©2020 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (Your California Privacy Rights) | CCPA Do Not Sell My Information Fortune may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Interactive Data. ETF and Mutual Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Dow Jones Terms & Conditions: S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. | EU Data Subject Requests
BETTER TOGETHER
As technology radically transforms the workplace, recruiters across the U.S.
are facing new challenges at the outset of a new decade. The already high demand for skilled workers who can adapt to meet emerging needs is projected to increase. So how can business leaders build teams that can thrive in the modern workplace—not just in the short term, but for the long haul?
Providing Opportunities to Upskill
The rapid pace of change means that organizations that create an environment of lifelong learning will be better positioned for the future of work. Forward-thinking organizations are evolving to meet upskilling and reskilling challenges as they emerge.
“Although we often talk about the future of work as though it’s tomorrow, in reality, it’s already here,” says Laura Rock, Chief Human Resources Officer for Zurich North America, the renowned risk management and commercial insurance firm based outside of Chicago. “As work is being redefined by technology, work sustainability is about building a capable, agile workforce that delivers for customers, adapts to their changing needs, and feels fulfilled and confident.”
To that end, Zurich has added to its continuous learning resources for its 9,000-plus employees across North America by providing a formal mentorship program, access to LinkedIn Learning’s global library of digital content, leadership training for managers, and role mobility.
What will define workforce success in the fast-paced, high-tech era ahead? Experts say employee engagement and continuous learning will play starring roles.
Cultivating Culture Is More Crucial Than Ever
How Zurich Classic Teams
Play to Win—Together
The only team-based FedExCup event on the PGA TOUR brings challenges and excitement to pros and fans.
Team-Building Strategies
from the Pros
In business, building strong teams is imperative
to success. The same goes for pro athletes. Yes, even in golf.
Q&A with
Laura Rock
Chief Human Resources Officer, Zurich North America
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY
THE FUTURE OF RISK
BETTER TOGETHER
©2020 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (Your California Privacy Rights) | CCPA Do Not Sell My Information Fortune may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Interactive Data. ETF and Mutual Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Dow Jones Terms & Conditions: S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. | EU Data Subject Requests
What will define workforce success in the fast-paced, high-tech era ahead? Experts say employee engagement and continuous learning will play starring roles.
Cultivating Culture Is More Crucial Than Ever
How Zurich Classic Teams
Play to Win—Together
The only team-based FedExCup event on the PGA TOUR brings challenges and excitement to pros and fans.
Team-Building Strategies
from the Pros
In business, building strong teams is imperative
to success. The same goes for pro athletes. Yes, even in golf.
Q&A with
Laura Rock
Chief Human Resources Officer, Zurich North America
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY
THE FUTURE OF RISK
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY
THE FUTURE OF RISK
Making Workplaces Sustainable
Artificial intelligence, gig work, and generational differences are transforming the way we work.
For all of the risks posed by climate change, no population has more at stake than the 40% of humanity that lives within 62 miles of a coastline. For the first time in the 15-year history of the World Economic Forum Global Risks report, climate-related risks, including growing threats to biodiversity, ranked as the top five risks with the greatest likelihood of long-term, severe impacts.
Becoming resilient toward climate threats involves planning, using insights gleaned from analyses of past catastrophes. Cities that strategically deploy resources guided by these insights end up with more durable infrastructure. And when damage occurs, they build back even stronger, even more prepared for what lies ahead.
Take hurricanes, the costliest type of natural hazards. Studies show that, since 1975, hurricanes have become slower, wetter, and about 30% more likely to become Category 4 or 5 storms, as they feed off of a warming atmosphere. Individual storms have caused more than $100 billion in damage to wind- and flood-ravaged metropolises, such as Houston during Hurricane Harvey.
Because cities house most of the global population and generate about 80% of global gross domestic product, they will be at the forefront of adapting to climate change, according to a September 2019 report from Goldman Sachs. Risk experts are making sure that they’re up to the challenge.
Preventative Measures
To prevent catastrophic damage due to climate change, city planners are tapping resources developed by Zurich North America through a series of sustainability-related initiatives.
As seas rise and storms intensify, leaders are investing in climate change solutions that make their cities more resilient.
Keeping Cities Safe from Climate Change
Q&A with
Kathleen Savio
CEO,
Zurich North America
Rebuilding Better
On the interactive map above, see how Zurich North America and its research partners are studying the impact of natural hazards on communities across the continent, and discover the lessons they’ve learned that may help those communities build back better.
California Wildfires
Fort McMurray
Fire
South Carolina Flooding
Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Harvey
Boulder Flooding
Heavy machinery being used in recovery efforts after the devastating
Fort McMurray fire in Alberta, Canada.
Fort McMurray Fire
Alberta, Canada
The costliest disaster in Canada’s history, the Fort McMurray fire, also called the Horse River fire, forced an estimated 88,000 people to evacuate and caused $8.9 billion (CAD) in damage. Starting in northeastern Alberta on May 1, 2016, the fire raged for two months. While it was declared under control on July 4, 2016, the fire continued to smolder and wasn’t fully extinguished until more than a year later.
