Blog

Well here we are coming out the other end of over 12 weeks of working from home (WFH). As a significant portion of my role involves people - meeting with people, interviewing people, relating to and advising people, I’ve found the change from face-to-face meetings the most dramatic difference. Yes, I’m on the phone a lot anyway but the balance is now changed when adding in t...

The current circumstances may have given many Australians their first experience of working prolonged, full time periods online from their home or personal space. Working from home is almost a dream come true for most of us. There are the obvious perks; no travel time so more sleep (I know I’m sometimes guilty of waking up at 8:55am to stumble downstairs for my 9am meeting),...

As actuaries, we are lucky in these challenging times to be able to work remotely with most insurance companies having Business Continuity Plans and so are somewhat prepared for this situation. At times like this, having insurance companies fully functional to handle claims and give some reassurance to new and existing customers that they are covered for worst-case scenarios...

As we all come to terms with the size and impact of the COVID-19 crisis there is a great sense of uncertainty and this is not a comfortable place to be. As humans we often seek some clarity, perhaps you find yourself looking back on the “boring old day to day normal” with a very different lens – it’s looking pretty appealing from here. Historically, periods of adversity and ...

What are the reasons for considering what seems to be a counter-intuitive move? Let’s look at why individuals consider why they feel the ‘need’ to do so. We all experience times in our working career where we look at others and wonder what led them to their particular career paths. Some of us may even look at those other jobs and professions and think to ourselves, “I could ...

With the end of December coming up faster than one’s ability to even remember the new year resolutions we made at the beginning of this year, let alone figure out if you’ve achieved them, take a look at these statistics and see why setting smaller and realistic goals in 2020 is the way to go.                                                           According to Forbes, in 2...

  "It's not about being good at something,  it's about being good to yourself."    Every Tuesday and Wednesday morning the SKL office becomes a yoga   studio, we lie down the mats and spend an hour with Chai our teacher.   Despite the fact that we are surrounded by computers, printer, and desks we   manage to make our shapes and end up feeling refreshed and energised to   st...

In November 2003, the International Actuarial Association (IAA) created a special program called Actuaries Without Borders (AWB) with a mission to provide temporary actuarial services and actuarial education for geographical areas that clearly lack the resources and infrastructure needed to build their own actuarial industry. The AWB is consisted of volunteers that assist in...

1. Consistent effort day in day out Peak performance doesn’t happen instantly or naturally. To achieve optimal performance  you need to put in the effort over an extended period of time. Research shows that many top athletes will start their next phase of training immediately after their major games are played. They use the off season to get a head start for the next season....

They may be the opposite sides of the world to each other, but is working as an actuary in Australia compared to the UK really that different? Having worked in the UK for 10 years and then Australia for 8 years as an actuary I share some of my observations. Ignoring the obvious weather differences (the sun being the main reason I moved to Sydney) the two main differences tha...