The start of a new decade always offers moments of reflection of what has been, and of the next frontiers. A century ago the 1920’s marked a time of liberation and change; a time of new freedoms and autonomy, of modernity and of new hope. As we enter the 2020’s, there are both parallels and contrasts – but we enter the decade with that same spirit, and with the same thirst and excitement for fresh opportunities.
The 1920’s saw dramatic technological developments, which shaped the world as we know it today. As Ford took the former luxury of a car into the hands of the people in the early 1900’s, by 1927 it had produced more than 15 million of its Model T and dramatically changed mobility in the western world. This automobile boom drove huge infrastructure projects to connect cities, people and commerce, like never before. Yet this automobile technology was not new – in fact, the technology had been developed towards the end of the 19th century, but it was the shift from learning to manufacture on a large scale which drove the real change.
That is where we can draw parallels across the centuries from cars to our world of Fintech. When we think back just 10 years ago, digitization was heralded as the solution to driving efficiency and transparency in a financial services sector facing unprecedented pressure following the crash in 2008. Consequently, we were having eye-opening conversations with the world’s largest banks, asset management and private equity firms on how to automate their executive compensation programs and processes. We proved then (and continue to do so) that manual administration and excel management can benefit from digitization. A decade on, we are supporting the who’s who in the financial services industry to connect systems and people to streamline the world of executive compensation. Our combined attention and efforts are dedicated to supplying even more sophisticated solutions and functionality with much more change to come. This decade, we swiftly continue our journey on the road to client empowerment.
It is here that the 2020’s will really come to life. As technology solutions allow for greater information flow and intelligence, our traditional home in Finance and HR expands to senior leadership. We equip management with the information to enable strategic decision making in one of the most critical focuses, the attraction and retention of top talent.
As the next generation of talent rises within firms, these digital natives are looking for a different way of working and a different way of being managed and motivated. This Google generation expects transparency as standard, to engage on mobile and to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing their own information, all enabled through improved technology.
For the 2020’s, we are predicting a time of even greater technological change resulting in further empowerment and autonomy. We welcome the opportunity to help our clients to unleash their potential by digitally transforming their executive compensation and connecting people and systems across areas. We wish all of our partners and supporters a happy and prosperous 2020 as we buckle up in pole position to take the new decade head-on!