According to research conducted by Investors in People (IIP) one in two people state that they do not have a friend at work. That’s not just sad. It’s fatal. In fact, a long running study on men over several decades saw strong correlations between length of life and the quality of their social networks. We live in the strangest of times but I take heart from their research that community matters, writes David Little, a Partner in our Corporate and Commercial department.
According to IIP seven in ten people surveyed about their recent Covid-related lockdown experience said they had missed their work community, the chats, incidental contacts and that as a result they felt their creativity and productivity was hampered, possibly enough to potentially damage their career.
This is interesting, because from a commercial perspective they estimate that if employers can increase the number of people who say they have a friend at work to 3 in 5, then they would see a third fewer Health and Safety incidents…and a 12% increase in profits!
So it would seem the stronger our community, the stronger we are as humans.
You can read the full IIP article here.
Why digital advice still needs the human touch
Perhaps because I was contemplating humankind’s place in the 21st century that subheading above caught my attention. The UK saver and investor industry is becoming increasingly served by consumer-led technology, but digital advice still needs an element of the human touch, says Simon Binney, business development director at Wealth Wizards.
While the idea of a fully automated saving and investment process with no human intervention makes for an exciting business case, the fact is only a minority of people feel confident in making their own investment decisions. We all need advice of one sort or another, whether that is basic guidance and triage to start investing or saving into a pension, or more complex advice for areas such as estate planning.
Which is why, what is proving to work as a financial advice model is not ‘robo-advice’ as many envisaged, but consumer-led and human-assisted advice. It is a process that is built on trust and incremental engagement with the customer.
Both Wealth Wizard and IIP have products and services to sell. But it’s reassuring to note that both see a role for human interaction especially in professional services.
Contact our Corporate & Commercial Team
David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Corporate & Commercial team. If you would like to contact him please quote Ref CB329 on either 020 7631 4141 or email company@bishopandsewell.co.uk.
The above is accurate as at 08 July 2022. The information above may be subject to change during these ever-changing times.
The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
