Banking on the future of work.

• Author: Clarke, Millicent

Byline: Millicent Clarke

Millicent Clarke is Head of Human Resources, Africa and Middle East (AME) for Standard Chartered Bank, where she is responsible for the overall strategic people agenda. Millicent joined Standard Chartered Bank in August 2013 as the Regional Head of Talent for Africa, and became Head of HR Africa in December 2013.Before joining the Bank, Millicent was Head of HR, Retail and Business Banking for Barclays Africa. She also worked for the leading shipping firm Maersk, and left as the Organisational Development Executive for Africa in 2006.

Millicent also spent her earlier career lecturing Business Management in various tertiary institutions in Ghana and South Africa. She holds a Masters in Business Leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa, a BA (Sec) Honours Degree and a Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. She has participated in various leadership programmes in South Africa, as well as at INSEAD (France) IMD (Switzerland) and SAID Business School (Oxford). She is a Non-Executive Director of Maersk South Africa and a Non-Executive Director of Legacy Girls College in Ghana. She was appointed to the Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Board of Directors in August 2016 as a Non-Executive Director, as well as a member of the Board Risk Committee. Millicent is based in Dubai. She is married and has two children.

The disruption of technology is revolutionising industries across many levels. As businesses evolve during the unprecedented revolution in the workplace, appropriate operating models must be put in place to meet the continuous demands of clients and the world around us. The future workforce must be equipped with the necessary tools to allow them to easily adapt to the ever changing world that will require digital skills, organisational adaptability and a different kind of leadership at all levels.

The banking industry specifically, has faced significant disruption from changes in client expectations, geopolitical landscape shifts and development of artificial intelligence (AI). There is often anxiety linked to disruption, as it cannot always be predicted and organisations need to be ready to take advantage of new developments now for the future.

To remain competitive, organisations will need to retool their structures and their approaches to work to make use of the new technologies with full effect. Redesigned business structures and processes with a new focus on talent must be...