The working from home diaries: Richard Beaven

As the Covid-19 outbreak brings unprecedented change to the way that we work, Insurance Age has caught up with some familiar faces in the insurance industry to see how they’ve adapted.

Today, Richard Beaven, chief operating officer at Brightside Group shares how he is coping with running the business amid the UK lockdown.

What is your work from home situation and where is your work station? 
I set up a new workstation at the top of my place in London in my bedroom where I have a nice view of the park.

The best investment I made was a stand-up desk. I have managed to build it and I use it all the time and swop between standing and sitting.

I also bought a half decent webcam that makes pictures a bit clearer on all the video conference calls.

What have you found to be the main advantages and challenges of working from home?
The biggest advantage for me is I’ve spent less time commuting and travelling, on the train and driving, literally I get hours back.

The main disadvantage for me is that I get my energy from being with people (I’m an extrovert in the true sense) so I am really missing human contact.

Also, my family are all in Gloucestershire with my new grandson so it’s doubly hard.

That’s said I have great friends, cycle a lot and we are doing fun things like virtual dinners, pub quizzes, wine tastings and so forth. 

Any tips on keeping business running smoothly and efficiently during this period?

• Communicate, communicate, communicate. At Brightside we have Microsoft Teams which has proved to be a god send.
• Have fun - we have Brightside pets, hobbies and the toilet roll challenge.
• Run the operation as business as usual as much as possible, customers and colleagues prefer the certainty.
• Accept without rancour that things are a bit harder, things take longer, people are more stressed.
• Take time off. Take a holiday, and in daily life take proper breaks away from work, especially if you’re sat in front of a screen for long periods of time.
• Learn something new.
• Take the opportunity to call the people you have been meaning to but haven’t got around to.

Following the pandemic, do you anticipate remote working practices changing in the long term?
I think the pandemic will change our industry for ever. Systems, practices and processes will all need to change.

More than ever, businesses will be digital, and as a result customers’ expectation of the quality of their digital journey will be even higher. Voice will no longer be the key channel, even for the older offline business.

Talent pools will widen, while shift patterns will change with home and office-based working, with social distancing a new norm.

Mental health issues will continue to increase, not just during the crisis but afterwards, and business will need to devote much more attention to the well-being of colleagues.

What have you found to be the biggest distraction at home?
Amazon deliveries in the middle of a conference call.

How are you getting your daily exercise?
Daily exercise is trying to get out on my Brompton bicycle for an hour each day.