Even as greater numbers of workers return to their offices, hybrid working is now a cultural norm. Many insurance industry firms in Australia have embraced working from home, even from remote locations. But how remote can you go?
MECON Insurance, a specialist in construction coverages has 60 staff across Australia – and one in Serbia.
“Our first truly remote worker was a valued member of staff who had been with us for about four years,” said Sydney based CEO Glenn Ross. “She permanently emigrated to Serbia in 2014 and we did not want to lose her.”
Ross said that she has continuously worked from Serbia in an underwriting role for MECON ever since.
“There are many benefits in this arrangement but a favourite of our brokers is that the quotes she does are on their computers when they arrive at work in the morning!” he said.
A few years later, Ross’s firm, like many others in financial services, began offshoring administrative tasks. Today MECON has eight employees through a sister company, located in either Malaysia or the Philippines.
“These staff check proposal forms, load quotes and are generally focused on the more repetitive administration tasks - which are not so popular with our domiciled staff,” he said. “They do an excellent job for us.”
Before COVID-19 struck, for family reasons, MECON had one Australia-based employee working from home full-time in a technical processing role.
“She still does this and it is still working very well,” said Ross.
He said his firm gets many benefits from flexible and remote working arrangements.
“In today’s environment, flexibility is a key element in attracting and holding staff,” said Ross. “Our view is that what assists our staff to maintain a work-life balance, or their health and wellness, benefits MECON too.”
He said his staff often say that cutting out the commuting time means they actually work longer hours.
“I can attest to that!” said Ross.
However, he agreed that having staff work full-time from home does have challenges. Ross cited building and retaining company culture and staff training through exposure to more experienced colleagues in an office environment as two examples.
“Social interaction with other staff is also generally good for health and wellbeing,” he said.
An emerging workforce issue could be that some younger people may never have worked in an office.
“The development of interpersonal skills and professional skills like simply saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to other colleagues, or how to dress appropriately for the work environment – are not things that can be seen and developed through remote working,” said Ross.
The MECON CEO, who has more than 30 years of industry experience, said he looks back fondly on his early years working in different professional environments.
“I watched with interest how my superiors and colleagues interacted with others – I could hear their tones of voice, listen to their conversations and learn what to say and not say and equally as important HOW to say it when it came to speaking with clients, suppliers and other stakeholders,” said Ross. “Technology is great but it can’t replace some of the face to face learnings all professionals need.”
In a recent interview with Insurance Business, Bec Boxshall, senior account manager with Simplex Insurance Solutions, said she works remotely for convenience – but it’s also a career move.
“I can still grow a really great career and not be forgotten out in the countryside,” she said. “There are no insurance brokers where I live whatsoever and people have to travel at least 30 kilometres each way for a broker, so that’s an untapped market,” said Boxshall.
She made a case in favour of working remotely partly based on her home’s proximity to clients.
“If they’ve got me out in the middle of nowhere where there are many untapped clients, it’s only going to benefit the business,” said Boxshall. “The firm already has a presence in Ballarat and Kyneton so this is spreading their name across more of Victoria.”
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