With tech exploding, the aching demand for interhuman skills just grows

DEEP LOOK | Post-trade securities services may be increasingly technology-driven, but a client-oriented mindset has become perhaps more important than ever on the basis that it is harder to acquire people skills than technical ones. Paul Golden explores the industry’s strategies to secure the right skills and attitudes for the next decade and beyond.

As a service industry, firms operating in the securities sector have to be client-oriented. The level of client satisfaction will depend on how they are handled by the operations team, so relationship building is vital.

For all the talk of how the industry is changing, it is important to remember that at its core it remains a relationship-based business that places a high tariff on interpersonal skills.

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While there is certainly a growing focus on technical competency, a strong grasp of market colour and other personal skills remain paramount says Lydie Vallese, head of company engagement and general secretary at BNP Paribas’ securities services business.

“We also put strong emphasis on risk management, where our people are trained to identify risks and protect against them through a continuously improving internal control system,” she adds. “Adaptability in cross-location collaboration is essential. For product roles, strong analytical acumen is crucial, while sales and relationship management positions require exceptional passion and personal skills to build connections and drive successful client interactions.”

Apart from technical skills, Deutsche Bank looks for individuals who are curious, empathetic and focused on delivery explains global head of securities services, head of corporate bank Americas, Paul Maley.

Changing client behaviour

“While processes become even more automated, our mission is to upskill or reskill individuals to adapt to changing client behaviour and business models,” he says. “This includes working on complex projects which require ethical considerations or need strategic decisions to be made where human judgement cannot be replaced, for instance, interpreting complex regulations and their impact on the industry.”

Building emotional intelligence and creativity is also important. “This is critical as we are in the business of safeguarding client assets and need to be able to explain how we maintain this trust with emerging technologies that are complex to decipher,” adds Maley.

Expertise in data analytics, automation and programming can set candidates apart. However, the magic happens when these skills are paired with a deep understanding of the securities services space.

That is the view of Laura Drake, chief people officer at Zodia Custody, who says there is room for everyone from tech-savvy innovators to seasoned professionals with a knack for building relationships.

“A commitment to lifelong learning comes into play as processes become increasingly automated,” she observes. “We are seeing firms invest heavily in upskilling programmes, focusing on areas such as strategic thinking, client engagement and advanced problem solving. It is not just about keeping pace with technology but staying ahead by enhancing the uniquely human skills that automation cannot replicate.”

Intellectual curiosity vital

If there is one common skill that could be associated with those who have thrived in this industry it is intellectual curiosity – a deep desire to understand not just what is being done but why, how and in the service of whom suggests Jonathan Smalley, co-founder and COO at Proxymity.

“No matter how sophisticated technology becomes, I cannot imagine a time the industry won’t need people with this talent,” he says. “Understanding and inquisitiveness of the technology, its limitations and potential failure points is a key aspect of the role of the modern securities services specialist. But it is not just about technical skills – we also need creative talent who can challenge incumbent processes.”

When asked how Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) ensures that as technology becomes more widely used and more sophisticated, people don’t become over-reliant or dependent on the technology at the expense of human judgement, Gaelle Duclos, global head of banking and fund services operations agrees that human oversight remains vital.

“If we look at our fund administration business, valuation could be perceived as a workflow business where the workflow tool determines the valuation,” she says. “But whenever there is an issue on this type of process we defer to those with specific financial accounting expertise. So while we are automating more processes around net asset value, for instance, we have experts there to handle any issues that arise and liaise with clients, who value the visibility of these experts.”

Spreading the knowledge

CACEIS employs a build-operate-transfer model where technology is created and incubated within the digital assets business line with a view to the transfer of skills and ownership to the operations department, ensuring that technical knowledge is spread throughout the organisation.

“To be able to review and verify data, staff members have to have a full understanding of the processes both up- and down-stream,” says chief digital officer, Arnaud Misset. “From an HR perspective, we focus on retaining talent at every level, fostering the skills required to perform the high level tasks machines cannot fulfil without the proper human oversight.”

Lien Van Renterghem, group head of corporate development at Euroclear acknowledges that the skills required are rapidly changing due to new technologies and wider use of artificial intelligence. 

“But even if reskilling is of the utmost importance, companies must ensure they have and retain the skills needed today, which are connected to performance and customer needs,” she says.

The most critical aspect is hiring talent with the right mindset and appetite for learning, as well as strong analytical and critical thinking skills, suggests Norman Kaden, head of HR global business partner at Clearstream.

“The rest is mainly about providing the right learning environment and structured training and upskilling concepts,” he says. “We have, for example, implemented a programme of guided learning journeys to enable everyone in our organisation to learn the fundamentals of cloud and AI.”

Euroclear has focused on recruiting individuals with the appropriate skills while simultaneously ensuring that there are sufficient internal development opportunities in place, explains head of recruitment and mobility, Cathy Desmedt.

Mapping employee skills

“We create visibility on supply by mapping the skills of our employees,” she says. “We make this personal through career development support, recommended career paths, internal events such as our learning week, and dedicated corporate programmes.”

For highly technical positions such as servicing or creating digital assets, or performing complex calculations within private equity funds, companies will often seek to recruit high quality candidates from outside the organisation who have the specific experience required to ensure servicing excellence, risk reduction and a shorter time to market for clients, notes Pauline Duburquoy, deputy head of HR at CACEIS Luxembourg.

SGSS’s approach to training is about more than just allocating a set number of learning days per year, observes Elisabeth Guichard-Roche, director of human resources. “We put our knowledge management structure in place about five years ago and now everyone has access to our knowledge platform, which provides an induction path for new joiners to find out more about the business as well as presentations on our operation value chain,” she continues.

This enables staff to find out everything they might need to know about specific business lines and includes client testimonies. In addition to this digital platform, some parts of the value chain are developing specific training.

Market specific expertise in terms of regulations and practices, and in-depth understanding of clients’ needs are key differentiators which can be facilitated but not easily substituted by technology, reckons BNP Paribas’ Lydie Vallese.

“It is our people who own these skills and relationships and therefore we are constantly adapting and expanding their training opportunities,” she adds. “We deliver approximately 16 hours of training per person per year and facilitate over 20,000 internal mobilities.”

Next generation development

According to Proxymity’s Jonathan Smalley, the value of a safe environment for people to learn, ask questions to further their understanding of processes, experiment and fail in safe ways can often be overlooked. He describes the power of experienced, empathetic and supportive colleagues working side-by-side with inquisitive and industrious new talent as a key part of his firm’s success.

Norman Kaden of Clearstream refers to a challenging combination of demographic change, younger generations’ changing priorities and the massive pace of technological development which requires firms to rethink their approach to attracting, nurturing and retaining talented individuals.

“The key to this is establishing a leadership culture which focuses on growing talent and establishing a work environment where everyone’s talents are used to their fullest extent,” he adds.

Deutsche Bank’s Paul Maley agrees on the importance of understanding the needs of a multi-generational workforce and newer employees – such as diversity, equity and inclusion, work-life balance and digitised learning experiences – as well as leveraging cutting-edge digital onboarding and collaboration tools.

The industry has seen significant advances within companies in attracting and retaining talents, but there is always more to be done as they continue to shape the future of the industry, concludes Vallese. 

“There are plenty of opportunities to learn and upskill within our firm, from client relationship management to digital transformation, data processing and actuarial services. Our recently renewed agreement with UNI Global Union (a global union federation with affiliates in 150 countries) incorporates the new challenges facing the sector, including technological transformations and skill upgrades.”