When considering analytics, some financial institution leaders ask, “Who is going to use it?” As we talk with more and more institutions, we’ve learned that the real question is, “Who is going to champion it?” Getting the question and the answer right is amongst the critical success factors when enabling analytics capabilities.

The I-will-do -it’ers

Let’s start by acknowledging that the successful adoption of any new technology requires balancing the three dimensions of the “transformation triangle” used by many change management consultants:

That is because adopting new technology calls for rethinking some of the processes and, most importantly, the impact on people.  Any of you familiar with Prosci’s ADKAR methodology (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) will intrinsically understand why this is my starting point.

All of us embrace a new idea more naturally if we identify with the underlying rationale.  Research shows that understanding and embracing the reasons for introducing a new technology is a lead predictor of adoption.* A relatable example is the way grandparents everywhere pre-Pandemic had embraced Facebook. No one anticipated the 60+ demographic to be a strong adopter of social media. But it helps them look at and share photos of their grandchildren and stay in touch with far-away family members. When they saw the rationale, they adopted an entirely new process for communicating with loved ones.

The same goes for your organization: the goal cannot be to implement analytics.  Technology is just an enabler to identify and monitor what hinders the institution’s profitability, overall performance, or ability to deliver more value to stakeholders. So, unsurprisingly adopters come from individuals who have strategic minds recently promoted to their roles or leadership aspirations.  They tend to be willing to demonstrate their ability to think strategically about the big picture, not just deliver to their job description.  And more importantly, they want their institutions to win.  And that is evidenced on some of the uses we see Finance roles and others in leadership functions using it for:

• Inform the allocation of capital and other scarce resources to bring strategies to life and continuously measure the results of their decisions – the continuous improvement mentality.
• Design and test tactics to improve on value creation and deepen customer relationships
• Protect their institutions at times of transformation

The list of applications, of course, is more extensive, but these themes apply to a large extend. Then, consider doing any of those relying primarily on our beloved spreadsheets.  At a time when efficiency and effectiveness are the words, the practice of relying mainly on human resources to, for example: create scenario analysis that connects their Service Level; Productivity; and Product Penetration (to cite a few) with those of their peers and testing how your portfolio is likely to react to the measures you are implementing is questionable.

The analytics sponsors then enter the projects intending to address both the critical problems of today and the unpredictable burning issues of tomorrow.  They want information, and often, their success is linked to their ability to raise flags, diagnose the underlying causes of emerging issues, and finding solutions before they become critical.

The making of Champions

That brings us to the more pertinent question of who will champion it.

We are blessed to have many highly analytical “types” inside our organizations in the Financial Services industry.  Hence, the issues of Knowledge and the ability to consume analytics reports are“easy” to overcome barriers.  And Credit Union and smaller banks have the opportunity to translate that strength into a competitive advantage.

Championing “the future” is an opportunity to create stretch assignments for officers selected for promotions or identified as leadership prospects.  They will work to spread the gospel of fact-based decision-making using hard evidence, testing, measuring, and learning used by leading institutions today.  When identifying a champion, it is best to think across the matrix.  For example, consider who can work with the Finance team in monitoring the real impact of the marketing campaigns on the cost of funds and your overall portfolio. Or who can collaborate with operations in making the underperforming branches more effective and your products stickier? Yes, this role may not exist in the organization today. But thinking about the position is missing the point. It does not need to be “a role,” but “someone” should have that mandate.

For those who like checklists, we suggest your deposit analytics champion should have the following characteristics:

• knowledge of the business,
• natural curiosity,
• fast learner/self-starter and
• personal networks that enable him/her to reach across organizational silos

If you think Big Picture and not his/her current role, you will find the right person to champion the use of analytics to move your credit union or bank to the next level.

We want to hear about your experience (success and challenges) implementing analytics to improve your Bank or CU performance.  Is it delivering benefits to the various stakeholders? Or are you “stuck” on how to proceed? 

We invite you to explore this complex topic and talk to us today. 

* Godoe, P. and Johansen, T.S., 2012. Understanding adoption of new technologies: Technology readiness and technology acceptance as an integrated concept. Journal of European Psychology Students, 3(1), pp.38–52. DOI