Bank Systems & Technology: Vice President of Cognizant Business Consulting Explores How Social Media Can Help Drive Operational Changes in Financial Institutions

“The compound effect of decades’ worth of revenue-driven decision-making, accompanied by expedient operations, IT point decisions, and implementation tradeoffs, is that the banking and financial services industry professionals have painted themselves into a corner where their ability to implement new products and services and generate new market-facing innovations is severely constrained,” writes Edward R. Merchant. “What is needed is a radical change in the way work is done.”

“The only thing that an organization has that will truly enable it to find the right balance for addressing conflicting priorities while simultaneously dealing with an unstable business landscape is the insight, talent, and creativity of the people who are doing the actual work,” he notes. “In order to tap into this capability, the staff need to be provided information and perspective about the larger ecosystem in which they work. They also need to be able to interact more with individuals across the silos inherent in the factory model that institutions have imposed. These interactions need to be dynamic, as real innovation comes from following lines of thought in unanticipated ways.”

“Social media and collaboration technologies have immense potential to accelerate resolution of complex problems, generate new efficiencies, and revitalize the workforce,” Merchant writes. “Most importantly, by striving to increase the participation and contribution of the entire staff on a wider basis, institutions can differentiate their services via business models that are more resistant to the adverse business impacts typically associated with simplification, standardization, accessibility, and innovation.”

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