Most of us have spent the past couple of weeks in some form of sheltering in place, working from home in all likelihood, unable to travel, and separated by “social distancing” from your customary contacts. This week we asked readers to share their experience—and what lesson(s) they’ve learned.
A plurality (45%) of this week’s respondents have been “sheltering in place” for three weeks (already), while roughly a third (34%) had done so for two weeks, and 13% for a week. The rest had only been in that status for “a few days,” or were still in a mode where they were travelling between home and work—but only between home and work, and of course, maintaining the “6-foot rule.”
We asked readers how—beyond email and telephone—they were staying in touch with customers.
81% - Zoom
45% - Go to meeting
32% - Social media
21% - Skype
19% - Microsoft Teams
13% - Conferencecall.com
11% - Facetime
4% - join.me
2% - Intercall
2% - Vonage
Other outlets cited included: WebEx, Google Meeting, LinkedIn, Uber Conference, texting, sending out video messages, freeconferencecall.com, Google Hangout, 8x8 communications meetings, and Google Hangouts. One reader explained that they “Recorded a video and sent it to my clients.”
Collegial Connections
We also asked about their connections with their colleagues. Once again, more than one response was permitted:
68% - Zoom
32% - Go to meeting
28% - Microsoft Teams
19% - Skype
17% - Social media
15% - Facetime
6% - Conferencecall.com
4% - Intercall
2% - join.me
We asked readers if they had encountered any issues with these platforms—and mostly they hadn’t. In fact, nearly half (46%) literally responded “mostly no.” Another 38% responded “no.”
On the other hand, 12% responded “a bit,” and 2% said “oh, a disaster or two.”
But then there were those in the “OMG, let me tell you about it” category. Here’s a sampling:
“Usually just small issues. But at certain times there have been bandwidth issues and cell or conference webinars crashed,” said one reader. “Having trouble reaching Zoom with questions. Also, having trouble transferring meeting controls from person to person,” explained another. “Some people can’t figure out any of the platforms no matter how easy,” noted another. “Most of our employees had never used Zoom. So they had to download the app and we held a practice meeting before the entire company met with the president. Helped to put their mind at ease,” explained another.
Q1 Committee ‘Calls’
As for those upcoming first quarter meetings:
67% - Shifting to virtual.
19% - Too soon to say.
6% - Already cancelled.
6% - Planning to postpone.
“Barring a miraculous remedy that essentially opens the country in the next few weeks, I’ll plan to do Q1 meetings virtually,” said one reader. “Even with client dealing with a multitude of issues....it will be important to keep the committees up to speed with all of the new legislation and how the investments held up in Q1.”
“Some cancelled, many are virtual and some postponed,” noted another. Indeed, this survey question should have allowed multiple selections.
“Late quarter Q4 meetings shifted to virtual the past two weeks and many were cancelled last minute so clients could manage business related priorities / emergencies,” offered another reader.
“Some clients have postponed as it’s just not a priority but most are happy to do it virtually,” commented one reader. “Some canceled due to clients working through all they need to do to get their staff situated. Some moving to virtual,” explained another.
“We were able to keep most of our meeting scheduled over the past few weeks but moved them to virtual Zoom meetings or conference calls,” said another. “As we continue to get more comfortable with this we have continued to schedule reviews into April and May with the assumption that the meetings will be taking place virtually.”
For others—well, it might not have been business as usual, but one reader said they had “Been doing virtual now for 2 years. All sessions recorded and stored in each plan’s vault.”
And as for those new business presentations:
45% - Yes - virtual.
21% - No
19% - Yes, via conference call
17% - Planned, but postponed.
15% - Not yet.
9% - Planned, but cancelled.
“50% have postponed, but we did have a few virtual,” commented one reader. “We’ve had a few prospects willing to meet with us virtually or have a conversation over the phone,” noted another. “Went well, thanks to extensive rehearsing beforehand to make certain that the technology would work out,” said another.
Biggest Challenges
We asked readers what their biggest challenge(s) had been. Here’s a sampling:
“Other than staying sane from the walls closing in and making sure my 9 year old is doing something productive/educational....it’s been working with a few more limitations at home such as no printer, larger computer screens, etc.”
“Not being around my team.”
“Revenue down, work up, massive risk of plan leakage, and new business frozen. Dealing with support for much business contingency planning with laws constantly changing.”
“Having staff work at home.”
“Managing my day from home...losing track of what day it is.”
“Everyone is at home. Virtual. Huge personal wealth - financial planning opportunities.”
“I’ve always been very proactive in getting out to see clients in person, so very different to me stuck at home and on the phone and meeting virtually. Join Me is firm approved chat service and very unreliable and difficult to use.”
“All the calls/emails that are coming out from agency (local office), HO, venders, money managers. There is so much information simply balancing all the information and deciding what is important to my practice has been overwhelming.”
