Future of work – Page 9

‘Vulnerability can be your fortress’: How to move away from a command-and-control management approach

The events of the last two years have necessitated the acceleration of a multitude of work-related trends, but the erosion of the command-and-control leadership is arguably the most significant.

A decade ago, “The How Report,” published by LRN, surveyed 16,000 employees in 17 countries and concluded that 97% adhered to a command-and-control model. Four years later, in 2016, the figure in a follow-up survey was 92%. So what is the percentage likely to be in 2022, post-pandemic?

While there is not currently a definitive answer to that puzzler, plenty of other studies indicate a significant shift away from command-and-control leadership.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in March 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Insurance shakes off its ‘boring uncle’ persona

Technological innovation is the driving force behind the insurance sector’s need to transform its lacklustre reputation, with digital know-how and empathy now topping the list of skills staff need to better serve customers

Unfairly or not, the insurance industry has long endured a reputation for being dull. And it has – so the sneering logic goes – attracted similarly uninspiring people. A 2016 Spectator article, in which it was labelled “the boring uncle of the financial services family”, encapsulated the general attitude.

In the six years since its publication, though, the insurance industry has been forced to undergo a seismic transformation. As a result, it appears to be breaking free from its avuncular cocoon.

The insurance market has been heavily disrupted following decades – if not centuries – of sticking to the same old business model and broadly similar products. The threats posed to traditional approaches by innovative insurtechs (technology innovators within the insurance sector), allied with the need to provide cover for a rapidly expanding range of emerging tech-related risks, has shaken the boring uncle from his lethargy.

Growing risks faced by the industry include cybercrime, autonomous vehicles and data privacy. Lob in a potential Third World War, climate change, Brexit and coronavirus, and suddenly, insurance is a hugely topical and exciting industry in which to work.

Many acknowledge, however, that Matrix-style speed-learning may be necessary to keep pace with the change.

Indeed, 30% of 975 Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) members admit that, in 2022, “gaining the right skills and knowledge to best serve customers is the biggest challenge they face”.

Chief customer officer Gill White says CII research, published in late January, found that insurance professionals “recognise they need a combination of technical knowledge, skills and behaviour to secure the trust of the customer and help them improve their financial resilience”.

Insurance staff require specialist knowledge and empathy

Those looking to excel in an insurance career require “a comprehensive understanding of our sector: its fundamental principles, its market and products, and the laws and regulations that govern it,” she advises.

And more than ever, leading candidates “need specialist knowledge to provide expertise, especially when technology is reducing the administrative burden, speeding up processing, and freeing up time to focus on more holistic advice and support”.

White adds: “Our challenge, as insurance professionals, is not just to understand the risk – and how products and services can transfer, mitigate or manage it – but to apply the right behavioural skill set to innovate quickly and apply the right solutions.”

The ability to think as if you are a customer and put their needs at the forefront of every decision you make is crucial to our success

And that’s the crucial point: acute situations require empathy. Those armed with compassion, knowledge and the technical ability to use real-time data to offer insights and the best deals will put the customer at ease.

To stand out in an increasingly crowded insurance market, Cardiff-based Admiral Group, founded in 1993, recruits staff who can follow its “customer-first” philosophy, be sensitive to their needs and use technology to inform interactions.

“As an insurer, we deal with serious incidents and distressing circumstances, so our agents, empowered by the data at their fingertips, provide exceptional customer service,” says UK chief information officer Alan Patefield-Smith. “It’s not about the system or the data; there has to be a human element to understand the customer need.”

In insurance, trust is a must

The events of the past two years have altered what customers prioritise from insurers, he says, with trust now “the number-one facet, above price, for the first time”.

Patefield-Smith identifies a “holy trinity” that can help to foster customer trust. “It’s about surfacing the right data, then presenting the data to the agent at the right time and the agent having the right philosophy.”

Notably, Admiral Group, which has more than 11,000 employees, is the only company to have been named one of the Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For every year since the list began in 2001. With 87% of staff reporting that it’s a “great place to work”, the company has few issues attracting top talent. But to retain workers, investment has been poured into development programmes to build career paths “with mobility at the core”.

Traditional insurers, such as Admiral Group, must compete for talent with innovative insurtechs seeking to scale at speed, and with a start-up approach that may appeal to younger generations. Anthony Beilin, co-founder and CEO of Collective Benefits, an insurtech company launched in 2019 to build a safety net of cover for freelancers and gig-economy operators, says he wants to employ “creative problem solvers”.

