Dec 22, 2020
A Digital Christmas
Can you count the amount of times you have heard anything to do with the financial sector this year?
No? We’ve lost count too. From banking to mortgages to shares, it’s been endless talk in the news. The financial sector has definitely had a lot of mention in 2020.
But just looking at the sector itself, there’s been a need and very much a wake-up call for many to adjust the services they provide, to be more digitally friendly.
For a lot of organisations in the finance sector they’re stuck in the traditional methods of operating. It may not have been at the forefront of plans to have a digital transformation, however, it was crucial to change that this year.
In 2020, we’ve seen so many businesses adapt and try to accommodate the difficulties the pandemic threw at them. It was no different for the finance sector.
Even though banks were still open during lockdown as an essential service, the traffic of online banking increased. With limited travel and vulnerable people staying in, banking had to be done another way.
Not only was a digital transformation needed in providing services, other areas of business were affected. If your online presence isn’t there, how do your customers know who you are?
Whatever type of business you were in, whether banking, investment and wealth management or financial advisory, the whole of the finance sector had to review their products, services and processes to ensure they were digitally ready to continue to trade and interact with customers.
Don’t forget the hiring process. This year FinanceStream had a few new members join. With the recruitment process all done without meeting face-to-face, it’s definitely a different experience.
Training and meeting all members of the team has all happened online. We’ve certainly been grateful for the technology that has allowed us to come into this company and learn as if we were in the office.
We’ve also said goodbye to a member of staff with a leaving do over Zoom. I think this year we’ve all thought about the fact we take socialising in person for granted.
At FinanceStream we were able to work throughout the pandemic and saw a growth in projects, for which we are grateful.
Since the pandemic brought to light the need for businesses to have a digital presence, we’ve had many different projects come to us. Anything from starting a website from scratch or refreshing an existing website or brand.
However, we realise this was not the case for all businesses. For many, it’s been incredibly hard keeping their head above water and the cost of surviving through the pandemic has, for some businesses, simply been too great.
Whilst digital transformation brings many benefits such as efficiency savings, increased productivity and transparency across the business, it can, but by no means have to, result in a reduction in the need for human resources. Difficult business decisions such as these were brought to the forefront this year, across most industries.
The positive to come out of this, is that there became a sense of community between everyone. With no option but to accept the virtual world, we took to it in good spirit and adopted new measures to keep ourselves social – joining community online forums, sharing your favourite local eatery on social media telling your friends about a local shop.
Independent traders received online endorsement and as a result automatic, and free marketing. Well deserved and a much needed token of recognition during the challenges that 2020 presented to such businesses.
It’s going to be a Christmas like no other before. Maybe you’ll be spending time video calling family you’d usually visit or even finish off the work year with your team over Zoom.
From all of us at FinanceStream, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
Thinking about updating or refreshing your financial brand or website?
Don’t hesitate to get in contact for a chat. Give us a ring on 0333 242 3990 or email robin@financestream.co
If that’s not something that you’re ready for, have a look at what we do – click here
