Tech strategies that go beyond the pandemic: Automation and digital transformation for enhanced client experience

Technology has played a critical role over the past couple of years as advisors and clients worked from home on an unprecedented scale — making digital transformation as critical as ever. Entrepreneurs and corporate intrapreneurs alike have historically developed pioneering and capital-efficient business ideas during periods of economic downturn and instability. The business challenges in adapting to COVID-19 and extraordinary market changes have been major catalysts for innovation.

It’s clear that savvy business leaders are embracing lessons learned over the, past couple years to adopt intelligent workflow automation solutions, maximising the effectiveness of remote operations in order to meet client expectations in a rapidly evolving economic and business environment. But how can firms ride the momentum--moving beyond ad-hoc automation and digitisation to develop a more comprehensive digital transformation strategy?

Turning Quick Fixes into High-Impact Change

In a recent survey conducted by Laserfiche , nearly 9 in 10 firms report making some changes to their workflow automation due to the pandemic. The shift to remote work drove the adoption of online client onboarding and processing of new accounts in particular. As remote workers required access to data anywhere and anytime, the need for cloud-based services to securely provide that information also grew.

As a result, advisors no longer feel tied to the traditional office setting. This will be important in the immediate future, as more than half of advisors expect to remain fully remote or allow hybrid work arrangements for all staff. Only about a quarter (26%) say they will require their employees to return to the office full-time. These intentions are consistent with businesses across other industries where hybrid workforce arrangements may increasingly become permanent.

Although advisors were forced to undertake these changes to their digital work­flows, the changes themselves have improved the client experience. Advisors say the industry’s digital transformation is focused on increased effi­ciency and improved customer care. Processes such as new account on­boarding, client meeting and prep, and digital signatures make employees’ work more efficient, and reclaim time for advisors to spend providing personalised client services. The Laserfiche study also reflects this reality, as more than three-quarters of firms (77%) report their clients responded very or extremely well to their workflow process changes.

A Holistic Approach to Automated Solutions

One way to develop a strategy for digital workflow transformation is to consid­er an advisor’s priorities. Nearly three-quarters of advisors (72%) indicate data security is a critical need— continued customer service and support also remain a high priority.

While advisors cite customer support and employee satisfaction as top of mind, they may be underestimating the advantages of the processes that support these goals. In particular, operational efficiency and workflow automation can play a major role in attracting and retaining talented employees. Offering modern technology solutions for the back office shows employees that advisors prioritise efficiency. At the same time, efficient back-office operations free up resources in the firm, reclaiming time for personalised client service.

This more holistic view of technology will benefit advisors in the long run. When you connect people, process and technology platforms, employees are capable of communicating and collaborating more seamlessly. By concentrat­ing on putting the right workflow automation technology in place, advisors can effectively ensure employee engagement and collaboration, which leads to higher-quality client service and support.

Seizing Digital Opportunity

Respondents cited increased efficiency (69%), improved customer service (58%) and the ability to work anywhere at any time (54%) as top priorities as they moved toward the future of work in the wealth management industry. They also understand the need to balance these efforts while responding to increased cybersecurity concerns.

Doing all of these things at once can be especially challenging for firms that don’t have robust IT teams, which often find themselves outspent by larger firms when it comes to building out technology infrastructure. It’s vital to seek out vendors that offer intuitive design features that integrate seamlessly into existing systems. Such platforms enhance efficiencies that already exist rather than forcing them into resource-consuming reconfigurations. Solutions that offer prebuilt templates for electronic forms, automated workflows and even integrations can support advisors in their digital transformation initiatives without requiring significant additional resources.

The pandemic offers an important lesson in the business value advisors can reap from continuing to expand back-office workflow digitisation. By ensuring better client experiences and operational efficiencies, these efforts can lead to more assets under management and lower ongoing expenses, driving scalable growth and meaningfully affecting the value of the business.