Local governments should work to better understand and promote public understanding of the risk of losses from wildfires.
Establish a Wildland Fire Resilience Advisory Committee to bring together stakeholders from various backgrounds to anticipate and prepare for future major fires in the wildland-urban interface.
Invest in resilience and risk reduction, particularly by promoting all aspects of programs such as FireSmart®.
Develop a pre-hazard major wildfire recovery plan for future fires, with a focus on the risk of an urban conflagration resulting in extensive losses.
Key Learnings
Source: Fort McMurray wildfire study reveals steps to boost resilience
Research Partner
Teams rebuilding in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Hurricane Harvey
Houston, Texas
Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2017, as a Category 4 storm. Over the next four days, Harvey dropped more than 40 inches of rain on eastern Texas, causing catastrophically high water levels. The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people, and prompted more than 17,000 rescues. The total damage from the hurricane was estimated at
$125 billion, making it the second-costliest tropical cyclone on record, after Hurricane Katrina.
Use forward-looking scenarios paired with worst-case historical information to plan for the future.
Foster a culture of awareness around risk through increased transparency and communication to the public about impending threats.
Build back better or incentivize buyouts, which can move people and structures away from harm, thereby avoiding future flood impacts, decreasing payouts for insurance, and developing additional open space for the community.
Address household preparedness as part of business preparedness.
Make flood insurance more universally appealing to homeowners and businesses through multi-hazard approaches.
Key Learnings
Source: Houston and Hurricane Harvey: A call to action
Research Partners
A view of extensive storm damage caused by Hurricane Florence
in North Carolina.
Hurricane Florence
Raleigh, New Bern, & Wilmington, N.C.
On Sept. 14, 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, N.C., as a Category 1 hurricane. Florence’s extremely slow progression inland, coupled with its status as the wettest tropical storm to hit the Carolinas, resulted in catastrophic flooding. The storm, together with riverine flooding and storm surge, caused more than 50 fatalities and approximately 2,600 rescues, while forcing 15,000 people to seek emergency shelter. The storm resulted in an estimated $17 billion in damages to residences, businesses, and industry in North Carolina.
Coastal communities across the United States are beginning to see real-estate value losses from sea-level rise and flooding. Communities and states that are proactive and aggressive about responding to these challenges have the opportunity to prosper.
During extreme weather events, poorer communities disproportionately bear the impacts of living near pollution sources (such as power plants, landfills, and hazardous waste sites) and on less expensive land, which can be more vulnerable to flooding. A lack of resources and financial capital makes it difficult for them to recover and rebuild.
Large, wet, slow Category 1 hurricanes and tropical storms that result in torrential rainfall and flooding
can be just as destructive and deadly as Category 4
and 5 hurricanes.
Rather than addressing issues in isolation, communities and government officials should work together across sectors and levels to assess and address systemic risk.
Flood insurance is critical to recovery. Time and time again, we see how households and businesses with insurance fare better than those without.
Key Learnings
Source: Hurricane Florence: Building resilience for the new normal
Research Partner
A crew assessing severe damage from heavy flooding in South Carolina.
South Carolina Flooding
Columbia & Charleston, S.C.
In early October 2015, the Carolinas experienced historic rainfall, resulting in flooding and flash flooding, dam failures, bridge and road closures, and damage to thousands of structures. The worst damage was concentrated in South Carolina, where 22 counties were declared federal disaster areas.
Carry out recovery efforts in ways that are designed to enhance resilience, not just to build back to the status before the disaster.
Address misconceptions about flood risk. For example, rainfall or flooding that’s considered a “1,000-year” event may reoccur before 999 years have passed.
Learn about a city’s history and the flood risks associated with particular neighborhoods.
Let individuals take the initiative during the rebuilding phase to help themselves and others.
Assess dams regularly for flood risk to downstream communities.
Review the damage assessment process. For instance, inspectors who are local to the area and have experience with assessing damage to home construction could help alleviate some of the frustration felt by people affected by the flooding.
Make buyouts strategic, using federal disaster recovery funds to buy out high-risk properties and convert the land to open space.
Review insurance penetration and accessibility by engaging governments and policymakers to discuss ways to increase the purchase of flood-related insurance.
Key Learnings
Source: Risk Nexus: What can be learned from the Columbia and Charleston
floods 2015
Research Partners
Cleanup crews working on recovery efforts after massive floods
in and around Boulder, Colo.
Boulder Flooding
Boulder & Fort Collins, Colo.
On Sept. 9, 2013, heavy rain started falling along the Front Range mountains in Colorado. When the rains stopped five days later, parts of Boulder County, which was hit hardest, had received nearly a year’s worth of rain. Rivers and creeks, swollen well beyond bank-full in many locations, had destroyed roads and bridges, torn out culverts and downed trees, flooded homes and businesses, and resulted in the evacuation of several towns. Boulder County and 14 surrounding counties were declared federal disaster areas. Statewide, more than 18,000 people were evacuated, more than 1,200 of those by helicopter.
