Banks a leader in transforming with the times

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/12/2017 (2861 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Did you know that banking is one of the world’s earliest businesses? In fact, Canada’s oldest incorporated bank, the Bank of Montreal, is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.

The bank was started by nine high-profile leaders in 1817, in the old Lower Canada as it was known at the time. It has now grown to play a vital role in Canada’s economy, as well as providing multiple career paths and job opportunities.

Learning about this historic celebration made me wonder about early banking careers in the 1800s. Some of the things I thought about included the job titles and the duties of these historic jobs, how work was structured and how was it governed.

Finally, I was interested to learn what factors led to changes in the system and how this impacted how work was done.

Even at the startup stage, the Bank of Montreal’s nine employees included job titles that are still found today. These included a cashier, although a managerial position at the time; an accountant; and two “paying” tellers.

Instead of having job descriptions, employee roles were governed by a set of bylaws which outlined the duties of each employee. All the early bylaws referred to “he,” as the jobs were very male dominated.

I noticed as well that the tellers were personally responsible for their mistakes and had to make up the difference whenever a mistake occurred.

While early banking jobs were male dominated, a sprinkling of women first started work during the First World War and then increased again when many of the male staff joined the military to serve in the Second World War.

Women continued to infiltrate the banking profession and today, the Bank of Montreal has a senior leadership team that is 40 per cent female. In addition, there are special internal initiatives focused on supporting career management for women seeking leadership roles.

As with other banking institutions, there are also special efforts being made to attract more women business owners as clientele for investment and/or business management advisory services. Finally, the bank recently offered an award program for those women making a difference in their community.

Sometimes, as banking customers, we take things for granted, so it was also amazing to learn just how industrialization has impacted the banking industry.

For instance, in the early banking days, work was very paper-based with documents being mailed back and forth, thus causing time delays. Then, along came the telegraph. This literally revolutionized communication, as it enabled employees to speak directly and immediately to other locations.

However, the telegraph and telephone in turn required employees to build new skills, such as good communication and time management. Then, along came the fax machine. This too impacted both the demand for services and the nature of various jobs within the banking industry.

Technology has continued to create rapid change for the banking industry in general. We’ve moved from standing in long service lines to doing all manner of banking transactions on our laptops and, now, on our cellphones. In fact, customers can complete all their banking transactions whether they are at home, in an office, out in the field or basking on a beach enjoying a vacation. Geography is no longer a barrier to getting your business done.

Today, a bank doesn’t return cancelled cheques, instead, customers will see the cheques on their computer. The same goes for depositing cheques. Once deposited, the photo of your cheque shows up immediately on the ATM for you to check its accuracy. Some banks are now moving to allow customers to take a photo of their cheque and deposit it through a dedicated app.

In addition, banks are also moving toward biometrics instead of the now outdated secure PIN number. This follows the use of fingerprint sensing in devices now being used in Apple products, for instance. Not only that, but technology is quickly moving to voice commands, eye scanners and even heartbeats for verification. Finally, ATMs are everywhere and this makes life easier for the customer.

Perhaps best of all, technology has enabled banks to more easily provide “customized” service and to be much more responsive to customer needs.

Our information is more easily accessible and when we call for service, the bank has our history and is familiar with our interests and our needs. At the same time, a customer can more easily check out the various services being offered through the internet.

Of course, there’s always a downside to technology, such as the need for cybersecurity and data protection.

However, technology has also created a significant number of new job roles. This includes technology-related security professionals, systems design, repair and maintenance as well as digital marketing and social media.

Banking has become such a fast-paced, energetic industry that it also has roles such as risk management, financial analysts, mortgage and financial advisers and customer service representatives.

Banks have also become industry leaders in human resources such as employee relations and employee engagement by offering training and development, leadership development, work life balance, and health and wellness, among other prime benefits.

As large institutions, the banks also focus on ensuring the diversity of staff meets the diversity levels of their customers. They strive to represent their community.

As individuals, we don’t often get to see all of the changes that have happened in an industry. However, being a bank customer allows you to not only see change but to experience it, and perhaps to identify areas for improvement. We don’t have to look very far to find giant historic businesses such as Eaton’s, and now Sears, who have failed miserably in managing industry change.

As a result, they have disappeared from our landscape. Banking, on the other hand, continues to embrace the technology revolution and therefore, we can expect many more changes to come. So, hats off to banks for leading change and hats off to the historic Bank of Montreal as it recognizes its 200th anniversary.

Source: Interviews and material provided by Bank of Montreal.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCPHR, CMC, CCP, M.Ed, is president of Legacy Bowes Group. She is also an author of eight books, a professional speaker, executive coach and workshop leader. She can be reached at barb@legacybowes.com and/or barbarabowes.com.