“The ability to think as if you are a customer and put their needs at the forefront of every decision you make is crucial to our success,” he says. “Ultimately, this requires a blend of a smart, forward-thinking mindset and compassion – skills you may not originally consider when applying for a job in the insurance sector. These softer skills, as well as a firm grasp of the fundamentals of insurance, are vital for career success.”

Seeking creative problem solvers

Beilin urges traditional and insurtech employers to “use the evolution of customer needs and changing markets to think out of the box” in terms of insurance products and developing skills. “It is time to accept that the tried-and-tested methods are not an effective way to attract emerging talents or to close the widening knowledge gap,” he continues.

“For instance, we’d like to see more companies avoid the standard ritual of sending employees on a traditional training course and explore new learning avenues – such as internships with tech companies and trialling new courses to increase understanding of digital-user experiences.”

Encouraging employees to extend their understanding of how non-traditional sectors create modernised user experiences enables them to develop new skills and gain technical knowledge of the industry, he adds.

White agrees. To those considering a career in the industry, she says: “If you want to make a massive difference to people’s lives, enter the insurance profession. By deepening your knowledge and enhancing your skill set, you can build a highly rewarding career shaped around your talents and pursue an extensive range of paths throughout your working life.”

Boring uncles need not apply.

This article was first published in Raconteur’s Future of Insurance report in March 2022

‘My role changed drastically overnight’: Ukraine HR execs share what they’re doing on the front line

Human resources teams across the globe are working tirelessly, encouraging employers to take a firm stance on the Ukraine invasion, ensuring deeds match words and internal and external communication is pitch-perfect, supporting staff well-being, and more. And all on top of their typical duties. Granted, it’s incredibly stressful right now — but for HR professionals on the front line, it’s far worse.

Consider the experiences of Ksenia Prozhogina, vice president of people at 3DLOOK, a retail tech company headquartered in San Mateo, California, with a research-and-development arm in Ukraine. She grew up in Nizhny Novgorod, western Russia, and has many friends still there, but her focus has been relocating 3DLOOK’s 74 Ukraine-based employees and their families away from danger.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in March 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Why poor coordination and communication are undermining hybrid working models and making staff miserable

In theory, hybrid working is incredibly empowering for employees as it promises greater flexibility and autonomy. But it’s difficult to get right. In practice, poorly coordinated efforts are causing them to fall short.

What’s worse, those affected often suffer in silence, not raising their concerns, worried about repercussions.

For instance, New York-based finance administrator Stella — a pseudonym WorkLife agreed to — has become wholly demoralized by returning to the office. A toxic combination of poor coordination and miscommunication means that her teammates and colleagues are absent most of the time.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in March 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

‘It’s going to get messy’: How rising generational divides could kill workplace culture

Intergenerational divides are more expansive than ever, and if left unchecked could quickly lead to toxic workplace cultures, experts warn.

Opinions on post-pandemic work values vary wildly across generations, according to a report from London-based global recruitment firm Robert Walters published in early March.

Some 60% of the 4,000 U.K. office workers surveyed reported a rise in “new challenges” when working with teammates from different generations. And 40% of respondents are “annoyed” at the post-pandemic working values and global-minded outlooks of colleagues in other age ranges.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in March 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

‘What’s in it for me?’: The employee question that needs answering in any return-to-office playbook

It’s crunch time for hybrid return-to-office plans, again.

After numerous false starts (thanks Delta and Omicron) it looks like a full-scale return to the office, in whatever shape or form that takes, has arrived. As such, a growing number of major organizations have started to show what hybrid model they’re going for.

Last week, Google told staff in the San Francisco Bay Area and several other U.S. locations that it will end its voluntary work-from-home phase in April, in favor of a plan where most employees will spend three days in the office and two working remotely.

Microsoft has also said it will reopen its Washington state and Bay Area offices, and that employees can configure what days they come to the office with their managers. Likewise, with all coronavirus restrictions officially lifted in England, organizations there are being pressured to articulate and activate their return-to-the-office plans.

Trite as it may be, it’s vital to acknowledge that an incredible amount has changed in the world of work since the pandemic struck almost precisely two years ago. And the most significant transformation has been where most of us work.