“Not interacting with the team in person.”
“Proactive communication with clients around all of the things happening - working remote, investment volatility, suspending ER contributions, CARES Act changes - a lot in a short period of time. And then trying to stay on top of prospecting at the same time.”
“Better utilization of virtual meetings -- many clients not used to the format.”
“Our practice has always been setup for virtual / remote work so generally speaking, adjustment has been fine. However, I’m used to in person interactions with clients and prospects so it is harder to make that personal connection in a virtual setting--just requires thinking differently.”
“Getting the office based people comfortable working remotely - as many don’t have all the technology / equipment needed to do the job efficiently (headsets; two monitors; dedicated office space at home).”
“Getting used to virtual meetings in place of in person (both prospect, Plan Sponsor, and Group Education Meetings).”
“Our sales plan this year was pretty dependent on people being in their offices and able to gather in groups! That’s put a damper on things, at least for the moment. Work-wise we really haven’t had to adjust...we have always been built to work from wherever, whenever mostly out of my paranoia that I’d spill water on and kill my laptop, and my desire to run my business from an extended family vacation location.”
“How to handle critical items such as incoming mail and participants who can only receive forms via mail. Also client fee payments via mailed check (we are advisors who own a TPA so we have TPA fees). We learned quickly which employees are not disciplined enough to work reliably at home. Our phone system is not set-up with direct lines to each employee so we are unable to forward employee calls. Fortunately, our vmails automatically are received as e-mail .wav files so mostly things have been okay regarding phones.”
“We have two new employees, with one new to our industry. Virtual training has its challenges, but we realize that we have made excellent hires and we will get there.”
“Going from 2 screens in the office down to one!”
“Communication - understanding tone over email vs. in-person.”
“Need a better home printer.”
“There has been a decrease in productivity due to interruptions at home with 2 kids homeschooling and also because of just being mentally taxed. Also a disruption in work hours as I am having to do work later at night after the kids go to bed to get some quiet time where I can concentrate.”
“Probably truing up our internal comms within Teams so we’re not flooding our colleagues inboxes with short messages and questions. This can also limit the risk of phishing attempts which have been going up a lot lately.”
“The direct personal touch. Services are provided the same otherwise.”
“Prospecting has turned to consulting.”
“Reaching out to all of our clients, making sure they know we are a resource to them and their plan participants. There was also a learning curve with Zoom but we’re all pretty proficient now!”
“More participant calls due to market volatility. client webinars/video calls instead of in-person meetings.”
“Just miss being face to face with people. Adjusting to having kids home during the work day and making sure they don’t sit on their phones all day since remote learning hasn’t started for us.”
“I was already working from home so that was not an adjustment. Having the entire family home is - two teenagers and my husband now are working from home. can be a bit distracting but we are all adjusting.”
“While work from home was available before COVID-19, a day/week was broken up by client meetings or other outside appointments so it was not so much being in one place 24/7. With shelter in place it has been a challenge to take a break from working that is personally productive and not just work 24/7 as it has been very busy. From a practice perspective re-tooling our model to prospect in a more virtual environment is being addressed as well as how we can better assist our clients , especially in times like this.”
“Not having access to the office supplies.”
“We work remotely anyway, so not much except cancelling in person meetings.”
“Keeping up with the ever changing environment related to the CARES Act and potential other accommodations regarding safe harbor plans, etc. Constant communications with clients, which is good.”
“Unifying the team and how we are communicating to our plan sponsors. Weekly calls to stay on task and share what and how we are handling specific tasks is much different than a face to face conversation.”
“Not being able to walk down the hall and interact with my colleagues.”
“Dealing with the retirement provisions of the hastily assembled legislation known as the CARES Act!”
“Learning to use online conf services.”
“Some of our employees find that working from home just isn’t right for them. They need the human interactions on a daily basis. Even if those interactions are done at a safe distance. Other employees don’t want to step foot in the office again until the all clear signal is given. Luckily, our management allows each employee to make his or her own choice.”
Other Comments
Oh, and as for other, random comments—well, we got a number of those as well:
“It’s definitely challenging. Even though it can be perceived as easier (no commute, work in sweats, growing a Corona-Beard)....there’s still work to be done, families to be supported, kids to be entertained and clients to worry about (which can impact our business potentially). There may certainly be a "new normal" that comes out of this and hopefully it’s not a major disruption to some of the things that we’ve become used to.”
“My commute is much shorter!”
“It is awful on every level. But how it impacts our business and the general retirement readiness of Americans (an effort I have dedicated 25 years to) terrifies me.”
“All my business meetings have been cancelled. I have to stay home so having my daughters do all of my running around is interesting.”
