Here is a truth that requires no survey or research to verify; more people are working from home right now than at any time in human history. Work from home (WFH) was possible in only a select few industries before the advent of modern information technology – in the early days, employees could work independently and then submit their work to the office the next day. Today’s cloud-based IT software makes it possible to collaborate on tasks while working remotely. However, while many industries support and enable work from home policies for employees, there were certain sectors of the economy where WFH was avoided wherever possible.

This was particularly true for the financial sector, where the employees deal with sensitive and timely information.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the hand of businesses in every sector across the world, and most are now offering work from home options to their employees. It has become necessary for business continuity for businesses in the financial sector as well. This is a critical moment for the financial industry – risk managers are being asked to work harder and smarter than ever before because there has never been such a disruption in the global markets.

Let’s have a look at the two main obstacles to seamless and efficient work from home in the financial sector and how financial risk management software can remove both of the obstacles.

Understanding why the financial sector hesitates when it comes to WFH

There are two major factors that differentiate the financial sector from many other sectors of the economy – the financial sector operates at lighting fast speeds, and the financial sector is privy to some of the most sensitive information possible in the commercial sector. Both have contributed to the challenges seen in the industry towards offering WFH options to employees.

Speed matters in the financial sector

Work from home can hinder the speed at which employees collaborate. You Businesses want your their employees to have access to real-time data and you they want them the employees to have the ability to instantly reach out to each other and collaborate where needed. When employees work from home most such work is done through emails, which has a significant negative effect on can be difficult to manage efficiencytly.

Work from home can hinder the speed at which employees collaborate. You Businesses want their employees to have access to real-time data and they want the employees to have the ability to instantly reach out to each other and collaborate where needed. When employees work from home most such work is done through emails, which can be difficult to manage efficiently.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the hand of businesses in every sector across the world, and most are now offering work from home options to their employees. Share on X

Confidential data

The financial sector is also privy to information that is highly confidential. Banks know everyone’s credit history, loans, financial circumstances, purchases, and much more. This can be problematic if people are taking their files home with them.

The problem is that there are no checks and balances when someone takes their laptop home. The sensitive documents that are in their laptop may be accessed by someone who intrudes on their home network. Businesses have control over devices and networks within the office – but they know that if they let people take the files home, they will no longer be able to protect the data present in those files.

How financial risk management software mitigates both issues

Risk management solutions that have been designed for the financial sector have special features which make them as secure and as fast as the financial sector needs, even when working from home.

Improving work efficiency from home

Risk management solutions provide a collaborative platform where employees can seamlessly synchronize their tasks and processes and achieve maximum efficiency. Risk management solutions provide different dashboards and forms where employees from different departments can enter and analyze information. The solution brings all the information together and uses it to power executive dashboards that allow the managers to have real-time information on work being accomplished across the organization.

Businesses do not have to worry about their employees slacking at home or working at a slow pace – they can simply look at a dashboard to ensure that everything is being handles in a timely manner and intervene wherever needed. In summary, employees can collaborate easily, and management gets real-time visibility into the work being done.

Ensuring data security from home

Risk management solutions designed for financial services sidestep the data security issue by providing a safe location to store all information and monitoring access to the files. Most problems and data leaks happen when files are sent through email; every email creates a new copy in the inbox of the recipient. Risk management solutions eliminate the need for sending files via email – everyone instead accesses the files through a central platform. This keeps the files secure and keeps an audit log of the changes made to the files. Businesses can see who accessed what file, if someone downloaded a file, and so on. They can also disallow people from viewing certain files depending on their role in the organization.

These two features allow financial sector businesses to enable work from home for their employees while still ensuring that everyone works at full efficiency and all sensitive data is secure. Is your bank or financial institution looking at ways to improve work from home capabilities of your teams? Get in touch with our risk experts to see how Predict360 can help your organization streamline its operations.