Professional Adviser: Putting human connection at the center of digitisation

How can advisers operate in a hybrid world while scaling their businesses and keeping an eye on the bottom line? Jim London explores the issues.

Technology continues to reshape advisers’ business models, and it’s a must-have for them to meet customers’ needs and remain competitive in today’s digital landscape. The future of wealth management is rooted in a personalised, connected experience—and human interaction is still a critical component to advice delivery. How can advisers operate in a hybrid world while scaling their businesses and keeping an eye on the bottom line?

Patience and persistence

It can be difficult to pinpoint where to begin when understanding technology’s potential. But it’s a fine line between being patient and experiencing digital inertia. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so it’s important to take the time to build a roadmap that aligns business and technology strategies. From face-to-face customer interactions to on-demand access to their full financial pictures, personalisation stands center stage, and the spotlight is on how advisers can deliver it in a hybrid model.

Adopting technology to provide a connected wealth management experience and enable business transformation is one thing. The impact felt by customers and employees can be quite another. Technology implementations aren’t just about the systems—they’re also about the people and the process wrapped around those things. It’s critical to plan for and manage the change through communication and training that helps bring them along the journey.

Consolidation is on the rise, further elevating change management as a key focus. Firms are navigating and evaluating larger tech stacks, while faced with integrating two or more established cultures. Taking time to not only assess opportunities to consolidate the stable of vendors, but also to understand the culture, can help the bottom line and help increase productivity and efficiency.

Flexibility and focus

Unprecedented global economic and geopolitical challenges can lead to increased worry for investors about their financial futures. This is an opportunity for advisers to meet with their customers to forge stronger relationships. By understanding their individual financial goals and how their fears or changing life circumstances may impact those goals, advisers can evaluate whether the path forward to achieving them is appropriate. They can serve as a financial coach offering personalised service, while highlighting flexibility as part of their value prop.

This personalised experience extends beyond one-on-one conversations. In the early years, digitisation provided an easy method of grouping large numbers of clients into a few broad buckets that could service their approximate needs at low cost. Today, clients are concerned about advisor engagement and individualised service, and the systems used to group people through loose criteria are no longer fit for purpose. The industry now requires a more holistic approach to servicing clients.

Access and ambition

Having a technology infrastructure with a flexible core can also present myriad opportunities to elevate operational efficiencies and a customised experience. Sophisticated algorithms, AI, and robo-advisers have undoubtedly streamlined processes, enhanced efficiency, and broadened access to financial services. And, as customer bases evolve, providing digital services has become of even greater importance for firms looking to serve new and different types of customers.

The benefits are undeniable, but the risk lies in overlooking the value of human interaction. Financial decisions, often complex and emotionally charged, require a nuanced understanding that algorithms cannot comprehend. Technology can do the heavy lifting, but people must provide quality control and oversight of the data.

Together, humans and machines can bring about strong outcomes when executed effectively, but advisers seeking to integrate technology into their practices must recognise the importance of maintaining a hybrid approach. Clients should not feel alienated or disconnected by technology. They should perceive it as a complement to human interaction—whether that interaction is through digital collaboration or in-person meetings.

Purpose and partnership

Technology’s evolution isn’t slowing down, and neither are customers’ demands for digital experience—when and where they want it. But the human element remains unchanged, and it’s one that technology cannot replicate.

Whether you’re identifying areas for service expansion, enhancing your customer’s digital experience, or evaluating merger and acquisitions as part of your growth strategy, having the right strategic partner in place is key to maintaining operational efficiency without impacting your customers or your top line. Operational integrity and technology strategy are critical to delivering advice in a hybrid world and help to power the future of wealth.