COVID-19 Team Blog: Alan Hayes

19 May 2020

3 minutes to read.

We’re proud of what our teams are achieving at Carpenters during the coronavirus pandemic. Written by colleagues across multiple divisions of the company, they hopefully provide a small insight into our continuing working practices and values as we all adjust to our new world.

Here is the sixth in the series from Chief Legal Officer, Alan Hayes. 

Life during lockdown

"As I write this, we are approaching eight weeks of lockdown.  It is amazing how much we have achieved over that period, and how we have all adapted in worrying and strange times.  We have been able to deliver largely the same service to our legal clients, and to provide provide additional support to our insurance clients.  We have done this while moving to homeworking for the majority of our people.   

This has been a difficult time for all of us. Those who are at home working have needed to get used to a new way of doing business. Those who are unable to homework have had to deal with the new concept of furloughing.  We are particularly grateful to the small number of our colleagues who continue to attend our offices to perform critical functions that cannot be performed at home.

Most communication is now pre-planned and remote, and many of us - I suspect at least to an extent – have missed daily interactions with our colleagues.  Some of us will be enjoying spending a bit more time at home, and most will be glad to avoid the commute.

We appreciate that this is a difficult time for our clients and staff, some of whom have lost loved ones. In relation to claims, the courts have slowed down, medical appointments cannot be in person, and treatment is provided through video calls.  

While recent weeks have been difficult and unsettling, there are also elements that will be positive as we emerge from lockdown.  We have quickly devised and implemented new ways of working, some of which will be retained to provide increased flexibility for our staff and improved service for our customers.  I read recently that Zoom has grown from 10m to 300m users since the end of last year.  The increased use of video conferencing services is likely to change not only the way we work, but also our contact with friends and family – particularly those that live in different parts of the country or world.

 

Let’s hope for a sharp and safe recovery, and a bit more normality."

About the author 

Alan Hayes, Chief Legal Officer

Having joined Carpenters Group as a Solicitor in 2000, Alan has been part of the Executive Team since 2004. Over that period Alan has worked with Carpenters’ insurance partners to provide an efficient, high quality service to both commercial and individual clients. His focus has been on delivering innovative and effective solutions to the challenges faced by the industry, ensuring that the individual customer remains at the centre of the process and that the insurer’s brand is protected.

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