Tasha joined Johnson Fleming in September 2012 as a Communications Specialist, providing group presentations and individual meetings to inform and assist employees in joining their employers Group Pension Scheme having started her career in Financial Services some four years earlier. She quickly progressed to the role of Consultant
Introduction
As I sat in my garden with my fences surrounding me, I realised I may have been taking for granted the freedoms of daily life. The normal everyday things now seem out of reach, however, I also thought about the positive opportunities lockdown has presented.
Working from home has allowed me to slow my pace a little and switch off more from the hustle and bustle of office life. It has also allowed me to spend more, much needed, time with my family and being able to get on top of the jobs I’ve been putting off around the house.
Technology - the enabler
In terms of working, lockdown has allowed me to reconnect with my clients, albeit virtually. Without the day to day office distractions, I have been able to focus on my clients, their needs during this difficult time and help them to strategise and adapt.
Technology has definitely been the enabler for me to do this. Without systems like Microsoft Teams, connecting with my clients wouldn’t have been nearly as personal as I am able to make it. Being able to speak with clients virtually but still face to face really does add a personal touch for both of us and it’s really important to keep up this kind of communication.
Tech has also allowed me to continue with projects for my clients which is highly important in times like these as when it comes to pensions and employee benefits, the show really must go on. I have been able to continue running meetings, risk renewals, pension scheme governance meetings and beauty parades, all of which are highly important projects for both me and my clients.
Supporting my Clients
Again, with a slower pace and less distractions, lockdown has allowed us all to consider how we can best impact our clients and their people during these uncertain times. Creating an interactive and informative COVID-19 Resource Centre and running financial wellbeing webinars for employees are just some of the ways we have been helping our clients and I think it’s really important to consider ways in which we can help as it’s guaranteed that this will be a highly stressful time for almost any business.
If you think you might be interested in some of our financial wellbeing webinars, you can find out all about them on our website. We will be uploading these to our website over the next few weeks so you’ll always find some new helpful information there.
To conclude
Whilst I don’t think you could ever replace the value of face to face contact, technology has allowed us to continue with our business (almost) as usual. By using supportive systems, we have not lost any capacity whilst being able to work more efficiently. We are a people focused business and believe our clients work with us because of our people which is why keeping regular video contact with our clients is of the utmost importance to us.
I really can’t wait to get back on the road to meet with all my clients, but for now… I’ll see you on Microsoft Teams.
About the author
Tasha Fry, Consultant