CII New Generation report explores threat of hybrid working on London insurance market

Data gathered from a diverse group of respondents, working in a range of industry sectors, has been used to provide insights and recommendations on how the London market can adapt, in order to maintain its position as global leader in the insurance industry.

The new normal

‘The new normal’ sees a drastic shift in the amount of time spent working in traditional office spaces. Pre-pandemic, 90% of survey respondents attended the office 4 times a week or more. In stark contrast, 86% are now attending the office 3 times a week or less. Less than 5% now attend the office 5 days a week.

The survey asked respondents to rate the impact of hybrid working on different areas of their working life, using a scale ranging from ‘very negative’ to ‘very positive’. 

Areas affected positively were said to include

• Formal Learning and Development
• Work-life Balance
• Access to Line Managers

Areas affected negatively were said to include

• Social interaction
• On the job learning
• Access to mentors
• Collaboration

Demographics

Negative impacts were particularly felt by those working in underwriting and broking, where over 41% of respondents found that access to mentors is negatively impacted, and nearly 60% of junior underwriters and brokers reported that hybrid working has a negative impact on their ‘on the job’ learning.

The negative impacts of hybrid working on social interaction and networking were reported across all categories, including gender, level of experience, and sector.

Over 33% of respondents felt that hybrid working has either a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ impact on their access to line managers, perhaps due to the convenience of online meetings. Hybrid working is also shown to be overwhelmingly beneficial to the work-life balance, with nearly 80% of respondents identifying a positive impact, and just 14% identifying a negative.

What next?

The cornerstone of the London Market’s success; unparalleled expertise and knowledge, is being challenged by the negative impacts of hybrid working on the learning and development of underwriters and brokers. As hybrid working is here to stay, companies must address the associated risks to their organisation, principally the potential for erosion of talent pools from the bottom up.

Recommendations from respondents for improving learning and development in the hybrid working model saw three concurrent themes; structured learning from employers such as formalised training or development days, coordinated office attendance for increased productivity and interaction between junior and senior colleagues, and mentoring schemes that focus on technical training and skills.

The full report can be accessed here.