Research was lighter than expected with the Easter bank Holiday in some countries this week. There were survey findings from BrightHR, InterSystems and Salesforce. CornerStone OnDemand, FloQast, insightsoftware, and SAS published full research reports. There were some fascinating insights, especially into the state of cybersecurity in Healthcare from Salesforce and the growing risk that there will be a shortage of accountants in the future from FloQast unless automation can fill the gap.
BrightHR
BrightHR published findings from a heartbeat survey that looks at some HR trends. The responses showed an increasing appetite for a four-day week. 62% of workers would rather work a four-day week in the office than have a full five-day week of hybrid working. The post also notes the Low Pay Commission (LP) consultation is due to close on June 9th. This consultation considers whether the national living wage should apply to employees up to the age of 24.
It also highlights the gender pay gap is not closing. The 9.4% gap is as wide as it was in 2017 and 2018.
Cornerstone
Lighthouse Research has published a report in partnership with Cornerstone OnDemand Inc titled Ready, Set, Grow: The Building Blocks for High-Impact Talent Mobility. It focuses on internal career mobility and spotlights technology’s role in enabling employee growth in today’s evolving talent landscape.
Key findings in EMEA
- According to learning leaders, the primary way the workforce in EMEA has visibility into growth opportunities is through manager conversations
- 51% of employees in EMEA say that the best way their company can support their skill development is by giving them opportunities to pivot, stretch, and grow
- Over a third (33%) of organisations in EMEA say their people have visibility into career opportunities through some form of technology
Ben Eubanks, Principal Analyst and Chief Research Officer of Lighthouse Research & Advisory, commented, “Internal talent mobility technologies are, in many ways, still a new concept, but its ability to meet the needs of both the organisation and its employees is clear. As the talent landscape continues to evolve, employers will need to adopt a system which adequately attracts, engages and retains high-performing talent. With this type of system in place, employers can then effectively build a self-developing workforce that is more inclined to grow within their organisation, and employees will have the control and freedom over their career trajectory, creating a win-win situation.”
FloQast
FloQast released the results of its latest survey, Controller’s Guidebook: The Great Recalibration – The Role of Technology in Retaining and Recruiting Accountants. The report looks at the talent crisis and finds, similar to other research, that 53% are likely to move companies within a year, and 63% of those may quit the industry completely. Conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia Consumer Analytics Program, the other key findings included:
- More than 60% of accountants report they struggle with work/life balance, doubting they can complete the work they’ve been assigned and still aspire to take on a more strategic role in their organizations.
- When a sense of professional fulfilment is high, accountants are almost five times more likely to stay with their current employer than when fulfilment is average. They’re also more than 12 times more likely to stay than someone with low fulfilment.
- More than 60% of accountants say technology was more important in their job satisfaction today than two to three years ago, and 43% say they are extremely likely to ask about technology when interviewing for a new role.
- When accountants strongly believe that their company can understand and address these issues, they are three times more likely to stay with that company than when they aren’t sure. Additionally, 76% of accountants who strongly believe in their company say they will likely stay in their jobs.
Mike Whitmire, CEO and Co-Founder of FloQast, CPA, commented, “At FloQast, we recognize that the industry is facing a massive talent crunch and are dedicated to creating powerful solutions that empower accountants and make their lives easier. Our research demonstrates that as more and more organizations leverage automation technology, the broader accounting industry becomes far better positioned to attract and retain accounting talent.”
The guidebook concludes with four actions employers should take.
insightsoftware
insightsoftware released new research on the state of operational reporting. The report highlights the necessity of automation with the following:
- 71% of IT departments are spending an entire day each week generating recurring operational reports
- 66% of respondents seeing an increase in demand for operational reporting in 2022
Some reports are harder to create than others, with CapEx spending (38%) and revenue trends (34%) the most challenging. Finance is still very much reliant on their IT teams (63%), and 98% still distribute reports via PDF, with 95% of organisations generating mainly static reports rather than using real-time dashboards to look at the business.
Bryan Motteram, VP of Product Marketing at insightsoftware, commented, “To battle wide-ranging costs and mounting expectations, organizations must prioritize the modernization of operational reporting processes to protect IT department productivity. Automating related manual tasks, for example, can save an entire day’s worth of time each week, smooth out complicated workflows, and reduce the pressure on IT departments. All while still providing the critical operational reporting needed for business to thrive.”
