More than a third (36 per cent) of financial services companies have found that technology was their company’s biggest pain point during the shift to working from at the height of the Coronavirus lockdown.

A survey of 600 IT leaders in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and France by Vanson Bourne for Xerox found that more than three quarters (76 per cent) of financial services respondents were not fully prepared, from a technology perspective, for the sudden transition to remote work.

It also found that following the shift, financial services was the sector most likely to invest in collaboration software (61 per cent), followed by cloud-based software (60 per cent) and remote IT support (55 per cent).

Across the industries surveyed, an estimated 82 per cent of the workforce predicted that they will have returned to the workplace in 12 to 18 months’ time, on average.

In preparation for this return, companies are investing in new resources to support a hybrid remote/in-office workforce, with 56 per cent increasing technology budgets and 34 per cent planning to speed their digital transformation as a result of COVID-19.

Prior to work from home requirements being imposed, a third of respondents said data security and privacy was their biggest concern with a remote workforce, while 24 per cent cited employee productivity, followed by 16 per cent citing technology infrastructure.

These concerns, coupled with the belief held by 95 per cent of respondents that in-person communication is important for personal development and assessing talent, indicate widespread remote work will not replace more traditional workspaces.

Steve Bandrowczak, Xerox president and chief operations officer, said: “While there is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, our research found that over time many companies plan to have most employees back in an office environment.

"This could be for a variety of reasons, including communication, speed of decision-making and talent development," he continued, adding: “At the same time, the sudden shutdown and ongoing hybrid work environment has exposed technology gaps that require new or additional investment in the coming months.”

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