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So, you’ve made an investment in a FinTech fund! That should suffice as doing something for your digital transformation journey for a while, right? It’s a great decision, but not transformation on its own. So you might be wondering - what’s next? Where do we start? Can we do it without a ✨superstar team of innovative leaders✨ to spearhead the effort?
The thought of change and innovation can become so overwhelming that many of us turn a blind eye to the transformations constantly happening around us. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” has painfully become the unofficial motto of many community banks across the country. Change is inevitable, made blatantly obvious through the agile decision making that was required during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those that were willing to take the risk and react quickly were rewarded with great success (such as significant PPP loan volumes), and those that weren’t may still be suffering the consequences of lost customers and complacent cultures. The time for your bank to take action on digital transformation was yesterday. To those that embraced the waves and learned to ride them, bravo. To those still fighting the currents, we’re here to lend a helping hand.
Here are 3 simple steps your bank can take to start your innovation journey:
- Identify your champions - and give them a voice too
While some of you may have an executive function already working in this space, many don’t. Innovation and transformation should never be a singular effort; it affects everyone at the bank and all of your customers. Some of your folks may have been working on silent transformations for some time, be it through automations and efficiencies, or perhaps through recommending new technologies that were shot down in the past. Find these individuals sprinkled throughout all levels of your bank and provide them a seat at the table, regardless of their title or tenure. Your innovation leaders need not be one person, but a strong collective cultural movement within your organization.
- Figure out where you can be better and embrace the change
If someone tells you that there is nothing that needs to be improved, they’re the wrong person to ask. List out the top innovation priorities for your bank for the next year, 5 years, 10 years. Envision what you want that to look like and start making it a reality. Give your team the creative freedom to figure out how to get where you see your bank going. You already have your champions; let them bring you wins and improvements.
- Do something small, then something a little bigger, and then keep doing things
Not every bank is going to start with the hottest new technology, and we understand and acknowledge that reality. The best place to start is anywhere you can. Enhance your online banking platform for your customers or automate a manual process that’s been slowing down your operations (thus freeing up more resources to serve - you guessed it - your customers). If you’re feeling feisty, adopt an AI chatbot to communicate with them when and how they want it. Once you allow yourself to get a bit uncomfortable and explore the possibilities, there is an endless space of innovation waiting to happen. Use the law of inertia to propel your bank towards modernization and keep moving forward.
Still unsure of where to begin? The BTV team is here to serve as an extension of your digital transformation team, full of ideas and plans for how to achieve results.
Contact us today at info@banktechventures.com and let's get started.
