The Financial Technology Company's CEO told HRD about the importance of transparency to reach 100 markets
Going from a minnow of the online banking and financial technology space to reaching more than 50 million customers globally, Revolut has had to perfect the science of scaling up.
The company, founded in the UK in 2015, say it has achieved year-on-year growth for the past decade and is now aiming to double their customer-base internationally. And one of the key strategies to achieve the ambitious goal is using artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline its people management processes.
Revolut CEO for Australia and New Zealand, Matt Baxby, told HRD the move unlocks potential across the business.
“When you’re trying to take a company global, your people become even more important. You need to be able to find an appropriate playbook so you can scale your people function – AI is pivotal in that because it can create everything we need and have it in one place for everyone to use. It’s about transparency.”
“The thing that helps you be effective is utilising and embracing the tools that are on offer. So, we built a platform from the ground up to integrate all aspects of people management – hiring, recruitment, performance management, it’s all in one place,” Baxby added.
Called Revolut People, the platform makes all people management resources available in one place – helping to streamline recruitment by allowing AI to screen resumes and have performance metrics monitored and available whenever needed.
“It means everyone can see where they are, where they need to go, and how all of this links to overall business growth. Now we’ve got everything we need in one place, it means that can be scaled across the business and help with growing,” Baxby told HRD.
Scaling a business is not solely the remit of senior leadership - it needs engagement from every level of the organisation. That’s why transparency from people managers is critical, according to Baxby.
“Bias to action should be a steel rod that runs throughout most businesses – that idea that you have a tendency to lean towards acting and getting things done – and this is something we have in place at Revolut,” Baxby told HRD.
When this action-oriented mindset is paired with organisational transparency, it removes the silos that often inhibit accountability and execution, he added.
“By having transparency coupled with that, you’ve got no place to hide, which isn’t the case in other areas. You can hide behind governance. You're going to hide behind accountability. This is why recruitment is so important and having a solid framework to use.”
That recruitment framework, he noted, is increasingly supported by AI tools. These technologies ensure alignment with defined role requirements and business objectives - nsuring that every new hire is not only capable but strategically aligned.
“It means no diversion from an outlined set of goals and skill requirements to ensure each potential employee is clear on where the business is heading and contributes to the company’s overall mission.”
Revolut is aiming to grow from 55 million customers across 40 global markets to 100 million clients in 100 markets. Achieving this Baxby says will depend heavily on leveraging artificial intelligence across the organisation.
The company has already reported a 35% year-on-year growth, a trajectory that Baxby attributes in part to how data and AI are being embedded into performance enablement and recruitment processes.
“By having all their key metrics in one place – and a system that can contextualise that – places them in a stronger position to reach their full potential,” something Baxby argues wouldn’t be possible without AI, given the time efficiencies it creates.
Central to this approach is the creation of a unified performance environment - where key business goals and KPIs are visible, trackable, and actionable. Automation allows employees to understand their current standing and chart a clear path to improvement.
Research by V2 Digital shows there is a gap in acceptance within the banking sector to use AI in business practice – with less than one-in-ten (8.75%) quoting AI maturity in their firm.
"Organisations need a level of data maturity with the right foundations and governance in place to effectively embrace and utilise AI," Steve Tzortzidis, director of Data and AI at V2 Digital, said in the report.
Slowing on uptake of AI is something Baxby noted is holding many businesses back - and something they wanted to change in order to stay mobile.
“Having a system that works for your company allows a one-stop-shop for all candidates and improves transparency within the organisation. Recruitment traditionally requires a lot of investment from the candidate, so if you have tools set up to speed up that process, through using AI, it means recruiters can focus on making sure they’re the right fit for our work culture by looking at the more human elements of the job.”
A report, published by LinkedIn Learning, echoed the importance of soft skills in an employment landscape transformed by AI – with investing in people’s growth no longer a perk, but a “strategic imperative", said the platform's Talent and Learning Solutions Senior Director ANZ, Adam Gregory.
Baxby added that focusing on soft skills, such as ability to solve problems, means you have a greater ability to hire those that can utilise technology to their advantage – noting that “people coupled with AI is the perfect recipe.”
Utilising AI in recruitment also means that notes can be automatically taken from different interview rounds – and can be seen by the entire team – which saves time. “Revolut People has been one of those key enablers for us to be able to scale and grow globally – as well as bring standardization to our processes,” Baxby said.
