Understanding and Overcoming Technology Adoption Challenges
Summary
Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence’s annual survey on fintech, regtech, and the role of compliance in 2021 reported that “the adoption and implementation of technology has taken a huge step forward during the pandemic and sector growth is expected to accelerate in the coming months and years.” Indeed, digital transformation is a strategic priority for most wealth management firms, and like many other industries, the pandemic accelerated this cycle. Depending on the firm, there can be a myriad of factors behind slow technology adoption, but one area that ranks high is an employee’s resistance to change. As mentioned above, adopting new technology is often accompanied by negative perceptions, such as fear of the unknown, intimidation about how difficult the new systems will be, and the general pain of learning a new process. According to McKinsey and Company, financial incentives are one of the most effective tools for executives to motivate employees when rolling out digital transformation initiatives. Their research found “companies that implemented financial incentives tied directly to transformation outcomes achieved almost a fivefold increase in total shareholder returns (TSR) compared with companies without similar programs.” Encouraging a more positive experience with incentives can go a long way toward overcoming the negative emotional associations with change.
