Aon unveils coalition of leading London business to aid COVID-19 recovery

Re/insurance broker Aon has established a coalition of leading London-based businesses, designed to develop key recommendations and guidelines on how companies can operate during the COVID-19 recovery phase. The London Work, Travel & Convene Coalition will consist of large employers and other key organisations with a presence in the City of London or Canary Wharf including Accenture, Aviva, Clyde & Co, JLL, Legal & General and others. Convened and led by Aon, the focus of the coalition will be for members to...

...share key learnings and insights related to planning and operations, assess the impact of different approaches, and evaluate the latest technologies and how these can be utilised to support employees and businesses returning to the workplace.

Aon said this collective knowledge will be used to create a first-of-its-kind benchmark to rapidly develop key recommendations and guidelines to build a path forward, with an initial report expected in November 2020.

The coalition will support the UK government’s efforts to get society and the economy reopened in line with public health guidelines.

The initiative is part of a global objective of supporting the safe return to the workplace. Aon has also launched coalitions in New York, Chicago, Dublin and Singapore, and plans to conduct similar efforts in other major cities including Rotterdam, Madrid and Tokyo.

Julie Page, CEO of Aon UK, said: “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.”

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," Waterer added. "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.”