Digital dexterity, which is the ability to use technology for better business outcomes, is essential to achieve success in the future of work.
In the recent virtual conference, “Reborn: Leadership and Innovation in the Future,” which gathered together professionals and business owners who want a career reboot, industry leaders shared their insights and best practices on the importance of digital dexterity and of being future-ready at the workplace. GCash chief technology and operations officer Pebbles Sy, who was the keynote speaker of the event, joined other prominent presenters, namely Agrea president and founding farmer Cherrie Atilano, DermAsia corporation CEO Nikki Tang, and Kumu co-founder James Rumohr.
During her talk about the future of work, Sy pointed out that digital dexterity should not be limited only to employees from the information technology (IT) departments. She also cited a study by Gartner, a technological research and consulting firm, which revealed that 39 percent of new job postings with digital skill requirements were for non-IT functions.
“All companies, in one way or another, need to transform to keep up with the future of work. At GCash, for example, our goal is to build citizen developers by exposing our teams to technology and disabusing them of the notion that only tech should know tech,” said Sy.
Sy also noted that companies should be intentional with training and building expertise to make their employees comfortable with technology. “As leaders, we need to prioritize empathy and help people navigate through these kinds of changes,” Sy added.
As the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work, it poses challenges for individuals and their work, such as establishing work-life balance. Although a hybrid or flexible work setup is viable, there are also limitations when it comes to engagement and collaboration. With this, Sy emphasized the need for companies to reinvent work and break from a location-centric set-up to a more human-centric model by launching more initiatives to keep employees engaged despite working from home.
To engage their employees and aid in stress management, GCash offers the “Alagang GCash” program. One of the activities under the program is “Good News Day,” where employees and managers talk about good work results, as well as new benefits and programs. Another initiative under the program is “Me-Time Monday Morning” which discourages meetings on Monday mornings so that employees can ease into the week more comfortably. There are also “Passion Hubs” to cover the interests of its employees so that they can still have fun and meet co-workers with whom they share a common interest.
GCash also strengthens its employees’ leadership development and innovation with intensive training programs. GCash’s Management Development Program (MDP) is a one-year program for fresh graduates that immerses them in the different functions of the company and enables them to execute their own projects. GCash also introduced the Fintech Engineering Cadetship Program, a 7-month training program that offers technical training and professional development for aspiring tech professionals in the financial technology industry.
“We think that there’s a healthier life balance when it is more purpose-driven, and which will, in turn, yield better outcomes for employee experience and the company’s performance,” added Sy.
With all these initiatives. GCash was able to achieve an Employee Sustainable Engagement Score of 90 with most improvements in three areas: values, leadership, and balance and workload, even during the pandemic. According to Sy, this also puts GCash in a better position to design a new hybrid environment for its employees in the new normal.
Knowing that GCash had a huge impact on the lives of their users kept GCash employees inspired and eager to keep going. Sy emphasized that all throughout the pandemic GCash consistently focused on providing relevant products that cater to each customers’ different needs and life stages to help accelerate and achieve digital financial inclusion for all. With over 55 million users to date, GCash offers safe and convenient products and services such as a pre-approved credit line with GCredit, COVID-19 health insurance for as low as P39 a month via GInsure, a savings account with GSave, investment in a market fund with GInvest, and an online shop for essentials and more on GLife – all on the GCash app.
“Preparing for the future of work would be critical as we continue to work every day to make financial services accessible and financial freedom a reality for the underserved and underbanked Filipinos,” said Sy.