While the coronavirus has certainly disrupted lives around the globe, it may have revealed that the future of the workplace is virtual. In fact, some are realizing how much easier and cheaper communication is when you can do it from the comfort of your own office.
It may be early, but it seems that there are already signs that the emergency measures Wall Street has adopted to protect their employees may become lasting practices. It’s something that multiple age groups of workers, from new parents to young, digitally-oriented workers, should get excited about.
To no one’s surprise, the positive feelings towards a virtual/digital future have started in Asia. COVID-19 started wreaking havoc on the continent three months ago. Bankers, at this point, have been stuck inside for long enough that they are seeing benefits in the changes to their world.
It’s not just positive vibes being expressed in a time of global duress either. Morgan Stanley’s investor summit in Hong Kong--which is set for next week--has seen registration skyrocket 50 percent from last year, since it was announced that the event would be moved online. And there are a number of registrants from outside of Asia for the first time. Maybe less face-to-face interaction will lead to a more connected world?
There are also positives for company checkbooks. UBS saw their Asia travel costs plummet 90 percent for the month of February. This could lead the Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company to shift to remote meetings.
According to Deal Street Asia, “The firm’s dealmakers recently completed at least five pitch meetings on about $2 billion of stock sales with corporate clients via Skype and Zoom as they dialed in from home or from separate rooms.”
UBS is not alone, as Citigroup Inc. bankers have also been pitching via video conferences, and it’s proving to be a quick and thoughtful way to interact.
While there are no definitive actions being made by companies for the future as of yet, it seems possible that wealth management leaders start eliminating a lot of the travel they’ve been doing. That doesn’t mean flying will be off the books, it just means clients might now have the opportunity to choose between in-person and digital meeting options.
Workers in the United States and United Kingdom may just be starting to get used to the new work from home lifestyle, and there will certainly be a learning curve with less office tools available, but with time, the benefits should become visible as well. In log jammed cities like New York and Los Angeles, simply the drop in commute time, should improve workers’ morale.
From in-person meetings to large conferences, the possibilities of digital communication seem almost limitless. Of course, how much virtual dealmaking continues post coronavirus depends on the demands of clients. But for now, at the least, it seems to be filling the void.
