Leadership Through Turbulent Times – Stephen Kerr, Sedgwick International UK

I have recently interviewed several leading figureheads across the market to discuss their views on leadership through turbulent times.

Today’s interview is with Stephen Kerr, Managing Director, Home Claims Services Sedgwick International UK

With over 30 years experience in the industry, Stephen has broad experience across multiple senior leadership roles – previously Director of Sedgwick’s Home Specialty Team in the UK.
In his current position as MD, he is operationally responsible for all home claims products across Sedgwick’s UK business.

Q1. How have you had to adapt your approach to managing and engaging with your team during the pandemic?

It’s a great question. Colleague wellbeing was paramount throughout our decision making and we moved almost 2000 people to work remotely from home within one working week, which was a fantastic achievement through team effort! Setting aside the obvious logistical challenges, our core focus was ensuring the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and maintaining high levels of engagement. Tools like MS Teams helped to make this more feasible than would have been the case only a decade ago, and seeing colleagues faces on screen was a real bonus for everyone. It was also important to use the tools for social interaction to maintain those strong social bonds that helped us all navigate through the early stages of the pandemic. Ironically, people have found they are seeing some colleagues more often than they otherwise would have thanks to the technology.

Q2. With signs that most lockdown restrictions are being lifted, what do you see as the new office/remote working norm?

We’ve all learned things about ourselves during this time and the new skills that we’ve acquired have allowed us to look at future working patterns in a different way. We’re absolutely committed to our branch network. It is where we all learn from one another and it’s also where we build that strong sense of team and loyalty to colleagues, that helped so much in the early stages of the pandemic. That said, the new ways of working are very effective both on a business and personal level and there is no longer a need for people to spend the same amount of time and money on commuting slavishly to the office every single day. We now have a more flexible working platform for our colleagues, where they can balance working from home and office attendance for collaboration, learning and social interaction. The key is getting the balance right for both our colleagues and the business.

Q3. What contingency plans do you have in place, should the UK enter another enforced lockdown?

We’ve maintained a flexible capability throughout the various levels of restrictions across the UK and we’re easily able to adapt at short notice to respond to any changes going forward. Clearly our office based colleagues are already operating on a flexible basis and video technology has allowed our adjusters to remotely visit customers where appropriate. We have to be mindful that, on everyone occasion, there is a customer who has suffered a stressful event and our role is to help them get their life back to normal as soon as possible. Therefore, throughout the various restrictions, we’ve maintained the ability to visit customers when that is the right thing to do.

Q4. How has Covid impacted the type and volume of claims in the Home sector?

There was an immediate reduction in demand at the start of the first lockdown. That reflected changing priorities in society however once everyone got used to the restrictions, we saw demand return substantially to normal. The types of losses we handled changed slightly, as a result of more people working at home and causing more incidents to occur. There was also evidence of some events resulting in less damage than would otherwise have been the case had the customers been at work because they were able to take mitigating action and reduce the impact of say a burst pipe or small fire. There was a reduction in the volume of Liability claims simply due to less activity in workplaces, retail environments and road traffic accidents etc.

Q5. What lessons have been learned?

Pre pandemic we all travelled much more than we needed to, and technology is enabling very effective alternatives. They’re more efficient for the business and colleagues alike and are also better for the environment which is very important to us in Sedgwick. It doesn’t take way the value of the human touch though and our success is predicated on the wonderful people who work here. Their resilience and determination to deliver great customer service, in the most unusual of circumstances, has been a true inspiration!

Q6. There is more awareness today on mental health issues inside the workplace. How do you personally deal with the inevitable stresses involved in running a business unit and what practical measures do Sedgwick have in place to help and support employees?

It’s been a huge area of focus for society in general and most certainly for the business. We’ve focused heavily on mental health awareness in Sedgwick, providing colleagues with advice and access to professional help if required. Having that healthy work life balance requires a more conscious effort when working from home. Making time for exercise and quality time with family and friends, albeit at times remotely, is really important. Talking honestly and openly with our friends and colleagues is vital but most of all its about caring and listening!

Q7. The is an increasing demand for top talent in the market, what steps have Sedgwick’s taken to attract and retain high performing/key individuals?

In a people business, it’s important to get this right and we’ve used the last 18 months to put some fantastic career development programmes in place. We’re making it easier for colleagues to identify and access these programmes, meaning that no one needs to look outside the business to realise their career aspirations. The programmes are structured and mentored and can also lead to formal qualifications. They cater for a full range of experience from colleagues who are completely new to the industry, right through to experienced adjusters who are seeking to progress to MCL level careers. We’ve secured an impressive cadre of graduates joining us in September for a 5 year immersive programme, as well as an exciting leadership training programme that will result in formally recognised qualifications.