Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
Issue link: http://elmezine.epubxp.com/i/133739
CONSUMER-FACING FINANCIAL SERVICES In the retail-banking, life insurance, and property and casualty insurance industries, social technologies can help improve service delivery, reduce costs, and enhance the customer experience. Consumers are increasingly open to using these channels for easier, more transparent interactions with their fnancial institutions. New processes are surfacing across a sector ofen typifed by organizational complexity, siloed personnel, and fragmented processes that stymie collaboration, innovation, and efciency. To improve collaboration and communication not only across an extensive branch network but also with headquarters, TD bank, for example, deployed a social platform for 85,000 employees. One result: a reduction in the number of phone calls, meetings, and unwanted emails. Insurance broker Friendsurance has launched a social platform that allows potential customers to form insurance groups (think Facebook friends) that lower costs. (Te groups themselves insure lower-cost claims and crowd-source administrative tasks.) Movenbank has targeted 50,000 customers in a novel Facebook-based institution that will be branchless, as well as paper and plastic free. Clients will use the bank's Website and their own mobile devices for transactions, and an intelligent system called CRED will advise on fnancial matters and analyze customer information for credit decisions. 'NEXT PRACTICES' Because the landscape is evolving swifly and remains largely uncharted, a universal set of prescriptions for business leaders to follow in exploiting these opportunities has yet to emerge. Furthermore, there are risks to be managed, including concerns about productivity-dampening distractions, privacy, the potential loss of proprietary information, and reputational issues. Some companies have begun to develop a body of knowledge on how to use social technologies for applications such as marketing. However, for most applications of social technologies — particularly enhancing collaboration and communication — we recommend that instead of focusing on best practices in the early stages of the journey, executives should be open to dis- The potential for social technologies to create value through collaboration varies by industry and is greatest for professional services. Share of total benefits, % Collaboration Other benefits 98 24 Professional services Semiconductors 2 76 24 70 Retail banking 30 62 Aerospace 38 Life insurance 52 48 Property and casualty insurance 51 49 Automotive Consumer packaged goods 39 57 37 Average 63 66 34 Source: McKinsey Global Institute analysis covering next practices, to which broader principles apply: >> Since these are social technologies, the decisions that will make the most diference ofen won't be about the choice of the technologies themselves but about how to encourage interactions among people. Social technologies can bring the scope, scale, and economics of the Internet to human interactions, but a successful transformation will ultimately rest on practices and culture. Te companies that have the greatest successes will be those with cultures conducive to broad collaboration and sharing. >> Activities appropriate to one organization may not succeed in another with a diferent workforce, competitive context, or customer base. Purposeful experimentation that tests an array of practices and technologies will therefore be crucial. Testing "minimal viable products" to determine what works should help companies learn and implement the right practices for them while they develop new "muscles" that allow the organization to pivot quickly and opportunistically to new models. >> Creating a critical mass of participation is crucial, and companies will need to nurture self-reinforcing cycles of adoption. Bottom-up use of technologies is essential, but our research also has shown that role modeling and vocal support by leaders can be decisive. In addition, technologies should be baked into employees' day-to-day work fows, or usage will probably decline afer an initial burst of interest. While the adoption of social technologies is growing rapidly, a huge untapped potential for them to create value remains. Companies open to the principles and practices we have outlined here can begin to exploit these possibilities and may fnd that the resulting gains form the basis of a competitive edge over their rivals. —Tis article was originally published in Mc Kinsey Quarterly, www.mckinseyquarterly.com. Copyright (c) 2012 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. Government Elearning! April / May 2013 41