How do you engage with your team and distributors considering the nationwide-lockdown situation? Which app do you use for video conference and file sharing?
Communication has always been one of the most important aspects of our business. While, we used to have regular updates on audio-calls and in person team meetings, during this time we have increased the use of digital platforms for internal communication.
Even before the lockdown was announced, we had implemented Work from Home (WFH) on pilot basis and ensured all our team members, across the nation, are digitally active and have the necessary infrastructure to enable them to WFH. By the time the lockdown was implemented, our entire team including the investment team, had smoothly transitioned to working digitally. We continue to have regular team meetings over Microsoft Teams. In fact, we meet and see our colleagues across the country much more than when we used to travel.
Online learning platforms like Coursera are being used extensively for enhancing various skills; to look after the well-being of employees, both mentally and physically, we have tied up with Cult-fit and other fitness leaders which offer online classes.
Similarly, for our partners and investors, after the nation-wide lockdown was implemented, our team has been engaging with them continuously using various digital audio and video platforms. To encourage our partners and employees to share a video showcasing their talent or a family activity photo during these times, we have also launched "Wealth of Talent" campaign.
How are you managing your time? Tell us more about your work from home routine.
I realised initially itself that keeping a daily routine was important and hence continued to follow a work schedule, similar to a normal working day in office. The key is to follow your routine with discipline and I have a dedicated area in my house from where I operate, it is like a mini office.
I start my day early and I am at my work desk at home, in the mini-office by 9 am. Through the day, I interact with my team & partners via calls, In fact since the lockdown, I have connected with roughly over 5000 partners over video.
I also take breaks to have lunch, chat with my family, take my evening walk which is confined to my house area only. This helps to refresh my mind as well to take care of my goal to remain fit.
Do you think working from home compromises productivity and quality of work?
A lot of us would say nothing as exciting as direct and personal interaction, especially in sales and to quote Aristotle "Man is by nature a social animal". Working from home has its own limitations, especially while engaging with new clients.
But as I said earlier, if we stick to a schedule diligently where both professional and personal lives are taken care of, productivity and quality of work can be maintained as well as improved. Like using the time which was used in travelling can now be used for more productive activities.
What is the most important thing that you are missing at office?
The most important thing I miss is the connect - having a face-to-face, in-person interaction with my teams and partners. While connecting virtually has been productive but I guess we all miss those in-person discussions, informal chats over lunch or coffee or even small informal breaks between group meetings.
What are the two biggest lessons for you during this phase?
On the professional front, the biggest learning is that you should always be ready to adapt to the changes in a VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) world.
For this, one should act immediately to keep up with the changing dynamics of the business and always invest in building the necessary infrastructure well in advance.
On the personal front, it just reiterates that your health and that of your family is of paramount importance. One should lead a healthy lifestyle and work towards building immunity.
How has Nippon India been engaging with distribution partners during the nationwide lockdown? What kind of support does the fund house offer to distributors?
During this period, we have been connected with them to ensure they are well updated of our views on the market and portfolio. It was also important to assist them, where ever required, in managing their investor queries.
We have conducted trainings conducting around behavioural finance and macro-economics for them and in the last one month, we have conducted several con-calls with fund managers, product updates and top management interactive sessions.
Nippon India MF has been conducting a host of webinars for distributors. Tell us more about these training programs and how has been the response so far?
To ensure that our partners have all the relevant information at their disposal while addressing their investor queries, we launched "Edge Digital" – online version of our Edge Academy.
Keeping the current scenario is mind, we have built two primary training modules. "Behavioural Finance" which helps a partner to understand various aspects of their investor's psychology during different market scenarios and addresses their queries related to current market conditions, financial planning & macroeconomics. "Understanding Debt Market" which address queries related to recent update on the debt side.
Partners have appreciated these modules, and in the last two months we have conducted around 200 online trainings via which we have covered 10,000 partners. We have also seen a significant rise in attendance in these digital sessions compared to in-person sessions conducted earlier.
Do you think that training and learning programs will shift to digital completely?
While it may not be possible to replicate the experience of traditional classroom sessions and face to face interactions, but as the period of uncertainty is likely to continue and given the ease involved in delivering the training digitally, I think a lot of programs may shift to digital platforms.
Finally, what is the one thing that you would do differently once the work from home phase ends?
The first thing I would do will most probably be having in-person interaction with my teams and partners. Catching up with them over tea and listening to their lockdown experiences.
What is the one advice that you would give to distributors in the current scenario?
"In this dynamic world, one cannot survive with static thinking". With this thought, I would like to offer two pieces of advice for our partners.
First, focus on asset allocation. Asset allocation is of extreme importance while devising portfolio strategy, as the past few months have shown us. I would encourage our partners to look at asset allocation while reviewing the overall portfolio of their investors and also keep rebalancing it as part of the financial plan for them.
Second, this is the perfect time to build on digital solutions. Even when the lockdown is over, digital will be the most preferred way of doing business. In order to avoid any loss of business due to the digital revolution / transformation, partners not only need to transit themselves to being digitally active but also act as teachers and help their investors become digitally active. Additionally, they should continue their efforts on acquiring new clients, especially millennials who are already inclined towards digital way of doing business.