Bryan Motteram, VP of Product Marketing at insightsoftware, added, “IT will always play a role in data-driven decision-making. But enabling non-technical teams to solve their own data problems with intuitive tools and self-service report design will ensure IT are focused on important tasks that really move the needle for the business. In other words, empower teams with operational reporting tools that deliver financial data in an easily-consumable format for non-financial staff.”
InterSystems
InterSystems conducted a survey examining how EU financial services firms make decisions. It found that 35% of firms do not base decisions on real-time data. 92% of them rely on data that is more than an hour old, with 39% using data greater than four days old. One reason may be that 43% have between 25-100 data silos to report from. Other challenges include:
- 35% are unable to acquire a 360-degree view of customers to deliver personalised services
- 23% see their digital limitations as their biggest barrier to customer retention
- 20% cited the inability to identify an issue in time to take corrective action
- 19% cited a lack of data to innovate and develop new applications
Tim FitzGerald, EMEA Financial Services Manager, InterSystems, commented, “The data challenges being experienced by European financial services firms will be significantly impacting their ability to make accurate, real-time decisions to cope with market volatility, deliver high-value services to customers, and manage risk. By obtaining access to a 360-degree, real-time view of their data, which more than half (54%) say they want to achieve this year, firms will be in a better position to reduce churn, generate more alpha and reduce risk, but also use tools like analytics to predict what will happen and what they want to happen to drive the business forwards.
“One solution that can be adopted uses an innovative architectural approach, the smart data fabric, which accesses and harmonises data from existing systems and silos inside and outside the organisation on demand, ensuring that the information is both current and accurate. It also incorporates the ability to perform analytics on real-time event and transactional data. For financial services firms, this means they can move away from querying on offline or intraday numbers, to making decisions in the moment and claim a competitive edge.”
Salesforce
A report by Salesforce demonstrates that while 76% of healthcare workers feel responsible for keeping data safe, many do not apply cybersecurity best practices.
- 22% say that security protocols are not strictly enforced in their organization
- 31% don’t know what to do in the event of a breach
- Only 31% are very familiar with company security processes and protocols
This statistic is despite healthcare being the third-most cyber-attacked industry in 2022.
The report uncovers that training still falls short in many organisations. While 70% have had security training, only 54% believe it is efficient. One of the issues is the understanding of what is vulnerable. While 74% believe they have the tools to keep data secure, only 39% use multi-factor authentication and a shocking 1 in 4 have clicked on a suspicious link, though 42% do flag suspicious emails with their security team. The report also looks at the usage of and the security attitude towards generative AI.
Sean Kennedy, VP & GM of Global Health Strategy & Solutions, Salesforce, commented, “As more patient data is stored and transmitted digitally, cybersecurity risks will continue to evolve. And they become more complex as new technologies like generative AI enter the fold. Healthcare workers play a critical part in keeping patient data safe. Organizations can empower their workforce by fostering a strong security-first culture that emphasizes the importance of security at all levels and enables them with secure digital tools.”
SAS
SAS has launched the Resiliency Rules Report explores the current state of UK business resiliency and what steps companies are taking to navigate change and seize the opportunity. The firm has also developed a free online Resilience Assessment Tool to appraise their own company’s resiliency quotient based on the five core “resiliency rules” explored in the study:
- Speed and agility.
- Innovation
- Equity and responsibility.
- Data culture and literacy.
- Curiousity
Key findings from the survey include:
- 99% of executives believe resiliency is very or somewhat important, yet less than half (44%) perceive their company as resilient.
- 57% admit they are not fully equipped to face disruption and struggle in addressing challenges such as data security (60%), productivity (57%), and driving digital transformation (54%).
- 86% of respondents believe resiliency is attainable with the right guidance and tools.
- 90% of the respondents see data and analytics as critical tools for a resiliency strategy.
Roderick Crawford, Senior VP of SAS Northern Europe, commented, “Organisations must think beyond having some resiliency. They need protection from existential threats that could potentially wipe them out overnight, and we’ve seen examples of this recently in the banking sector. We want to help executives across industries use data and analytics to build a truly sustainable resiliency strategy.
“By taking the Resiliency Index, the research and assessment tool we have just launched, organisations can identify areas of existing strength and areas where growth is possible. That insight will help them close gaps and strategically fortify the tools and systems that make them agile in the face of challenges and disruption, as well as helping ensure their long-term survival.”
