Human Capital Trends Report 2020: A Financial Services perspective 

The COVID-19 era has impacted nearly all businesses across Ireland, forcing the economy and society at large to adapt to new challenges. Most notably, we have seen huge changes in the way we work, with lockdown causing a large-scale move to remote work and the adoption of new technologies. The social enterprise is so impactful today as it links together these emerging technologies with human interaction. In an uncertain environment, it is critical for Financial Services (FS) organisations to approach business strategy with an overall mindset of a social enterprise: One that combines revenue growth and profit-making with the goal to respect the environment, drive toward a social purpose, and support the employees within the organisation

The 2020 Human Capital Trends report: A Financial Services perspective offers a solution to the challenges many Irish businesses are facing by shining light on the unique opportunity that the crisis has presented for organisations willing to adapt to meaningful change.

Report Insights

Spotlight on Purpose 

Organisations have historically used mission statements to align their people around a common goal. Today, it is more important than ever for organisations to not just talk about purpose, but to embed shared meaning into every aspect of work.

It is important for financial services (FS) organisations to take a targeted approach to designing meaningful work experiences. FS organisations can foster belonging through an inclusive work environment that creates meaningful connections. With alternative working arrangements on the rise, this has become increasingly difficult. Additionally, it is critical they design well-being into their workplace strategy, with 79% of FS respondents indicating that well-being is important to their organisation’s success over the next 12 –18 months. Lastly, they must understand the ever-changing workforce complexities to create a more individualised talent strategy. As generational differences become less relevant, leading organisations are starting to turn to personal behaviours (I.e. introvert/ extrovert, individual contributor/ team player) to segment.

Spotlight on Potential

In the digital era, the workforce is experiencing constant changes to skills requirements, team composition and information sharing due to technology. FS organisations need to align on what their digital DNA needs to support to think differently, identify opportunities for human and machine collaboration and ultimately empower their workforce by supporting the development of critical human skills. By leveraging AI, encouraging effective knowledge management and building workforce resilience through the development of such human skills (empathy, critical thinking), they can increase their workforce’s potential for long-term success.

Spotlight on Perspective 

While many organisations feel uncertain about their ability to navigate rapid change, uncertainty can also give rise to new possibilities: the opportunity to shape the future through decisive action. To be able to do this, organisations need to transform uncertainty into an informed perspective that helps them confidently navigate the future of work.

FS organisations can embrace a future orientation, asking not just how to optimise for today, but how to create value tomorrow. In order to develop a future perspective to guide their workforce strategies, they must ask new questions and seek new metrics that are shaping human capital trends. Center to this future perspective is taking a distinctly human approach to operating in an increasingly digital world, particularly when it comes to leveraging the relationship between humans and technology. To navigate these challenges effectively, they need a new path forward that is anchored both on the right data and analytics and human-focused principles that guide critical workforce and organizational decisions.

Download the full report here