New study uncovers productivity challenges in the FSI industry while working remotely during the pandemic 

• Two thirds of FSI professionals believe that they are more productive while working from home 
• However, access to information is hindering productivity as 42% of FSI professionals believe that it is harder to find information while working remotely 
• Over three quarters of FSI professionals believe they could be more productive if they had better access to information 

 Research released today, sponsored by Sinequa, a leader in intelligent Enterprise Search, has found productivity surging in the financial services and insurance (FSI) industry during the pandemic, as two thirds (66%) of FSI professionals report they are more productive while working remotely. 

However, while productivity across the industry is reportedly on the rise, the report has also uncovered new challenges in finding information when working remotely: 

• Although 66% of FSI professionals report being more productive when working from home, over three quarters (77%) believe they could be more productive if they have better access to information 
• The average FSI professional searches for information 9 times a day on average, spending 4.5 minutes each time carrying out the search 
• This represents an average of 41 minutes a day spent searching for information, per employee, which could be otherwise used more productively 
• Moreover, 54% of FSI workers say there are days where they can’t find the information they need at all 

Sinequa’s research highlights that 2020’s global switch to remote working went relatively smoothly for many FSI organisations, but the downside is that conversations and documents are becoming increasingly scattered and siloed across systems. Finding the information that FSI professionals need to carry out their jobs is becoming harder than ever, with 42% of workers say it’s harder to find the information they are looking for when working remotely. As a result, FSI businesses are increasingly looking to implement digital workplace solutions to help employees get their work done. This is corroborated by a previous Sinequa study of senior decision makers that found 55% of organisations wish to implement digital workplaces in order to increase employee performance. 

Top reasons for why it is harder for FSI professionals to find the information they need includes data siloes, poor connectivity, and not having colleagues on hand to assist with queries: 

• The information is scattered in lots of locations (28%) 
• I can’t ask my colleagues for the answer (26%) 
• The systems are slower from home (26%) 

There are also further challenges to tackle when colleagues go on holiday. According to Sinequa’s research almost two-thirds (73%) of workers in FSI businesses have struggled to find information they need when a member of their team has gone on holiday. This has a knock effect on the work that they are doing, with a quarter (25%) of respondents agreeing that this set back the projects they were working on.  

Stephane Kirchacker, VP Sales EMEA at Sinequa said: “In modern enterprises, it’s a challenge for employees to find the information they need to carry out their jobs. While we are all working remotely, it’s no longer an option to ask your colleague sat next to you to help you find the information you need. Technical issues reported, such as slow broadband, should be overcome in time, but challenges around finding information needs a change in approach from employers. If enterprises can get it right, the opportunities are plain to see. Professionals in the financial services and insurance industry could be more productive if they simply had better access to information, meaning less time spent searching for information and more time achieving proper results for the business.” 

You can find out more about Sinequa’s latest research into remote working and the challenges that enterprise workers face by reading its latest whitepaper on the Digital Workplace.