...both in the treatment of clients and their staff during the pandemic would have a long-lasting impact on their businesses.
We called it the coronavirus dividend, and said that those that behave admirably and in the best interest of their employees and clients would be able to draw on it for years to come. Others will have to pay a tax in lost clients, more transactional trading partners and increased staff turnover.
What has been remarkable about this extraordinary period is the way it has forced every single individual to re-evaluate almost every aspect of our lives – from how we spend our time, to the way we work, to our priorities in life.
It will also force all employers to adjust their in-house priorities accordingly, particularly around staff support and wellbeing.
Last week, the sixth Dive In Festival took to our laptop screens and underlined how in times of crisis, conversation – and tangible action that follows – on diversity and inclusion (D&I) is crucial.
A survey of its more-than 12,000 attendees globally found that 97% believed the pandemic has highlighted an even greater need for business to focus on building inclusive workplaces.
Mental health ranked the number one concern among attendees, with 44% of the vote, followed by gender equality (43%), flexible working patterns (41%) and culture and ethnicity (34%).
Seven months since we were plunged into Covid-19 life, there is already market chatter about which companies have put the legwork in to secure that coronavirus dividend. Who made good on promises, who made the effort to say thank you, who bothered to ask how their staff were doing.
We were pleased to report the positive pandemic news yesterday that Odyssey Group had paid all of its staff a one-off special bonus to thank them for their resilience during Covid-19, using the firm’s untapped travel and entertainment budget.
Certainly at the other end of the spectrum, redundancy drives – the worst we have seen being 3,100 layoffs at US title insurer Fidelity National at the end of Q1 – and belt-tightening schemes at a time when everyone was under stress have not been good PR.
The London market in particular has always competed furiously on talent, although to date that has largely been centred on financial incentives.
The pandemic has altered that playing field, and now staff welfare will play a bigger role in those conversations going forward.
Actions, not words, on D&I will be the key to winning that talent war, and some start-up businesses – such as McGill and Partners – had already recognised this fact before the pandemic, with forward-thinking HR policies around annual leave, and arrangements for parents and carers.
Those who have built up goodwill among staff during the pandemic will not only be able to compete successfully for new talent, but will also increase their ability to hold onto their best performers and increase the engagement of all their staff.
There is also a unique opportunity at this juncture to double down on D&I efforts and build a workplace environment that employees are proud to be part of and that rivals really want to work for.
With the best market opportunity in years upon us, talent is an asset an insurer or broker cannot afford to lose.
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