Michigan Insurance Offices – Post Pandemic Someone has let the insurance professionals out of their cages!

For the most part, independent agencies have traditionally been very reluctant to allow employees to work remotely.  Some offices would allow it on a limited basis, but the rule of thumb has been a traditional in the office work week.  The pandemic forced the issue, resulting in a new normal for employees – and they like it.  Currently, most of the candidates we work with want the ability to work remotely at least part of the week. 

While employees are loving their time at home, employers in general are not all that crazy about it.  At least not on a full-time basis.  Gone is the ability to see and hear what is happening with their staff.  They know that employees are handling a lot more personal issues during business hours than they would have if they were in the office.  Yet, it seems that productivity has kept up overall. 

With vaccinations on the rise, offices have started to discuss their post pandemic work environments.  Return to the office plans are being met with resistance.  Putting people back into their office cages is going to be a challenge, and employers that want to retain talent will need to be flexible.  In person presence is important for teams, but does it need to be every day of the week?  From what we are seeing and hearing locally, it looks like a hybrid schedule is the most likely outcome in most offices. 

The tight labor market is going to provide the leverage employees need to maintain some of their remote privileges.  In the current environment, many of the most attractive recruiting tools are schedule related.  Some of the options offered are remote work, staggered schedules, or even four-day work weeks.  Agencies that can run efficiently and allow for some of these options will have the ability to attract more talent.

It will be interesting to see what other changes develop in our work environments as we return to the new normal.