Other parts of this series:
In my previous post, I spoke about the benefits and challenges of blockchain and the billion-dollar value waiting to be unlocked.
Accenture research has identified seven key areas in HR that can be enhanced by blockchain:
- Recruiting and onboarding
- Benefits administration
- Contracting and procurement
- Learning
- Certification
- Performance
- Talent intelligence
Let’s take a deeper look at a few of the ways in which blockchain can transform HR in financial services.
Saving time on recruitment and onboarding
To assess and verify a new hire’s education, previous employment and references requires a significant investment of time by both the candidate and the recruitment officer. Furthermore, a 2017 study by HireRight revealed that over the previous five years, 85 percent of employers have spotted lies on their job applicants’ resumés.
What if we could remove the risk and save time with blockchain-enabled verification and information sharing between parties? With blockchain, an organization could:
- Control employee data for greater transparency and ease of access;
- Ensure compliance and reduce the risk of fraud;
- Reduce talent acquisition costs significantly; and
- Decrease the time taken to process applicants.
Certification validation made easy
Today, certification management is a full-time job and requires handshakes between many organizations to maintain and verify certification information. Blockchain can deliver a new solution for confirming employees’ professional certifications and keep them current in real time.
By using blockchain, organizations can:
- Reduce the burden of external certification management;
- Increase confidence in certifications;
- Verify the authenticity of certifications more easily; and
- Protect the value of online accreditation.
Using blockchain to verify employee credentials: a case study
Three Irish banks are collaborating with the Institute of Banking to develop an education platform based on blockchain to verify employee credentials.
This platform will support the verification, tracking, direct access to and management of regulatory and other professional designations, education qualifications and lifelong-learning credentials. The platform will be available by 2020 and will be accessible by 23,000 members associated with the Institute of Banking.
Modernizing consumer identity verification
Several Canadian banks have collaborated to modernize identity verification, tapping blockchain technology to let consumers digitally prove who they are to securely access banking and other personal services.
This service allows users to easily share information directly from financial institutions, credit bureaus, or insurance firms straight from a mobile app called Verified.Me.
Verified.Me is available to over 48 million customers of the five partner financial institutions. It provides a simple and unified digital experience for consumers which:
- Allows them to verify their identity to access bank services faster without privacy risks;
- Streamlines the onboarding process and reduces costs; and
- Enables banks to broaden their customer population and provide a more rapid service.
Using blockchain for paperless travel: a case study
Canada has launched a pilot project for paperless travel on flights to and from the Netherlands. The blockchain-based technology aims to offer passengers a frictionless travel experience1, while allowing them to have more control over their personal information.
By digitizing and streamlining the way they verify customers’ identities, organizations liberate employees to handle more demanding work, like providing more personalized customer service.
Removing barriers to employee identification
In a post-digital world, employees are required to verify who they are and what systems they’re allowed to access, and to perform various tasks to ensure data is secure—multiple times a day, every day.
In addition, they have multiple systems that have the same information, each requiring validation and maintenance which can interfere with transaction processing. With blockchain technology, you could remove these barriers through trusted validation that:
- Eliminates the ability to forge documentation or information;
- Addresses cyber security issues;
- Provides one source of truth; and
- Enables employees to own and manage their information.
More innovative blockchain solutions
In addition to the value blockchain holds for HR in financial services, organizations in other industries are using it to find innovative solutions to old problems.
- Saving millions with blockchain
A consortium including AB InBev, APL and Kuehne + Nagel developed a blockchain solution to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the freight and logistics industry. The approach reduces the need for data entry related to transport documentation by up to 80 percent while streamlining required cargo checks and customs compliance.
- Blockchain as a service
Microsoft and Adents, a supply-tracking solutions provider, are integrating distributed ledgers and AI. The companies teamed up to develop a blockchain and AI-based product tracking platform called Adents NovaTrack. The blockchain-as-a-service approach offers greater traceability, transparency, and security throughout supply chains, guarding against counterfeit items. Microsoft’s machine learning and business intelligence services then help transform the collected data into actionable business insights.
- Enhancing mobile banking with blockchain
SoftBank, Synchronoss Technologies and TBCASoft realized that existing banking apps demanded high-speed wireless access, which meant the companies weren’t giving all banking customers the consistent access to mobile payments that they wanted. To solve this, they built a solution based on technologies both old and new. By building a blockchain platform to create transparent accounting across mobile carriers, the three companies developed a proof of concept that allows payments using SMS or RCS—two text messaging standards that operate reliably on 3G networks. The solution extends connected banking experiences to customers without high-speed wireless availability.
In my final post, I’ll explore the next steps you need to take to start reaping the benefits of blockchain. For more insight, read our Accenture Technology Vision for Insurance 2019.
Contact me here or on Twitter @knott_nic or connect on LinkedIn with my colleagues Colin Strasburg and Oliver Grindrod to chat about blockchain, to find out more about digital HR in financial services or to join us at the Change Directors Forum and People Innovation Forum in London.
References:
