Building Consensus Around Tech Adoption in Banking By Neal Reynolds, President, BankMarketingCenter.com “The biggest threat to banking is not what you think. It’s not AI, it’s not the regulatory or rate environment, and it’s most certainly not fintech. A look inside the four walls of an individual financial institution is the first place to look if you want to find the industry’s true threat. That is where the sleeping monster lives. Its name? Indecision.” So starts the article in The Financial Brand, titled: “Why Indecision May Be Banking’s No. 1 Problem, and How to Defeat It,” and as is often the case, I couldn’t agree more. I can say this with certainty because I’ve experienced it often, working with community bank leaders on leveraging technology. The article goes on to say this: “While it may be easy to point the finger at the C-suite as the greatest source of indecision, it is this writer’s opinion that banking is still (though hopefully not forever) plagued by the “we’ve always done it that way” legacy mentality. This may be the worst source of decision paralysis as it robs the C-suite of the ability to make decisions.” While I agree that “paralysis through over analysis” is real, I think that the challenge, in the end, stems from a challenge a bit more difficult to address; not taking a more holistic view of tech adoption. That view, in a nutshell, demands treating tech adoption not as “purchase and implementation,” but as organizational change. Backing up a bit, we all know that the banking industry, as always, faces ever-evolving challenges. Customer expectations are changing rapidly, non-traditional competitors are emerging, and the regulatory environment is constantly shifting. To meet these challenges, banks are investing heavily in digital transformation. Yet many initiatives stall or underperform. In fact, only 30% of banks that have undergone a digital transformation report successfully implementing their digital strategy, and the majority fall short of their stated objective. A common mistake is not fully involving all stakeholders in the development of the strategy and blueprint.”1 Technology adoption is not simply about selecting software or upgrading infrastructure. It is about bringing people together, aligning goals and ensuring that every stakeholder sees value in the change. Building consensus is not easy, but it is the critical foundation for successful tech adoption. What can banks do to get there? 1. Recognize That Digital Transformation Is Organizational Change: Bank leaders often make the mistake of treating digital initiatives as purely technical projects. Employees, not just systems, must adapt. This requires management strategies that focus on communication, transparency and engagement. C-suite executives, mid-level managers and front-line staff should all understand not only what is changing but why it matters. Without this human-centered approach, any new technology adoption risks underperformance at best and complete failure at worst. 2. Identify and Engage All Stakeholders: Too often, organizations equate stakeholders with end users. In reality, stakeholders include anyone affected by the adoption. That means employees, compliance officers, customers and even vendor partners. Colorado Banker 20
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==