“We have an 18=year-old exchange student in our house from Italy. We have been dealing with the emotional struggle of all of this for so long it is exhausting. Everything from the first case in Italy to the the death of her aunt to her oncoming return. Trying to balance that, kids in college/high school, a husband who owns a business with 200 employees and managing my own clients/practice has been a challenge of a lifetime. Big win this week: virtually completed paperwork to move a 401(k) plan to my book of business. Staying in contact with participants and plan sponsors has been a way to keep them ground and secure in helping them reach their goals.”
“Prospecting in challenging, but forces us to get more creative.”
“It hasn’t been too much of an adjustment - just very, very busy. I was used to working at home some and we had held virtual meetings with our clients over the last couple years.”
“Overcoming worry related to our business and fear among our clients.”
“Less travel, fewer places to eat and none to socialize or meet face to face, clients dealing with financial issues for the business, qualified plan funding, how to handle layoffs, new government programs and staying up with the latest info from Washington and Wall Street. A different type of stress and client hand holding.”
“When our state issued the shelter in place, my husband and I both took seriously and exclusively started working from home. We have two young daughters ( 3 and 8 months ) and now have to keep them entertained while balancing work--this has been a big shift for us. But we have been super in touch with communication and scheduled the day so we each can have focused time for work and the girls do not suffer (and you really can’t be distracted when they are that age!), Also, my family lives less than 2 miles away and it is so hard to not see them but it is what is necessary to keep everyone healthy!”
“We’ve shifted our client support / outreach focus to coronavirus-related themes, as to assist clients in the manner they need it most (ramped up market volatility education for clients/their employees; plan amendments - reducing / removing employer match; workforce management assistance -- layoffs, disability, furloughs); plan sponsor education (all things COVID-19 related for benefits and retirement); amped up vendor management regarding CARES Act amendments, communication, operationalization.”
“Everyone is just doing the best they can and I think they know everyone else out there is too. I’m grateful that my little one hollering for more snacks or help with a toy or whatever while on a client call is just accepted as where we are right now. We just take it day by day.”
“All my college boys are home. Its’ a blessing to have our whole family together.”
“Daily calls with clients who are preparing to layoff or furlough or planning to layoff or furlough. Dreading upcoming 3/31/20 statements because, believe it or not, some participants will still be shocked that their account lost money. Scrambling to understand the nuances of CARES Act, explain to clients and determine how they wish to proceed on the optional items all while having participants already call you inquiring about suspending loan payments, etc. Tired of cooking! I miss my housekeeper! Ashamed to admit that I watched Tiger King while eating Reese’s Peanut Butter Easter Eggs! Too much together time with my spouse, neither one of us are "feeling the love"! LOL”
“I have been amazed at how quickly our clients & business partners have adapted! What I have not adapted to is springtime without baseball :-(“
“I hope that participants are able to get by without completely raiding their retirement accounts.”
“Using a shopping app to obtain groceries, they shop we pick up. Haven’t used delivery yet. Surprised by some colleagues attitude toward the health issues involved. One colleague gives a daily report RE: the low death rate per million citizens means this is the same or lower level of risk we face every day. Surprised by those whose public behavior ignores the warnings from the health community.”
“It seems like many people are more understanding of schedule changes. Since some people are trying to be a home school teacher and employee at the same, some people cannot work the regular 9-5.”
“The impact of the market has many concerned for their retirement account balance, including our family. My husband begins his retirement tomorrow, which he had scheduled two months ago. Now we are concerned that our money will not go as far. I also have a lot of employees calling with the same concern on the balance of their accounts.”
“It is certainly not social distancing, it is physical distancing. I have seen more of my family, friends, clients through virtual coffees, happy hours, meetings. Even our neighborhood has had distancing happy hours in our cul de sac, never had we don’t that before!”
“Managing the ups and downs emotionally. The unknown of how long this will last.”
“Teenager attitudes! We are a close family, however, spending this much time close can make us a bit snippy with each other. Learning to breathe more and taking up meditation!”
“Harder to work with kids at home all day.”
“So excited to talk about Secure, feel like it didn’t get its day. On to CARES. Two significant pieces of legislation in 90 days.”
“I’ve found that my time boundaries have changed. Instead of working 9am to 6pm and taking care of personal issues at other times, I’m working all day long and interspersing personal issues as they arise.”
“I’ve worked remote for 10+ years and live in a rural area, so the adjustment for me has been minimal. I think that a significant long-term impact for the firm is that we will save a lot of money on in-person meeting expenses, since a number of client will likely not return to in-person meetings once they see that can do such meetings virtually in the same or better fashion as in-person.”
“We hope this is shorter term than the media is claiming.”
“No big change for me & my family. We’re pretty lucky in that regard. Others not so much.”
“There is an overwhelming sense of "we’re all in this together" and "we’ll get through it.” I’m encouraged by the kindness and positive attitudes of my colleagues, partners and clients.”
Thanks to everyone who participated in this “sheltering-at-home” NAPA-Net Reader Poll!
