Source: Bloomberg Professional Services
The COVID-19 crisis has impacted financial markets and disrupted business operations around the world. Maintaining culture and collaboration through technology has been a common concern. And, while there are many factors to consider, some of the key questions that firms are asking themselves include: How can my business build and maintain company culture in the current climate? How can we maintain productivity and keep employees motivated when teams are isolated? How can technology be used to enable businesses to operate effectively and efficiently?
Buy-side firms around the world have been able to remain operational under the “new normal” by implementing key crisis management strategies. Drawing on robust technological systems and services, they’ve built resilience and enabled innovation in order to be able to predict potential issues, shape processes and policies, and be ready for how business will be conducted in the coming months and years.
Maintaining business continuity
Being prepared for challenges to the status quo has been a key element of buy-side firms’ ability to continue performing well and providing value during this time. Many had extensive crisis and continuity management plans in place and were quickly able to pivot their operations and continue to support their clients — who were also dealing with the new work from home environment.
Firms need the tools that can help remotely monitor, measure and manage performance on the enterprise side and those tools that engage employees. Ken Cooper, Head of Human Resources at Bloomberg L.P. agrees, noting that “technology is essential to getting this right” and the tools needed can take many forms, such as ensuring employees have access to the proper equipment at home, testing remote working capabilities by running drills for teams and departments, and recognizing that remote working may be more efficient than others working from home and solving for ways to optimize workflows.
Buy-side firms also recognized that remaining not simply operational but highly functional during a crisis is key to the success of their operations. The engagement working group developed by AllianceBernstein in New York is a great example of how firms continue to actively listen and respond to employees’ experience and feedback about remote working. “The working group has pivoted focus from return-to-office planning on becoming the best we can be at managing working remotely,” said Chief Operating Officer of Global Technology and Operations, Robert McWilliams.
Firms like AllianceBernstein have tested shifting to large-scale remote working environments in the past. Their technology capabilities in place from the fallout of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 enabled the firm to quickly reconfigure to implement remote working firm-wide for over four thousand employees in March. But, in this new climate, McWilliams emphasized that it’s important that employees “feel not just capable, but also comfortable working from home.
Being creative in driving culture and collaboration
Leaders at buy-side firms globally have also shared stories of creativity and resilience under lockdown. Successful strategies for building and maintaining culture and collaboration remotely include: boosting employee engagement through increased video communication with managers and colleagues, virtual rather than email interviews, mentoring and training sessions for new hires; work-from-home webinars for clients; flexible meeting times and setting aside time to just check in with colleagues. A more recent strategy is giving employees a significant say in any return-to-work plans.
Stuart Reynolds, Executive Director at CIBC Asset Management, noted that high-quality video and audio are enabling employees to embrace technology and thus not feel isolated when working remotely.
“We discovered that once employees are used to meeting virtually, they can achieve the same results as meeting in person. So, this medium is far more efficient, environmentally friendly and safer than physical travel,” said Reynolds. In fact, remote meetings are proving so effective for the Canadian business, that the firm believes this may be a part of their new normal and continue to explore new features that will enhance the experience for both employees and clients.
Envisioning the future of work
Many recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the future of company culture and internal collaboration under the new normal. While firms are working on adjusting office layouts and seating arrangements to ensure the health and safety of employees if and when doors reopen, they also anticipate a greater share of work being done remotely.
The general sentiment on what recovery will look like is that it will be non-linear — because of the potential for further waves of COVID and employees’ personal situations impacting the location where they work. Amid the ongoing uncertainties, firms are using company values as the guiding principles to adjust to the changing times. Going into the crisis, Lord Abbett has continuously “articulated the four values at the firm which are excellence, responsibility, collaboration and transparency,” explained Rory Melick, Head of Employee Experience at Lord Abbett. Culture has never been more important than it is right now, and Melick advises firms to “never stop innovating,” whether it be investing in experiential learning or building cross-functional teams in order to retain employees and allowing firms to “come out stronger on the other side.”
