There is no doubt that technology is changing – and even disrupting the pensions and benefits landscape. And that disruption is affecting not only hiring needs with RBS for example shedding over 500 jobs and replacing them with automated investment advice – but also the types of services that are being provided to the market
And while no-one would welcome job cuts, the huge progress being made in providing digital solutions does mean that the current advice gap for those with less than 50,000 to invest may well be closing.
So, in an arena where financial planning has historically been built on relationships and an understanding of an individual’s wants and needs - what does this mean from a hiring perspective?
Firstly, there is now a need for new and different skills within the sector. There is an emerging market around guidance as opposed to advice using techniques such as gamification and that calls for a very different set of skills from that of a traditional financial adviser.
Will we see demand for technology skills within insurance, pensions and employee benefits slowly increase? Technology is now the mainstay of many solutions and so insurance companies, asset management firms and consultants will no doubt have to invest in new skills such as software development. And firms obviously need people who understand the technology and robo world rather than the pensions world of old.
Robo advice solutions are still emerging but we are seeing a gradual transition to their use in other employment benefit solutions as HR teams come out of the other side of auto enrolment and begin to look at wider areas of employee engagement and satisfaction.
Download: The New Rules of Enagement
Our roundtable debated issues such as the financial advice gap and the difference between guidance and advice, the need for more engagement, consumer segmentation, the future of the IFA, and the tech generation.