Models will naturally vary depending on the company, but there are a few essential guidelines that are worthwhile for all employers to take note of. Here’s a breakdown of five key areas employers need to have in their playbook.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in March 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

How to steer clear of ‘employee whiplash’ if driving a return to the office

On Valentine’s Day, Microsoft showed its affection to staff by announcing plans to reopen its Washington state and California Bay Area offices on February 28 — but will workers love it?

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the technology titan had indefinitely postponed return-to-work plans for its 103,000 employees, last September. But now its hybrid-working strategy has been revealed, and staff members are being called back into the office, it will likely spur other prominent organizations to follow suit.

But could the sudden shift from remote to in-office working cause what Brian Kropp, chief of research for Gartner’s HR practice, calls “employee whiplash”? And, if so, what are the likely short- and long-term effects, and how can they be avoided?

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in February 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Remote and hybrid working highlights the widening gulf between work-life conditions of senior and junior employees

How has the pandemic been for you and your career? The answer to this question will likely depend on your work status, the industry in which you operate and your level of seniority. The increasingly discussed “work-life balance” has long tipped heavily in favor of senior executives. However, alarming new research indicates that the gulf between the chiefs and the warriors has widened considerably in the last two years.

Almost two-thirds of 700 executives across seven industries and six countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., reported an improvement in their work-life balance since the onset of the pandemic, according to Economist Impact’s recent Work-Life Balance Barometer. But 41% of 4,000 employees, at manager level or below, said it’s worsened.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in February 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Unpacking which harmful work practices the pandemic exposed, and which are — hopefully — banished for good

It’s crass to argue “the pandemic has been good for humanity.” It has, though, effectively taken an X-ray of society and highlighted where sickness lies. And, most agree, much remedial work is required to restore total health.

Whether acute areas are treated — or, indeed, treatable — is a matter for incumbent politicians and business leaders. In this article, we turned to the latter cohort to reflect on what harmful work practices were exposed by the coronavirus crisis and how they’ve evolved as a result, for the better.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in February 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Mojitos in the metaverse? More companies take to hosting team happy hours via virtual reality headsets

Before the pandemic, U.S. marketing agency The Starr Conspiracy’s employees would enjoy Olympic-like competitions in the office car parks and revel in regular in-person, happy-hour meetings. However, with the fun tap turned off by the coronavirus-induced restrictions, company bosses sensed disconnection and isolation were growing for remote-working staff. So they reached for virtual reality headsets.

Now, all 72 employees have Oculus Quest 2s, which cost about $300 per set, and join in for happy hours and quiz nights in the metaverse. But, aside from the obvious practical issues — it’s hard first to locate and then swig a mojito while wearing an obstructive plastic mask — will employees swallow such activities, and can they genuinely re-engage staff?

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in February 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

‘Remote managers are killing company culture’: How to avoid common hybrid-working mistakes and engage increasingly disparate workforces

The general consensus in the corporate world is that hybrid working is here to stay. Yet, without a blueprint for what good looks like a period of trial and error is inevitable.

What is more clear: the role of managers will be critical in making whatever model a company adopts a success and ensuring people feel valued enough not to jump ship. So far, it’s not looking good.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in February 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

‘It’s central to the future of work’: World’s first coordinated 4-day week pilot begins

Determining what successful hybrid working looks like is a priority for most business leaders in 2022. But as employers grapple with shaping a system that works for both them and their employees, could it be that a better solution is operating a four-day working week?

A growing number of people seem to think so. In the U.S., 30 businesses will kick off four-day week trials across industries including manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, recruitment, and technology, on February 1. The six-month trials will be overseen by not-for-profit 4 Day Week Global — a community created to support employers that want to shift to the shorter workweek and ensure productivity remains high.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in January 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

‘Imagine a corporation without a CEO’: Why the concept of a DAO is gaining traction in the business world

Until recently, the only time most people had heard of “dao” was in the context of East Asian philosophy. The word translates from Chinese as the “way.” Now, though, another DAO — an acronym for a decentralized autonomous organization — is entering the mainstream of business consciousness. Many progressive people, especially cryptocurrency supporters, believe it might even be the way to a more equitable world.

