All together, all connected

Mr. Greco and most of those listening to his presentation are virtual participants, tied together through a digital connection. It’s the latest example of how the company is working in a world where face-to-face contact has been replaced by the likes of WebEx, Microsoft Teams, Workplace and apps on mobile devices.

The COVID-19 crisis appeared in an age when the benefits of technology have so thoroughly eclipsed the challenges of remote working that customer service and teamwork at Zurich have barely skipped a beat. Employees are not all together, but they are all connected.

As Mr. Greco stated, “We are social beings. I never realized just how much. Nor could I have imagined how quickly we could have become technologically connected. But this ‘new normal’ reveals a new-found social connectivity and that is so important. It has reinforced relationships with customers, colleagues but also with our families and friends. There is a new informality that reflects greater trust and honesty – something we should keep alive going forward.”

The town halls are high-profile examples of how Zurich is able to connect without being in the same room, but they are hardly the only ones. Across the company’s global operations, virtual connections keep the business humming while the workplace sits mostly empty and unused. Every function in every part of the world is communicating with colleagues and customers through virtual channels. Here are some of the ways that is being done:

• Risk Engineering is performing virtual assessments with customers.
• Meetings with brokers are routinely held online.
• Virtual lunch meetings are arranged with customers.
• Internal online webinars are conducted without a live audience, covering topics from climate risk to well-being.
• Employees are meeting with each other and senior leaders for virtual coffee breaks.
• Health and stress management advice is available to employees through online platforms.
• In many countries, retail customers can now submit claims through their smartphone.

In a world where remote work is the norm, vigilance is required to keep the company safe from the increased risk of cybercrime. According to one cybersecurity services provider, the number of phishing attempts, malware targeted at remote users, and malicious websites related to COVID-19 rose 30,000* percent during the first three months of the pandemic.

To help protect against these threats, Zurich launched a campaign that includes a five-part video series featuring Lori Bailey, Global Head of Cyber Risk, Commercial Insurance, and Paige Adams, Group Chief Information Security Officer for Zurich.

“Even as companies increase their investments in security technologies, digital literacy embedded in company cultures will lead to true resilience,” Mr. Adams said in one of the videos. Employees should be especially vigilant about reporting any potential problems, even as minor as clicking on what could be a suspicious link, he stressed.

*Source: Zscaler, the cyber security company