As society continues to move towards the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurance and reinsurance broker Aon has announced the establishment of a coalition of leading London-based businesses, designed to develop key recommendations and guidelines on how companies can operate.
The London Work, Travel & Convene Coalition, convened and led by Aon, will develop guidelines on how firms can work, travel and convene in the future, as the COVID-19 recovery phase continues.
The coalition holds its first virtual meeting today and consists of large employers and other key organisations with a presence in the City of London or Canary Wharf including the likes of Accenture, Aviva, Clyde & Co, JLL, Legal & General, and others.
According to Aon, the focus of the coalition will be for members to share their learnings and insights related to planning and operations, assess the impacts of different approaches, and evaluate the latest tech to see how these can be leveraged to support employees and businesses as they return to the workplace.
The plan is to utilise the collective knowledge to develop a first-of-its-kind benchmark to quickly establish key recommendations and guidelines to build a path forward. Additionally, the coalition will look to closely align its efforts with UK government guidelines on public health and other official recommendations.
Aon notes that an initial report from the coalition is expected in November of this year.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aon UK, Julie Page, commented: “We are very pleased to bring our coalition-building efforts to London, one of the world’s leading international financial centres. While all parts of London face challenges in acclimatising to the ‘new better’ following the government-mandated lockdown, The City and Canary Wharf face specific challenges in getting people back to the workplace, such as high-rise buildings, the density of buildings and people, and dependence on public transport.
“These parts of London also form an interconnected eco-system, and decisions made by the large employers that inhabit them will be a determinant in London’s ability to move toward societal and economic recovery. We also believe there is an important opportunity to learn from the pandemic and its impact, to build stronger operational resilience and explore improvements in how we most effectively use the workplace.
“Large employees have a critical role to play, and we hope that by working closely with the public sector and guidelines set by the government, we can be a positive catalyst in helping organisations return safely to the workplace and rebuilding economies around the world.”
This initiative in London is part of a global effort of supporting the safe return to the workplace in light of the unprecedented impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The re/insurance broker has also launched coalitions in New York, Chicago, Dublin and Singapore, and has plans to conduct similar efforts on other major cities around the world, including Rotterdam, Madrid, and Tokyo.
Richard Waterer, Managing Director, EMEA, Aon Global Risk Consulting, added: “Whilst the pandemic has brought about higher levels of remote working for many firms, it’s important for us to think about what the future will look like. Some employees will need, or choose, to return to the office while some will continue working remotely. As businesses and organisations take steps to reopen offices, it’s important to do so with a people-first approach. Key to this will be evaluating how we can embrace new technologies that support businesses and employees and help in the drive to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces.
“The London Coalition will also focus on Community Wellbeing, to ensure that our collective efforts play a role in supporting social justice, as well as societal and economic recovery initiatives. It’s vital that we commit to strengthening the communities in which we work, many of which have been dramatically impacted by the reduction in office workers as a consequence of the pandemic.”
