We are a stoic bunch in this country. That stoicism naturally extends into our financial advice profession, where we endure a heady combination of regulatory expense and ineptitude. Advisers have become hardened to whatever the FCA deems fit to throw at us, directly or otherwise, creating a sort of resilience that should make it easier to weather the latest economic storm. That resilience could be helpful in the coming months.
While lockdown restrictions continue to ease, we should not lose sight of the many benefits that came with lockdown life. There is much debate over the merits of reopening offices or continuing with flexible working in the future. Advisers will also be pondering whether or not to rush back to face-to-face meetings, when safe to do so, or to continue with the wonders of Zoom.
Here’s where I stand on these two dilemmas. The pre-pandemic norm of working full-time together in an office has seen its ineffectiveness exposed in the past 12 months. I know some are passionate about returning to office life, citing the collaboration opportunities and missing the social aspects of working together. I know very few who genuinely miss the daily commute.
Office life is not suitable for everyone, but neither is working from home. There’s much talk of a ‘hybrid’ approach, with two or three days a week in the office and then a balance working remotely. Again, that might suit some but not others.
What is needed to make remote working successful in the long-term is competent management, trusting employees to get work done rather than insisting on presenteeism. I suspect many of those managers chomping at the bit to get their teams back into an office environment feel poorly equipped to continue managing people remotely, as this is an acquired skill instead of a natural ability.
On the issue of client meetings, it’s a case of horses for courses, too. We know many of our clients favour the remote approach, with its convenience and removal of much travel time. It was a fallacy to suggest that close client relationships could not be formed or maintained over Zoom calls. A new generation of Zoom-native retirees has proven that online video conferencing is not only viable but, in many cases, preferable to sitting around a meeting room or kitchen table.
What will be fascinating later this year is to see whether those who revert to the traditional methods can compete with those who work and meet remotely. That commuting and meeting travel time accumulates quickly, contributing directly to a loss in productivity. And if the time spent on commuting is not spent doing more work, it can be allocated to family time or leisure pursuits.
Martin Bamford is chief executive at Bamford Media
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