The Meshing of Technology and Human Interaction – Benzinga

Its Time to End Spreadsheet Culture Heres HowThe investment banking front office needs technology partners that offer flexible solutions rather than one-stop-shop platforms.

By: Dean McIntyre

Bad technology breeds frustration and dissatisfaction at work. Nearly two-thirds of employees (62%) report the software they use at work prevents them from reaching their full potential, while one in eight say they have left a previous job over a software mismatch.

For the front-office workforce, spreadsheet culture the proliferation of manual spreadsheets is a symptom of software mismatch. Its a sign the platforms employees are using arent flexible enough to handle all the tasks they need to accomplish, resulting in lost hours spent managing spreadsheets.

At a time when employers are reassessing how and where employees work, you need to reevaluate your technology solutions to retain talent and remain competitive. Rather than relying on clunky one-size-fits-all systems and myriad spreadsheets, look to flexible analytics solutions and open workflows to level-up your operating processes.

Intelligent technology can streamline workflows across your organization, eliminate mundane tasks, and increase collaboration between teams delivering measurable improvements in both account performance and workplace culture.

A lot of our work wouldnt get done without spreadsheets, and theyll always have a place in the office. Theyre infinitely customizable, allowing us to analyze data to solve ever-evolving work challenges. However, spreadsheets inherent flexibility the reason we love and rely on them so much is also their Achilles heel.

But lets back up what led to spreadsheet culture in the first place? Financial technology and data companies love to tout one-stop shop platforms that can do it all. And to be fair, you need an easy-to-use tool that doesnt cost too much, so you sign the contract. But then you have a few years of growth and suddenly realize your asset and portfolio managers are drowning in Excel documents because that full-service solution couldnt keep up. It does most of what you need, but it leaves you on your own to fill in the gaps. Enter spreadsheets.

Unfortunately, spreadsheets dont have built-in safeguards to flag errors, making it easy for small mistakes to balloon, especially in situations where youre creating new spreadsheets based on bad data from old files. Similarly, human errors copy-and-paste mistakes, typos, accidentally deleted cells are unavoidable in high-pressure, fast-paced industries like asset management, even for your star performers. As time goes on, it becomes impossible to backtrack and figure out where things went wrong.

Spreadsheets have a negative impact on company culture, too. Most people dont want to work in spreadsheets all day for the reasons listed above. Spreadsheet culture slows productivity, limits transparency, and hinders collaboration. Creating and maintaining spreadsheets is a labor-intensive process, and everyone has their own method. As a result, its difficult for team members to open a document and take over if needed, leaving individual contributors and teams feeling siloed.

When you have the right tools and processes in place, getting work done isnt a struggle its motivating. The change happens when you replace compartmentalized tech products in the front office with advanced workflow solutions that allow you to rely less on spreadsheets and share information seamlessly. The result is big-picture decision-making, more time for strategic thinking, and a workplace characterized by collaboration.

Here are four tips to help you get there:

Everyone knows technology platforms impact team culture and work performance. Thats why its important to future-proof your organization with flexible, forward-thinking trade lifecycle workflows so you dont fall into the spreadsheet culture trap.

Ultimately, technologies that support open workflows, interoperability, and automation will make your firm more productive and profitable and free up your front office teams time for more strategic and fulfilling work.

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The Meshing of Technology and Human Interaction - Benzinga