The following column was written by Paula Doolan, project co-ordinator, MGAA.
As the insurance market ponders over the risk/reward challenge related to going back to work in the office, wherever that may be across the UK, we asked our members about their plans, their fears, and their hopes.
Managing General Agents are specialists who know their markets’, their end customers’, their brokers’, and their capacity providers’ priorities, and as such they are often very skilled relationship people. And insurance is, after all, on the commercial insurance side in particular, a people business. That is one of the reasons, I suspect, that Lloyd’s has been keen to re-open in September, albeit under strict social-distancing rules. And while some may worry that having to wear a mask for the foreseeable future may reduce the benefits of face to face contact, I am minded to remember the wise words of Batman, the caped (and masked) crusader: “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”
Preparation is everything
We surveyed MGAA members in August, and the vast majority of those responding, 68%, confirmed that they had indeed started their return to work planning, although a surprising 19% had not.
Timing, of course, is everything, and with mini-lockdowns, a second-wave and travel restrictions hovering in the background, clearly all plans have to be fluid and flexible – and can best be described as more of an aspiration than a reality until the actual moment of (no) return.
Anecdotally many people seem to be looking at September to start moving back, but only 17% of our members said they were aiming for September, although 9% said they were starting in August and 32% already have some staff back in the office. About one in five, 17% have no plans to start returning until next year.
We also asked our members what the drivers were for a return to the office outside of government advice, and for once competitor and broker pressure seems to be of little consequence with only 2% rating their competitors going back as the key driver for returning, and 12% due to brokers returning. Rather, employees themselves itching to return was cited as the most important factor by far (53%).
Looking at it the other way round, 29% of the MGAs responding to our survey said that staff preference was the top consideration over any decision to eschew the office in favour of continuing to work from home or work remotely.
The main (Perspex) barriers to returning to the office were, however, and not unsurprisingly, fears over using public transport (58%) and social distancing (35%). And perhaps reflecting the trend towards employers and employees now having a better understanding and appreciation of work life balance, and fears over the practicalities of children returning to school, 18.5% of those surveyed cited childcare concerns as the most important reason for staff being reluctant to return to the office.
For those who are intending to be back in the office, it is clear that it will still not be business as usual. A large minority, 40%, said that even if they are back in the office they will not be going to external meetings, at least not yet, and 47% will not be welcoming external visitors.
The main fears seem to be air conditioning having the spreading effect akin to that we have seen in meat processing factories alongside employee resistance. However, the latter is balanced by a wish to reinforce and foster team cohesion through an at least partial return.
One MGA summed up the challenge perfectly and commented: “It is an incredibly complex risk v reward balancing act with economics, human values, and human nature at the heart of it. It is going to take a few iterations to get it ‘right’.”
And another emphasised why we are likely to see a trickle not a tide: “The lockdown has proved we are able to work from home without the need for an office. We will keep our office and aim to return at some point but there is absolutely no rush to do so. The wellbeing of our staff remains our overriding priority.”
So, whether you are rushing back in, biding your time, or contemplating staying away, you will not be alone as we all try and manage our way through this unprecedented time.
Author bio
With over 45 years’ experience in the insurance profession, Paula has held executive roles right across the London market including the Davies Group, BLM and Crawford.
In her current role at the MGAA, Paula is in charge of delivering a range of initiatives and tailored events for the benefit of the Association’s 255 members.
Paula also sits on the marketing committee for the Insurance Charities and is a member of the Insurance Supper Club.