ConstitutionDAO sparked global headlines in November 2021 when it tried to buy an original copy of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby’s auction. For the bid, more than 17,000 donors had contributed to raising $47 million worth of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ultimately, the group failed in its attempt, with a cash offer of $43.2 million preferred.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in January 2022 – to continue reading please click here.

Meet Homeboy Industries: the California not-for-profit providing jobs to former gang members and incarcerated people

Jose Guevara — aka Manny — has been incarcerated five times and in all, has served about 25 years. However, in recent years, Guevara, now 62, has steered clear of trouble, which he credits to his employer, Homeboy Electronics Recycling, where he works as a long-haul driver.

“I’m the main driver of the big truck,” he says with a grin. “I’ve been to Utah, San Francisco, and Sacramento, and I love that this company trusts me with its truck and merchandise. We are growing, and I’m so proud to be part of it. Without my work here, there is a high chance I would be back in prison right now.”

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in December 2021 – to continue reading please click here.

Employers should focus on improving employees’ experiences in 2022, say experts

People are at odds with their employers on what makes a great employee experience — a disconnect that will need to be swiftly rectified in 2022 if businesses are to retain their talent, according to analysts and workplace experts.

We asked a range of execs what they predict will be the top priorities for business leaders in 2022, and alongside finessing what the right hybrid models are, fixing the employee experience emerged as another major theme.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in December 2021 – to continue reading please click here.

‘It’s just another 9 to 5’: Employers assess productivity levels after introducing 4-day work week

As organizations tiptoe into the post-pandemic world of hybrid working, the idea of a four-day week is gaining popularity. Little surprise, if working one fewer day and not being docked any pay is in the offing, which is precisely what some businesses are already offering.

For smaller businesses that can’t afford to pay staff 20% extra, a four-day week is still an appealing proposition. Many leaders acknowledge that working 9 to 5 is, in 2021, only heard of in Dolly Parton’s classic tune. More flexibility, trust, and autonomy are the vital factors that will count to attracting and retaining top talent.

Indeed, in the U.K., 38% of small- and medium-sized enterprises leaders recently indicated they plan to forge ahead with four-day-week plans. It’s a concept that works in theory, but does it work in practice?

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in October 2021 – to continue reading please click here.

‘Old maps don’t apply to new worlds’: Experts predict what’s in store for 2022

Toward the end of 2019, business leaders discussed the likely trends in the next year, claiming to have a “20/20 vision.” No one had the foresight, however, to spot a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that would alter every aspect of the “old normal.”

To begin with, organizations and governments blindly battled the coronavirus crisis. It is only now we can blink into the light and see more clearly what factors might shape the future of work in the coming year.

Given the U.S. military phrase VUCA — an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity — encapsulates the world in which companies now operate, long-term plans are so last year. So instead, more immediate, tangible, and attainable goals are recommended. And it is in this spirit that a raft of business leaders offered bold future-of-work predictions for 2022.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in December 2021 – to continue reading please click here.

Why in-demand freelancers are looking to Singapore and other countries to ply their trades

The first mention of “freelancers” can be found in Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, published in 1819, about an army of medieval mercenaries who would fight for whichever nation or person paid them the most. Not much has changed since, save for the lances being swapped for laptops and smartphones. Oh, and many freelancers can fight their 21st-century battles virtually, from anywhere on the planet.

The modern weapons wielded by freelancers means they can, theoretically, work from anywhere with a decent internet connection. According to a new study from Tide, a U.K. financial technology company offering mobile-first banking services for small and medium-sized enterprises, Singapore tops the list of desirable places for freelancers to operate.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in December 2021 – to continue reading please click here.

How companies are tapping avatars, virtual spaces to introduce new hires to their colleagues and cultures

The digital world, where hybrid working is increasingly the norm, can be a lonely place — especially when joining an organization or learning a new skill for career development. To solve this challenge, companies are reaching for their virtual and augmented reality headsets and taking the plunge with immersive training.

One such organization is HubSpot. The customer relationship management company is trialing VR remote office tours and using it to present employees with an “immersive and unique look” into HubSpot’s remote community. “The VR platform allows employees to build an avatar, walk around the virtual space, and even hear other employee voices — connecting in real-time, as you would in an office setting,” said Hubspot’s Boston-based culture manager Meaghan Williams.

This article was first published on DigiDay’s WorkLife platform in December 2021 – to continue reading please click here.