Fund Operator: How did your team cope with adapting to remote working amidst conditions for health and safety?

Alison Anthony: In terms of working from home, we transitioned very well, as we had somewhat prepared in January and February.

Whilst we did not have a pandemic plan as such, we did get one sorted out very quickly which then got folded into our Business Continuity Plan.

From a risk perspective, as people were working from home, we were keen to ensure that controls were working effectively, and that staff were still following the necessary processes, as well as any new processes that were required given the home environment.

"From a risk perspective, as people were working from home, we were keen to ensure that controls were working effectively,"

We also did quite a bit of work between the managers and the staff to ensure that there was an appropriate level of oversight that allowed for us to continue but also be accountable.

We tried to ensure that staff and managers, executives and CEO all felt as though they were all still connected to each other.

We put additional emphasis on connecting not just from a work perspective but also a social perspective.

"We have been keeping a close eye on our material risk from our enterprise risk register."

I would say that the sense of comradery did come to the fore, which made the process of working from home much easier from a people perspective.

More generally, we have been keeping a close eye on our material risk from our enterprise risk register.

We also appreciate that there is more board and regulator attention, and this is something that we are managing as part of working from home.

Fund Operator: How has the pandemic altered the “war for talent” in attracting and retaining Millennial and Gen Z talent?

Alison: In terms of trying to hire new people, candidates were feeling stuck in their positions, because there was a fear of being last in, first out in a new place.

But we found that this was the case for the first month and then this softened.

In the last three weeks we have been able to bring on a few new hires, but certainly in the first 5-6 weeks it was much harder.

Fund Operator: What is the role of people, processes, and technology in creating the optimal operating infrastructure?

Alison: It has a significant impact and it is about understanding roles, responsibility, accountabilities, and having people who have the right expertise.

This sounds easy but this is one of the factors that we appreciated in this time.

It isn’t just about skills and expertise but also about the agility of the person and some of the other attributes that a person can bring to the table.

In terms of the processes and the control environment, this must be, as much as possible, transferable and portable.

"It isn’t just about skills and expertise but also about the agility of the person"

By this I mean that on the 13th of March we were all working from the office and by the 16th of March 95% of us were at home.

The planning and preparation that the teams had done in January and February allowed us to move quickly to working from home, whilst also ensuring that the control environment that we had at work could be replicated to the extent required at home.

In terms of technology, it is about preparation and planning. Being able to test disaster recovery, your business continuity and reviewing the various scenarios are critical, as we all have good BCPs in place.

I am not sure that we all had considered the scenario of having staff not be able to come into the office at all.

Fund Operator: What are the key lessons learnt that will help you to strengthen the resiliency of your operating model?

Alison: We were able to make decisions very quickly during this pandemic and we need to be able to continue this going forward. We want to be able to act quickly even if the information coming in is uncertain.

We also want flexibility around work arrangements, as this is something, we can do, and want to continue making accessible for both staff and employers.

"We want to be able to act quickly even if the information coming in is uncertain."

We have all heard the motto “think globally and act locally”. I feel that we want to take this and run with it to ensure we are being less insular and learn from other businesses around the country, in order to put the right things in place to hold us in good stead for the future.

 

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