Financial Services: Closing Skills Gap Key to Innovation

Staff assessments can reveal which crucial skills FS employers need to develop

TRUMBULL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial service firms say they are struggling to compete because skills shortages are putting the brakes on innovation.

A new white paper from Questionmark, the online assessment provider, discusses how firms can regain the competitive edge by ensuring staff have the skills and attitude to adapt.

Publicly available research shows that fifty-five percent of global financial institutions believe that they are failing to innovate due to a skills shortage. This creates a tangible impact on business. More than two fifths (44%) say they have been unable to pursue market opportunities as a result. Nearly half (47%) say their customer experience or quality standards are suffering.¹

To overcome these obstacles, employers can make better decisions about the workforce. The following challenges are common across financial service firms:

• Recruiting the right talent for change - in recent years, experts have highlighted the risks of ‘unconscious bias’ in job interviews. Without realizing it, employers may be basing their decision on factors other than who is best for the job.²
• Upskilling existing staff - only 25% of investments in training are effective. ³
• Ensuring compliance – for financial services in Europe and America, regulatory compliance remains the number one challenge.⁴

To get the critical information to inform decisions to address these issues, employers can use online assessments to understand the skills, attitude and aptitude of the workforce.

Assessments reveal where crucial skills are missing. Testing candidates after training indicates whether it has been effective. By assessing staff before hiring them, interviewers can get an empirical measure around the best performers and can challenge unconscious bias. Employers can test the compliance knowledge of staff and demonstrate to regulators that robust training has taken place.

Lars Pedersen, CEO of Questionmark said: “The businesses that will do best in the future will be the ones that can get the best out of their people. The last decade has seen a revolution in financial services. Assessing the skills of the workforce will reveal whether the team has the skills fit for the future and empower employers to make good people decisions. New recruits can be brought onboard to drive innovation. Training and other interventions can be introduced.”

Read the white paper: Transforming decision making in financial services.

https://www.questionmark.com/sectors-and-uses/financial-services/

The white paper forms part of the ‘Questionmark Viewpoint’ series which explore the challenges that Questionmark customers face, and how Questionmark helps address them.

Notes to editors

¹ https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-survey/2019/Theme-assets/reports/financial-services-talent-ceo-survey-trends-report-2019.pdf
² https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2019/02/20/how-to-minimize-unconscious-bias-during-recruitment/#7816f16f5fd9
³ https://trainlikeachampion.blog/infographic-why-corporate-training-is-a-colossal-waste-and-what-to-do-about-it/
⁴ https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/banking-capital-markets/banking-2020/assets/pwc-retail-banking-2020-evolution-or-revolution.pdf