The Future of Bank Teller Position
Background
A wave of lay-offs has been witnessed worldwide, affecting corporate in all sectors due to the advent of digital economy. Today, reports of mass lay-offs or redundancies are common, especially in service sectors such as insurance and banking. A major contributing factor to the lay-offs and constant redundancies has been cited as high costs of production and labor, as well as adoption of innovative technologies. Today, businesses as well as government agencies are embracing technology by acquiring various innovations to improve efficiencies, thereby making redundancies inevitable. As the wave of digital economy continues to sweep across the globe, more employees will lose their jobs and have to rethink their careers. One job position that has been a victim of the digitization process is the bank teller. Looking at the current trends, it is evident that bank tellers will be constantly under threat as the innovations in the banking sector escalate.
Digital economy
Since the digital economy hit companies all over the world, there has been a significant increase in adopting ICT to enlarge market reach, reduce operational costs, and enhance productivity. In particular, the spread of broadband connectivity has led to a rapid increase in efficiencies in the workplace (Alushula, 2019). In the banking industry, broadband connectivity has reduced pressure on people working in the banking halls since clients do not need to visit physical facilities for various services. This trend is not unique to the banking sector but is replicated across all industries. Even in the manufacturing industry, where a lot of manpower is needed, innovations such as robots have replaced human labor. The digital economy has changed how many companies operate. Businesses, in particular, are embracing computer-assisted technologies to the detriment of workers’ unions, whose members are losing their jobs at alarming rates. Even though the digital economy has led to lay-offs and staff redundancies, innovations are also creating new jobs. Therefore, emerging technological innovations are only leading to redundancies in some specific job positions that can be automated and require little human interaction.
From my experience, when I was working as a bank teller in the bank, I was required to help customers to download different Apps for different purpose on their phone, so I held a tablet which printed with seven QR codes and ask customer to scan one or two after they opened a bank account or money transfer. It is an effective approach to reduce workload for the bank but keep the customers at the same time. In another word, the need of bank teller is less and less necessary.
Conclusion
The digital economy has transformed many industries in the world today. Organizations are increasingly going digital as they seek to improve their efficiencies. The bank teller position has been one of the casualties of the new order in the banking industry, whereby organizations are automating most of their services. As the world continues to embrace digital economy and innovations that promise more efficiency in businesses are introduced, some job positions will become obsolete, meaning that, in the near future, many banking institutions will no longer see the need to employ tellers.
References
Alushula P. (2019, August 18). KCB worker count falls by 240 as more cuts loom. Business Daily. Retrieved fromhttps://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/companies/KCB-worker-count-falls-by-240-as-more-cuts-loom/4003102-5240306-p70mht/index.html
Bank teller: Career path & qualifications. (2019, October 28). New York: Newstex
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