Discussions about the potential impact of technology on the labour market are steadily increasing, and estimates of the global automation level range between 14 %1 a 47%2 of jobs. Most banks and insurance companies have been testing and implementing robots and artificial intelligence over the last two years and report productivity gains. The rapid technological progress raises a number of worries, but also opens doors for previously unnoticed possibilities.
"More and more parts of our communication are digitised, so the value of personal contact with clients and other business partners will increase. Technology will have a great impact on business and the jobs that people will occupy in the future may differ greatly from what they are doing today. This will require continuous training for employees to keep track of digital trends and also more emphasis should be put on the development of interpersonal relationships, i.e. trust, empathy, creativity, fair dealing, or the courage to report a problem," explains Martina Suchomelová, HR Director, HSBC Bank in Prague, Czech Republic.
The report commissioned by HSBC, entitled Human Advantage: The Power of People, analyses the challenges and opportunities of the banking industry and predicts six roles of the future you have probably never heard of.
1. Mixed Reality Experience Designer
There is a growing consensus that mixed or augmented reality (MR/AR) will be our primary interface to the digital world in the future. Overlaying our physical world with a layer of digital data allows us to create any imaginable character or object and locate it in physical space as if it was real. This technology will likely be used to carry out some of our banking needs in the future.
Key skills: Designing these complex three-dimensional interfaces and making them slick and intuitive will be a major new employment area for the future, requiring skills in aesthetic design, branding, user experience and 3D mechanics.
2. Algorithm Mechanic
A rising proportion of decision-making is made by algorithms, fed on a variety of input data to reach rapid conclusions. However, these algorithms operate in a fast-changing environment of shifting regulations, new information, and evolving products. Constantly tuning these algorithms to optimise banking customer experience, and avoid ‘computer says no’ moments, will be a skill in growing demand.
Key skills: As we shift to a low-code/no-code environment for technology operation, this role will require skills in risk management, service design, and financial literacy, rather than technological proficiency.
3. Conversational Interface Designer
Machines have become progressively more human in their interactions over the years. Chatbots are already used in banking to answer simple queries and gather information. Where instructions used to be complex strings of code, we can now speak to our machines and they will interpret our needs. Conversational interface design is an emerging skill to help us take best advantage of voice and text chatbots, and one that will only grow in importance as the technology becomes more mainstream.
Key skills: Building natural, low-friction interfaces that go beyond solving immediate challenges to surprise and delight customers requires a mixture of creative, linguistic, and anthropological skills.
4. Universal Service Advisor
The separation between digital, physical and remote service environments is breaking down. At any moment a customer may want serving in a branch, via chat app, voice, or in augmented or virtual reality. As mixed reality becomes the main interface between people and machines, highly skilled service agents, empowered to support customers across a variety of products, will be able to switch seamlessly between virtual and physical environments from anywhere anytime to meet customer needs.
Key skills: Critical skills for tomorrow’s customer advisor are a combination of product and domain knowledge with excellent customer communication and empathy. This will require a level of comfort with the key communications technologies, including performing in a virtual environment.
5. Digital Process Engineer
Many banking customer interactions – from onboarding to replacing a lost card – follow standardised flows that balance security and regulatory requirements with the desire for a slick customer experience. The rate of change of these processes is likely to increase, as is their complexity, as they combine service and information components from multiple sources. A digital process engineer analyses, assembles and optimises these workflows, adjusting them constantly to maximise throughput and minimise friction.
Key skills: The digital process engineer will need great discovery skills, to understand large and interconnected workflows and diagnose problems and bottlenecks, and creative skills to help them to prototype and test solutions.
6. Partnership Gateway Enabler
In an increasingly networked business world, the digital relationships with banking partners, like fintechs and global technology companies, will need careful monitoring, maintenance, and negotiation. With both cash and customer data potentially flowing between organisations, someone will need to keep a watchful eye on utilisation and conduct, as well as ensure performance and regulatory compliance.
Key skills: Gateway Controllers will balance technical knowledge of the digital interfaces with an understanding of security and risk management. Communications skills for partner engagement will also be highly valued.
Three core skills
If one examines the six future roles, a common set of transferable skills emerges. These skills will continue to differentiate humans from machines in the workforce. The report terms them the "Three Cs": Curiosity, Creativity and Communication.
"Machines will increasingly take on processes that can be automated. Human skills should be used where problems need to be addressed and where non-standard ways of thinking are needed. In my opinion, the development of new technologies and their efficient use is paid more attention to than the development of human skills and ensuring that potential of employees is exploited in the best possible way. Companies that care both about technologies and people will win in the world where human skills are increasingly scarce, as the unemployment rate is falling and recruitment of talented employees is becoming a big challenge," Suchomelová concludes.
1 OECD - Future of Work 2018
2 Frey and Osborne, Oxford University, Martin School of Management, 2016 - The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?