My Perfect Broker Week: Bletchley Group’s Angela Irvine

What constitutes the ideal start to your working week?

Sitting down with a coffee and a list – it’s all about prioritising, but also planning for whatever else unexpected that might come in that week.

In terms of working in the office to home/other, what does your working week now look like?

I spend probably one day a week working from home tidying up admin and catching up with calls, otherwise I am either in the office or out seeing clients and prospects or meeting with insurer and risk management partners.

What does a productive in-person, in-office meeting with your own team look like to you?

A lively interactive meeting but with an agenda shared beforehand so that everyone’s time is spent constructively rather than risking going ‘off piste’.

What does a productive in-person, in-office meeting with an insurer partner look like to you?

Again it’s important to set an agenda and prioritise the items. The insurer/broker relationship is a partnership, so it is key that both sides understand each other’s needs and challenges and that time is dedicated to both.

What does an ideal lunch break look like to take your mind off the day job?

We are fortunate that we have some lovely pubs and cafes around our office so a bite to eat, preferably in the fresh air is ideal.

We all know evening meet-ups are important for networking. What is the best after work event you have recently attended?

The Birmingham Insurance Institute recently organised a summer networking event with drinks on a terrace outside a bar on a nice sunny evening in the city centre.

It was good to see some familiar faces from the Birmingham market but also several new ones, and it was especially pleasing to have some younger attendees come along who had never been to a networking event before.

Team bonding is also key to a successful broking business. What have you found is a successful way to keep team spirits up?

We tend to do a team outing to somewhere like Flight Club where everyone can join in. It’s always a lot of fun, although can get quite competitive.

Have you had a ‘workation’?

Not as such but I do work while on holiday – keeping up with emails and dealing with any client matters that need to be addressed.

What would the ideal ‘workation’ look like for you?

As a fan of both city and beach breaks, I’d be happy with either, but perhaps somewhere new, so I can explore in my downtime.

On Friday evening how do you like to wind down after a busy week?

A glass of wine and a catch up with the family as everyone is so busy either at school or work all week that we don’t have time to re-connect fully until the weekend.

Angela will be part of the panel Understanding the Insurance Needs of SMEs and Start-Ups at Broker Expo on 12 October at the NEC Birmingham. To sign up to join her, click here.