs about our various sports team predictions for 2021 and a few (not so) bold bets about crypto and digital assets, there were three topics that stood out to me. Each one has come up time and again in my conversations. Here are my distilled thoughts on what banks can do now to help increase collaboration and upskill their teams and best serve their customers:

Keep innovating (fast)

COVID-19 and PPP combined to create real urgency for banks. Most of the banking execs I have spoken with have said they were forced to move faster and surprisingly to some, the outcomes were positive – banks generally adapted better than they thought they were able to. They also did it while not compromising on security and compliance. 

Now is an excellent moment to reflect and then lean into the new practices, habits, and cultures that enabled rapid innovation internally. Those that do will only become stronger institutions and be better able to serve their customers. 

The employee experience is the customer experience

When each employee is empowered to own the customer moment wherever and whenever they happen, everyone wins. In prior years, there was a big focus on the client experience and through COVID, banks discovered that employee experience is equally important.

Banks that can empower employees with the training, tools and mindset for success, turning temporary work from home strategies into long-term location independence will be well-positioned to grow and adapt their business models. 

Developing people and partner relationships is key to resiliency

Finding the person to fill a known gap in expertise or skills on the team is challenging and time-consuming, especially in knowledge domains involving digital and cloud technologies.

Instead, look to people on the team who want to grow and adapt, and turn to trusted partners who can keep the momentum going with accelerators and industry solutions while skills are grown internally. A team (internal and external) that has the muscle memory of learning and adapting quickly together is invaluable when it’s needed most.

My final thought…a good extended network is invaluable

If you’re interested in connecting with peers on increasing resilience and how commercial banks and credit unions are humanizing financial services, join the conversation in our private Linkedin group.

Please also feel free to connect with me, I’d be glad to share what I see bankers doing to set their organizations up for success.