Team update: How hybrid working continues to benefit the Logic team and our clients

Since the pandemic, working from home has become more commonplace for workers in a range of sectors.

Indeed, the UK seems to have become a hub for remote working. The Guardian reports that workers in central London spend fewer days in the office each week compared to workers in other major cities around the world. In London, workers attend the office for an average of 2.7 days a week, compared to 3.5 days in Paris and 3.2 days in Singapore.

In 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that around 12% of UK employees were working from home to some extent; by 2022, a new ONS report found that the figure was between 25% and 40%.

Remote working isn’t suitable for all businesses

Of course, some businesses are better suited to remote working than others. At Logic Financial Services, we are fortunate that our business model lends itself to a mix of office and homeworking.

Back in 2019 we were predominantly office-based. Once the pandemic struck, we had to adapt to working remotely quickly as a result of policies that the government put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

The initial challenge was to make sure everyone was equipped to work remotely and could keep in contact with the rest of the team. Within days we had discovered the delights of statements like “Harj you’re on mute!” as we grappled with the video conferencing platform called Zoom.

As the restrictions eased post pandemic, we slowly re-introduced office working but, following  discussions with the team, we decided to keep remote working in part.

As a small business, it is important that we balance the needs of the business with the needs of our employees, particularly around work-life balance and things such as childcare.

We have a mix of full- and part-time staff and all have the flexibility to work from home for one or more days each week.

Face-to-face interaction is so important that we have a “core day” in the office on a Tuesday to ensure that we are all together at least once a week. This is the day we usually have our monthly team meetings, along with any internal meetings that need to be held face-to-face.

It’s also an opportunity to have a little group time away from the office and enjoy a collective lunch at one of our great local establishments (special mention here to the wood-fired pizzas at the Spire and Spoke). If only Watlington’s lovely fish and chip shop was open on a Tuesday…!

Video calls help us to ensure our staff can collaborate and keep in touch easily

We have a weekly virtual meeting on Zoom so everyone can talk about their workloads and priorities for the days ahead. It’s also an opportunity to have a general catch-up about non-work-related issues, including:

• Admiring any new paintings by her kids on Saiqa’s fridge
• Pretending to be impressed by yet more Lego models produced by Jon (yes Jon, not his kids)
• Trying to spot who’s talking from a different room this week compared to last (including Lindsey changing her Zoom background to mask her working from abroad)
• Admiring those who have managed to get their washing done and on the line before the call starts (mentioning no names here)
• Seeing whether Keith has set his Zoom background so he appears to be coming out of Doctor Who’s Tardis or somewhere in space.

Of course there is a serious point here. Keeping in touch when remote working is vital to the success of the business and the wellbeing of the team. Having some fun along the way can and does make a big difference. Before the pandemic we were very much an office-based business. Since then, we have all had to learn to adapt to a new way of working.

While there has been a recent drive towards bringing employees back into the office in some sectors, this has been met with some resistance because many employees have changed their lifestyle. In some cases, people have moved a considerable distance from their workplace in order to afford a better lifestyle.

Interestingly, a report from the Institute for the Future of Work shares that  more than a third of UK office workers would resign if they were required to return to the office full-time.

At Logic, we plan to continue with our hybrid way of working, splitting time between the office and working remotely. As an employer there will always be things we can do to help our team to maintain a healthy work-life balance. For example, we recently introduced a policy to give all staff the day off on their birthday so they don’t have to take it out of their annual leave or stay off the cake and prosecco if it happens to fall on a work-from-home day. This has been very positively received by the team.

Our remote working policy has helped us to grow our team

Before the pandemic, our recruitment naturally focused primarily on people who could travel to our office in Watlington every day. In practice this meant those who lived in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire as we’re close to the border of these two counties.

However, by introducing flexible remote working, those geographical restrictions have been removed and we can now look to recruit people from further afield. And we have done exactly that in recent months when Amelia, a financial planner based near the south coast, joined the team. A self-confessed natural born planner, Amelia specialises in helping clients achieve financial freedom and many of you have already had discussions with her.

Get in touch

By embracing a hybrid working policy, we believe our team of financial planners can offer the best possible service to our clients, helping you to achieve your financial goals.

To find out more about how we can support you, please email us at info@logicfinancialservices.co.uk or check with your adviser.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.