Striking the right balance between time spent in the office and at home is key to getting the most from hybrid working practices, according to advisers.
This morning, participants of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) New Generation programme published a report exploring the potential threat of the hybrid working model on London’s insurance market.
The report uncovered a new normal indicating a significant shift in the amount of time spent working in traditional office spaces. While pre-pandemic, 90% of survey respondents attended the office four times a week or more, currently 86% attend the office three times a week or less.
Less than 5% now attend the office five days a week.
The research showed negative impacts were particularly felt by those working in underwriting and broking, where more than 41% of respondents found that access to mentors was negatively affected.
Nearly 60% of junior underwriters and brokers reported that hybrid working has had a negative impact on their on the job learning.
Nothing beats working in the office
While advisers acknowledge the impact hybrid working can have on the development of emerging talent in the sector, they maintain the additional benefits of such working practices are clear.
Alan Knowles, co-managing director at Cura Financial Services, told Health & Protection that while nothing can beat working in a office with peers, days at home can stop advisers getting distracted.
“We work in an open plan office,” Knowles explained.
“All of our advisers sit together. They sit with me. They sit with [co-managing director] Katharine. So, we can all talk. We can all listen. We can all learn from each other and that’s fantastic.
“And it helps us grow into who we are without having to set our advisers off listening to each other’s calls which is quite time consuming.
“You can just hear a colleague say a few words and ask them about it after. That sort of thing is truly missed when you work from home.”
Limiting distractions but missed L&D
But Knowles added working from home has its own benefits.
“One thing our advisers tell us is that most of them love working from home at least a couple of days. It just stops them from getting distracted,” he continued.
“This is especially if they’re having to do a bit more number crunching or suitability report writing or anything like that.
“It can just be easier where you’re not distracted by the regular hustle and bustle of the office. So for me, the answer is be flexible.”
However Knowles conceded that advisers new to the industry working purely remotely can miss out on learning opportunities.
“I do think they would miss learning the culture of the office,” he added.
“I think they would miss learning from the peers. It is more challenging and time consuming to train someone who is purely remote. So, my personal view is you’ve got to have the balance. And if you don’t – you’re going to miss out on such a talent pool.”
Right people in right roles
For Joanna Streames, managing director of Velvet, hybrid working is most effective where you have the right people in the right roles.
“For the right team member who may be a parent with young children, it can really help here,” Streames explained.
“It means there’s less commute time and gives the greater flexibility parents need to be able to work effecitvely and still enjoy bringing up a young family. It can mean there is higher productivity for people needing this set-up.
“However, it does have to be for the right person who can work independently in this way. If this is the case, then the business needs to offer support more than ever and ensure you are including the team member and working hard and letting them know the expectation of the culture in your business and that they still have to be involved in some aspect.”
Emma Astley, owner of Cover My Bubble, told Health & Protection that her three employees choose to work from the office as they do not like working from home.
“They love the office working environment and we communicate so much better working all together,” Astley added.
“They all have children, with the youngest being five years old, and when she needs time off she knows she can work around him. We are very flexible as working mums.”
Losing out on talent
But Steve Ellis, associate director at Prosperis, warned not offering hybrid working means advisers risk losing out on talent.
“On a very basic level, the danger is someone will leave, and talent is lost,” Ellis explained.
“Then replacing that talent becomes an issue as certain applicants will not apply for or accept a role that does not allow for their personal circumstances.
“Therefore, an employer may well be missing out on talent and restricting their business development.”
And Dave Middleton, managing director of BAS (Benefits Advisory Services), told Health & Protection that hybrid working has enabled his firm to employ talent from throughout the country rather than within an hour’s commute of an office.
“It also offers a much better work life balance for our people as it means they spend more time with their families and friends. They don’t waste time travelling as well as providing flexibility in their working hours,” Middleton continued.
“Ultimately if our employees are happy and productive this should cascade to providing the service we need to satisfy our customers.”
Middleton agreed, however, that he has some concerns over how advisers can learn and develop in this new way of working.
“I think hybrid working is here to stay and the younger generation of workers will insist on the flexibility it provides. So, it is up to all of us in the industry to find ways to make it work for employers and employees.”
Balance is the key
Ultimately, as Alan Lakey, managing director of Highclere Financial Services and director of CIExpert points out, while difficult, achieving the right balance is the key to effective hybrid working.
“I break my week into portions,” Lakey told Health & Protection.
“Three days at the office working as an adviser and two days working from home on CIExpert. I find it easy to become distracted.
“Some people benefit from home working as it enables them to fit their working day around their personal lives, but for others it offers too many opportunities for disruption. This may involve starting work at the beginning again, particularly if spreadsheets are involved with constant calculations.
“Achieving a balance is extremely difficult as each individual is impacted differently.”