# Why Transforming the Back-Office is Key to Customer Experience Success in Financial Services
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-11-14
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: Unlocking the Power of Back-Office Automation for Enhanced
Meta Description: Learn how automation in back-office operations can improve customer experience, reduce errors, and streamline processes while keeping the human side of the
URL: https://financedigest.com/why-transforming-the-back-office-is-key-to-customer-experience-success-in-financial-serviceshtml

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_![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/533-1736814865380-compressed.jpg)_

_The back-office is finally getting its due and credit for its contributions to customer experience_

_By **Nicole Nevulis,** Senior Director of Strategy for Back-Office Workforce Engagement at_ [_Verint_](http://www.verint.com) _._

One of the biggest factors that contribute to customer engagement success is automation. Quite often teams are investing in automation solutions for customer-facing processes such as using chatbots to provide customer self-service. However, there is a tremendous opportunity to transform back-office operations to make this a competitive differentiator for long-term [customer engagement](https://www.financedigest.com/chatbots-the-secret-weapon-to-customer-engagement.html "Chatbots: The secret weapon to customer engagement?") success.

Back-office employees are critical to bank and credit union [customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/insurers-ready-to-fight-back-against-poor-customer-experience.html "Insurers ready to fight back against poor customer experience"). Even if they’re not [talking to the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/talk-to-me-the-changing-face-of-customer-communications.html "TALK TO ME :THE CHANGING FACE OF CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS"), they have a huge impact on the customer journey. _Are they processing things on time? Did they process it with the right quality?_

Negative [customer experiences](https://www.financedigest.com/how-will-open-banking-impact-the-customer-experience.html "How will Open Banking impact the customer experience?") arise from issues such as failing to update addresses and other changes to accounts, which can lead to a card payment being declined and risk of fraud from an unauthorized person receiving a card. Failing to properly update [account information can also lead to missed](https://www.financedigest.com/accountants-risk-missing-post-brexit-opportunities.html "Accountants risk missing post-Brexit opportunities") deposits for ACH and wire transactions, which are especially critical in a down economy and for anyone living from paycheck to paycheck.

Automation can help with this process, helping [financial institutions serve their customers](https://www.financedigest.com/disconnected-customers-are-one-of-the-biggest-problems-facing-financial-companies.html "Disconnected customers are one of the biggest problems facing financial companies") quickly and more efficiently, with digitization replacing many paper processes. Moreover, streamlining these processes enables frontline employees and managers to focus on creating [exceptional customer experiences](https://www.financedigest.com/is-your-customer-experience-exceptional.html "IS YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE EXCEPTIONAL?").

**Helping the Human Side of the Equation**

Though automation is critical, banks and [credit unions](https://www.financedigest.com/6-reasons-to-take-a-car-loan-from-a-credit-union.html "6 Reasons to Take a Car Loan From a Credit Union") can’t ignore the importance of the human side of the back-office. Automation isn’t about replacing humans, it’s more about augmenting the human workforce. The main focus of automation shouldn’t be to eliminate jobs, it should be about automating routine tasks to free up employees’ time to do more value-added engaging work.

For example, while automation can speed the application-to-approval process for a loan, the final decision for those in the grey area (just below approval thresholds) will often involve conversations between managers and potential customers, finding different ways to make a loan work (e.g., paying off an outstanding debt to boost a [credit score)](https://www.financedigest.com/1-in-5-uk-adults-have-no-idea-what-a-credit-score-is.html "1 in 5 UK adults have no idea what a credit score is"). These [conversations must revolve around empathy and contextual elements that are uniquely understood and delivered](https://www.financedigest.com/cavai-and-azerion-deliver-industry-first-with-conversational-in-stream-video.html "Cavai and Azerion deliver industry first with conversational in-stream video") by humans.

[Financial institutions will want to look at ways to attract and retain top](https://www.financedigest.com/top-north-east-financial-adviser-firm-talks-corporation-tax.html "Top North East financial adviser firm talks corporation tax") talent. To do so, they need to [ask these fundamental questions: How do we become an employer](https://www.financedigest.com/why-more-companies-are-asking-new-employees-to-commence-employment-before-christmas.html "Why more companies are asking new employees to commence employment BEFORE Christmas.") _of choice? How do we provide job mobility? How are we improving collaboration? How are we bringing in the right candidates?_

Automation also enables managers and employees to make [faster and more accurate decisions and improve the employee and supervisory experience](https://www.financedigest.com/visionary-banks-fight-the-blur-hybrid-computing-architecture-brings-a-faster-sharper-customer-experience.html "Visionary banks fight “the blur”: Hybrid computing architecture brings a faster, sharper customer experience"). Here’s an example of automation that makes everybody’s lives easier and [improves employee engagement:](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-a-ccm-platform-can-help-improve-customer-engagement-in-insurance.html "5 Ways a CCM platform can help improve customer engagement in insurance") With a mobile workforce management app, employees can review their performance remotely. An [employee can sign](https://www.financedigest.com/4-reasons-your-finance-employees-are-showing-signs-of-stress.html "4 reasons your finance employees are showing signs of stress") up for a shift in the back-office or ask for time off, all via their phone.  It provides instant information to the [employee and eliminates the need](https://www.financedigest.com/5-key-things-you-need-to-know-before-hiring-your-first-employee.html "5 Key Things You Need to Know Before Hiring Your First Employee") for managers to manage excel spreadsheets or other manual tools for scheduling.

