Who would have thought that working remotely would actually serve to bring people together?
Just the same, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced a Stay at Home order in the State of Maine this March, The MEMIC Group (MEMIC) — workers’ compensation insurance specialists with roots in Maine and a reach to 46 states –found strength and stability in their preparedness, a people-oriented culture, and the influence of their Outward Bound Professional experience.
Processes & Technology
Senior Vice President of Claims Matt Harmon says, “We blew the dust off the call tree in our Business Continuity Plan, and it worked flawlessly,” thanks in no small part to the foresight and execution of MEMICʼs information systems and technology team which put in place the necessary tools to enable a productive remote workforce – such as a new WebEx-based collaboration platform — having no idea just how crucial those efforts would prove.
When he joined MEMIC four years ago, Chief Information Officer Jack Yao found that none of the organizationʼs corporate administrative roles were performed remotely -attributable in part to certain technology limitations but also to an unfamiliarity (and discomfort) with managing people and teams remotely.
Matt Harmon readily admits he wasnʼt accustomed to remote management and has needed to flex his comfort zone and his approach: “I have a hands-on leadership style and frequently take advantage of the flow of the day to seize on opportunities. Having in-person interactions taken away was unnatural, so Iʼve had to become more methodical to make sure Iʼm keeping in contact with people.”
According to Jack, “Some on the senior leadership team didnʼt think that technology could be used to maintain connections & relationships…but Covid is creating true-believers. Seeing what technology can do and getting them comfortable using it has totally changed people’s views.”
People
Jack Yao notes, “I’ve had to alter my thinking. People are in a very different spot, right now, I’m trying to think of what everyone is facing: family, kids, elderly parents…. We need to be very flexible about what we consider normal and figure out how to make it work. Focus on people, not just the work. Be more compassionate and outwardly so. Let people know, ‘It’s okay to feel that this is weird. It’s okay to feel alone.ʼ”
Matt is grateful for the positive influence which President & CEO Michael Bourque has had on the senior leadership team and the firm at large: “He sets the tone. Having someone to confide in is huge, and at MEMIC that could be Mike. It inspires the rest of us on the senior leadership team to follow his example.”
“The enormity of the crisis has caused me to use areas of strength, particularly around relationship building and communication,” says Michael, reflecting on personal insights gained during his senior leadership teamʼs engagement with Outward Bound Professional (OBP) in the fall of 2019. Heʼs making efforts to “…meet people where they are and communicate more regularly, via email as well as frequent team meetings.”
Positive Changes
Michael and his immediate team have adopted a daily meeting via video conference, and heʼs convinced they have grown much closer (and more efficient) as a result. “We hadn’t always made enough time for each other,” he admits. When the crisis first began, these daily meetings could last up to two hours, but now some require only 15 minutes, thanks to increased alignment & candor.
Jack Yao members of the leadership team have felt more comfortable expressing thoughts, opininos, and disagreements since their Outward Bound experience last fall, and the frequent team check-ins are allowing him exposure to conversations and opportunities he may have missed, prior to Covid-19.
Likewise, Matt Harbor reports, “The improved level of trust and communications continued after we came back from Outward Bound. Weʼre more willing to be vulnerable and to ask for help. Itʼs easier to say, ‘I’m not sure if I’m handling this well.ʼ” Matt and his peers make every effort to model this within the teams and business units they lead, and itʼs paying off: “I’m convinced we will have office-based managers who will be stronger when they return to the office…more flexible, fewer fears, new skills.”
Photo: Trusting her safety systems and the people behind them, Catherine Lamson eyes her next move.
Lynn Wight, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, has a bird’s eye view of the Senior Leadership Team’s progress: “They’ve been forced to collaborate more. The timing of the OBP experience was perfect—it gave them the pathways to do this.”
Catalyst and Impact
The work the MEMIC team did to align more cohesively in the months just ahead of COVID-19 set the stage for a new working environment that might otherwise have been extremely challenging to navigate. By laying the foundation at an Outward Bound Professional program and working closely since to reinforce their culture and shift priorities, MEMIC has been able to move through the challenges of the pandemic with a sense of cohesion and stability.
Michael Bourque says, “The way in which our team has responded to the exceptional reality of this crisis makes me think of Oliver Wendell Holmesʼ words: ‘A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.ʼ The Outward Bound Professional experience was the catalyst; we saw we could be different and that it would be beneficial, and we’re reaping the benefits, right now.”
