The COVID-19 pandemic gave us all no option but to engage with one another virtually both in the personal and professional spheres of our lives. It was life-altering, to say the least, and not always for the better.
But at Netto Invest, now peering into the metaphorical rearview mirror, we can see that there are some definite advantages to virtual interaction and we have come to believe that a hybrid approach to client interaction can offer the best of both worlds.
We value the face-to-face interactions with you enormously
Being in the same physical space allows us to engage on a more personal level and we really enjoy connecting with you in person! We know that some of that warmth and humanity of connection is lost when meeting virtually.
But what if SOME meetings are better virtually?
Here are a few virtual meeting ‘bonuses’ that we have noticed:
Online meetings are excellent for ‘number-rich’ information
In particular, the screen-share functionality enables us to put our heads together around the numbers, but without craning all our necks to see just a single screen. In a nutshell, reviewing your reports and financial planning spreadsheets can occur more efficiently and effectively.
Virtual meetings let us meet up with you more frequently
With no travel time (and no geographic limitations) we can meet you wherever you happen to be in the world. This is particularly valuable if you are retired and living between different homes at different times of the year – or visiting family overseas.
Meeting online widens your network of support
If Covid has taught us anything, it’s to be prepared for the unexpected. Sometimes you want to run the details of your financial and estate planning arrangements past others, just to keep them in the loop. Joining a Zoom meeting means you can invite your partner, children, or even another professional service provider in on all or part of a call with zero inconvenience.
What if you love your face-to-face meetings?
Not a problem! As mentioned before, we value them, too. If you prefer only physical meetings we’ll make sure we schedule meetings according to your preferences. And at the same time, we’ll keep offering the option of a virtual meeting, in case that works better for you on the odd occasion.
And now we have “Zoom-pods” at our office
Realising that “Zoom-ing” is here to stay, we’ve taken steps to make sure that your virtual meeting experience with us is as good as we can make it. Just as we have comfy boardrooms for in-person meetings, we have now created well-lit, private and sound-proof “Zoom pods” in the office.
While we haven’t yet figured out a way to offer you a cup of our famous coffee virtually, we hope that the Zoom pods will provide an excellent online meeting experience.
As always, please do let us know if there’s anything we can improve
Is there anything that springs to mind, whether big or small, about how we schedule and conduct your annual financial and investment planning reviews? We’re all ears. Getting suggestions and feedback is the best way we can improve.
By Lindsay Frost, CFP® CA(SA)
