Are your financial services teams ready for AI?

When it comes to adopting AI, the financial services industry is poised to outpace other industries. 90% of FinServ leaders say they’re allocating more budget to AI tools that enable their business to better integrate, access, and analyze data. They know that AI can help them innovate and improve customer personalization. 

But even with all the benefits that AI promises to bring the industry, FinServ organizations aren’t yet fully embracing the technology.

Our research shows that only 33% of organizations have a vision for AI that extends a year or more into the future, and more than half lack clear and actionable goals for AI. This comes at a time of increased competition, cost pressures, and rapid change. 

To bridge the AI readiness gap, you need to prepare everyone in your organization to use the technology effectively. This requires helping teams learn entirely new skills, deepen knowledge in their current role, and broaden existing skills beyond their core specialties.  

Focus on these three areas when upskilling your teams for AI.

First, bolster technical skills around AI–even for non-technical roles. Everyone should understand how AI models function and how to interpret AI-generated insights. 

This knowledge isn’t just for data scientists anymore–it’s critical across disciplines to help teams envision how they can and can’t use AI. Employees need to not only understand how AI works, but how it can work for them.

While emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and ethical judgment have always been crucial soft skills, AI-driven workflows especially require human-centric skills.

To help employees develop these skills, develop training programs that enhance communication, creativity, and adaptability. The human element is crucial to successful AI adoption.

Nearly 72% of financial services organizations say that responsible AI is one of their most important priorities. Arming employees with AI ethics and governance knowledge is a must-have. 

As a starting point, train employees in AI ethics, bias mitigation, and compliance. This ensures they use AI responsibly, adhere to your organization’s policies, and align with industry regulatory standards.

It also builds trust with employees. They know how AI will be used within the organization and where it doesn’t have a place.

It’s clear that AI will continue to evolve. Employees will need to keep up with the changes to use it to augment their roles, deliver a better customer experience, and drive greater efficiency within teams. 

Consider these workforce strategies as you roll out AI in your FinServ organization.

Your greatest asset is your people, and AI can augment their best work. Design workflows where AI automates mundane tasks so employees can focus on making the most impact.

For example, use AI to handle simple customer questions or routine tasks. This empowers customer representatives to handle more complex interactions that require empathy and critical thinking.

AI is a major shift, and it requires organizations to rethink roles in the context of AI. This kind of change is a journey. To help employees navigate it, implement clear change management strategies that help them understand AI’s value while building AI literacy across the organization.

Only 19% of organizations have incorporated AI skills into day-to-day work and training across all departments. As you upskill employees in AI, you can also use AI to enhance the learning journey.

Skill development platforms can identify skills gaps and recommend personal learning paths, as well as provide hands-on experience with labs and sandboxes. 

While AI can be exciting because it offers so many ways to optimize and automate mundane tasks, it can also be unsettling for employees as they begin to redefine their roles and shift their way of thinking.

As a leader, you can support your teams by investing in strategies that simultaneously build AI intelligence and confidence. 

If you’re not sure where to start your AI transformation, use our 12-question index to assess your readiness.

Looking for practical steps to help your financial services teams prepare for AI? Uncover best practices and strategies for powering the next era of financial services in our ebook. Get the guide.