Blending automation with engaged human agents also helps companies fill the [Engagement Capacity Gap](https://www.verint.com/press-room/2022-press-releases/racing-to-resolve-the-engagement-capacity-gap-organizations-lean-into-customer-service-technology-for-digital-first-engagement-and-empathy/), meeting growing customer engagement volumes and higher expectations.

**Where Transformation Efforts Fall Short**

One of the challenges [financial institutions](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-of-financial-institutions-in-2023.html "The Future of Financial Institutions in 2023") face in making back-offices more efficient – and delivering improved customer experiences – is that many still have siloed systems, channels or areas of responsibility that aren’t unified.

Sometimes automation implementations stop at a very rudimentary level, such that the full [benefits of the technology](https://www.financedigest.com/five-industries-benefiting-from-multi-carrier-sim-technology.html "Five Industries Benefiting from Multi-Carrier SIM Technology") are never realized. For example, some [financial institutions](https://www.financedigest.com/what-the-future-holds-for-financial-institutions-in-2023.html "What the Future Holds For Financial Institutions in 2023") have implemented robotic process automation (RPA), but if systems are still siloed, the workflow benefits from the automation are limited.

[Customers want to interact](https://www.financedigest.com/ai-will-power-95-of-customer-interactions-by-2025.html "AI will power 95% of customer interactions by 2025") via their channel of choice, and they want to be able to pick up conversations where they left off. They want frictionless experiences. That means eliminating the barriers rooted in the back-office: quality issues and late delivery due to inefficient use of resources.

[Financial institutions will broaden the automation solutions they invest](https://www.financedigest.com/how-green-are-your-investments-why-esg-data-integration-is-key-for-financial-services-firms.html "“How green are your investments?” – Why ESG data integration is key for financial services firms") in, focusing on those that equip their employees and managers to get the job done. These tools provide real-time performance feedback to employees, empowering them to self-adjust their performance and proactively seek coaching. Back-office automation can provide real-time [support and centralized knowledge to quickly answer questions and bolster employees’](https://www.financedigest.com/73-of-employees-in-the-banking-and-financial-services-industries-are-looking-for-better-physical-and-mental-wellbeing-support-in-the-workplace.html "73% of employees in the banking and financial services industries are looking for better physical and mental wellbeing support in the workplace") confidence to do their work.  It [means simplifying the managers’](https://www.financedigest.com/senior-managers-regime-what-does-it-mean-for-the-industry.html "SENIOR MANAGERS REGIME – WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE INDUSTRY?") jobs – providing data-driven insights, freeing up their time to make faster, more accurate decisions and allowing them to maximize utilization of their resources.

Equipping the back-office of the future entails employing the means to attract and retain top talent and make it more seamless for humans and bots to work [together to bring](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-bring-business-and-charities-together-through-events.html "How To Bring Business And Charities Together Through Events") about the types of experiences that customers and employees value.

As financial institutions begin to integrate the front and back-office for improved customer experience, there is a need to embrace an approach that leverages [employees across](https://www.financedigest.com/700000-employees-across-the-uk-have-access-to-fair-finance-will-reach-one-million-employees-in-2017.html "700,000 Employees Across The UK Have Access to Fair Finance, Will Reach One Million Employees in 2017") the organization to support the customer.  The fact is that customers want to interact on their own channel of choice, and they want to be able to pick up conversations where they left off. [Financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/how-crowdsourcing-can-help-drive-the-benefits-of-advanced-analytics-in-financial-services.html "HOW CROWDSOURCING CAN HELP DRIVE THE BENEFITS OF ADVANCED ANALYTICS IN FINANCIAL SERVICES") organizations are going to need to supply their employees with the tools they need to get the job done well, no matter where they sit in the organization. This necessitates real-time [support and guidance as well as centralized knowledge resources to empower employees](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-manage-burnout-and-how-leaders-should-support-employee-wellbeing-tom-keya.html "How to manage burnout and how leaders should support employee wellbeing | Tom Keya") to quickly answer questions.

In the future, [financial institutions will embrace a One Workforce approach](https://www.financedigest.com/4-key-financial-trends-as-we-approach-2021.html "4 Key Financial Trends as we Approach 2021") and optimize and orchestrate resources – both humans and bots – across the enterprise to foster a fully connected experience.


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