SME employers in the financial services sector risk overwhelm 

Written by Vanessa Sallows, Claims & Governance Director at Legal & General Group Protection 

How can SME employers (10-249 employees) in the financial services sector look after their own wellbeing and lead by healthy example, not only to their employees but also to their clients, when their line managers are responsible for more people than is manageable? 

Over a quarter (28%) of managers working in SMEs in the financial services sector are managing between 16-20 people. Half (50%) say this is more than before the pandemic, according to the Legal & General Wellbeing at Work Barometer.* 

So, it perhaps comes as no surprise, that their top stressor is ‘workload/working hours’ (41%). This is followed by both ‘managing dispersed teams’ and ‘employees with Long Covid and managing the impact on their work demands’ (both at 33%). 

 

 

These firms also raise their concerns about challenges with ‘presenteeism’ (33%); ‘uncertainty about the future’ (31%); ‘finding talent / suitable staff for the job’ 28%; and ‘more prevalence of mental health issues’ (28%). 

So, what is the magic number? 

In the world of management, the “seven plus or minus two” principle applies to describe the ideal number of direct reports a manager should have. Initially proposed by cognitive psychologist George A. Miller to describe human cognitive capacity, the concept has since held implications for team dynamics. Miller demonstrated that the limit of human working memory is 7+/- 2 items. It helps explain why meetings become unproductive with too many people. 

 

Managers need to be a coach, mentor, confidant, motivator, engager, morale booster, risk assessor…the list goes on. And, as our research findings show, with an increase in the size of teams for many, they’re squeezed now more than ever. 

As a group income protection provider, we help employers look after their employees’ wellbeing. And we know that if managers walk the wellbeing talk, this has a positive impact, not only on them, but also on the rest of the business. 

So, here are a few top tips for SMEs in the financial services sector. 

 

 

· Put your own oxygen mask on first. Talk to those in the know about the kind of stresses and strains facing management. For instance, Legal & General has partnered with registered charity Minds@Work to help provide more SMEs with mental health support. The charity is dedicated to equipping managers to look after own physical and mental wellbeing. It also inspires and equips managers to have vulnerable conversations about mental wellbeing, to help get the help they need via a peer-to-peer support network. 

· Explore the support already in place in the organisation. Investigate the facilities already in place for the business, perhaps other insurance arrangements or support resources. For those SMEs with Group Income Protection in place, for example, there may be a whole host of things to help with manager and employee wellbeing, such as: 

– Support to carry out stress risk assessments. These help managers get under the hood to identify pain points and apply those insights to workload and working practices. Also, to identify where other services included with group income protection might be put to good use, such as Employee Assistance Programmes, Virtual GPs and even greater awareness for working carers. 

 

– A direct line to vocational clinical specialists. Help is only a phone call away, with expertise ranging from nursing, occupational health and physiotherapy to occupational therapy. This is designed to help managers support their people to remain in good work. It is available for guidance – including on reasonable workplace adjustments – where an employee is showing signs of stress and/or struggling to carry out their full range of duties. 

– Wellbeing training and employee communication toolkits. Most insurers now offer wellbeing training. They can share case studies on what good wellbeing support looks like, and they might offer free access to expert toolkits; for example, helping employers create the kind of targeted communication programme, hardwired to business goals, that is usually only a reality for big companies with deep pockets.