Key Learnings
Sources: Extreme Resilience; Floods in Boulder: A Study of Resilience
Research Partner
Experts making repairs to a water pipeline system following devastating fires in California.
California Wildfires
Chico
Paradise
Sacramento
Sonoma
San Francisco
Santa Rosa
Ojai
Ventura
Malibu
Los Angeles
San Diego
At the time, 2017 was the most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with more than 9,000 fires burning close to 1.2 million acres of land. The following year became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season ever recorded in the state, with 8,054 fires burning more than 1.8 million acres. The notorious 2018 Camp Fire alone claimed the lives of 86 people and nearly wiped the town of Paradise off the map.
Apply and enforce California’s Chapter 7A fire-resistant building standards more broadly. In many blazes, wind-driven embers have ignited structures beyond the boundaries of high fire hazard severity zones.
Incentivize smart growth, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. That can include using public lands, parks, and playing fields to create buffer zones that slow the spread of fires.
Plan for the improbable—consider fire behavior beyond the worst-case scenario. The Camp Fire, for example, led to the contamination of Paradise’s water system with benzene. Utilities should broaden their thinking about potential vulnerabilities as part of their planning.
Use the rebuilding process to integrate more resilient materials and building methods. Research shows that building to fire-resistant standards, such as by enclosing eaves and choosing composite decking over wood, doesn’t necessarily increase costs significantly.
Develop a culture of wildfire mitigation to reduce collective fire risk. Property owners need to recognize
that what they do or don’t do on their land, such as accumulating debris and dry brush around their
property, can impact the safety of their neighbors.
Actively learn from every event, including those in other states or counties. In addition to California, states such
as Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico have an above-average percentage of households at high or extreme
fire risk.
Key Learnings
Source: Lessons from California fires: Investing in resilience is key
Research Partners
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY
THE FUTURE OF RISK
Making Workplaces Sustainable
Artificial intelligence, gig work, and generational differences are transforming the way we work.
As seas rise and storms intensify, leaders are investing in climate change solutions that make their cities more resilient.
Keeping Cities Safe from
Climate Change
Q&A with
Kathleen Savio
CEO,
Zurich North America
On the interactive map above, see how Zurich North America and its research partners are studying the impact of natural hazards on communities across the continent, and discover the lessons they’ve learned that may help those communities build back better.
Rebuilding Better
California Wildfires
Fort McMurray Wildfires
South Carolina Flooding
Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Harvey
Boulder Floods
Factor resilience to various risks into overall decision-making—institutional capacity is the key to a successful response. It’s not just a flood-protection wall that will keep you safe, but rather a combination of various elements.
Think beyond physical infrastructure. Resilience means more than just looking at physical protections like water-retention reservoirs and sky-high levee walls. Take the approach of living with floods and understanding where nature needs its space.
Recovery support must be carefully designed and implemented to support marginalized households, especially those who may be home to undocumented immigrants.
Utilize environmental disaster planning as the first line of defense. Solutions like city greenways and open spaces along rivers and creeks allow space for water to overflow and provide additional “no-regret” benefits, such as recreational spaces.
Understand the increasing frequency and severity of hazards.
Make resources available for risk reduction.
The relationship between golfer and caddie is unique across all sports.
A caddie plays all sorts of roles: golf pro, technical adviser, sounding board, business partner, sports psychologist, whipping boy, cheerleader, and of course, best friend for life (or for the PGA TOUR season, anyway). One of a caddie’s main jobs is risk management, helping the golfer understand potential outcomes through an on-course decision-making process that includes club selection, wind speed, course geometry, when to go for it, and when to lay up.
Just as important as the technical aspects, however, is managing the risk of a golfer’s emotions: A caddie doesn’t want a golfer approaching a ball with the wrong frame of mind. The mental game is key, or as Hall of Fame great Bobby Jones once said, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course, the distance between your ears.”
Veteran caddie Scott Vail, who was on the bag for Brandt Snedeker for a dozen years prior to joining up with old friend, PGA TOUR pro, and Zurich Golf Ambassador Billy Horschel for the 2020 PGA TOUR tournaments, explains the dynamic in more personal detail.
“Billy and I complement each other well. He can run a little bit hot and cold emotionally, and I’m pretty even-keeled, so I can be a positive calming influence for him,” says Vail. “When I looked at joining Billy’s team, I looked at his resume. It’s brilliant, but there is one thing lacking: major tournament success. I’m looking forward to giving him some more structure. The bigger the tournament, and the more structure we have, the better the chances of Billy winning a major.”
Advice from longtime caddies Scott Vail and J.J. Jakovac about how they work with their pros to evaluate risk and reward every week, on every shot.
The Pro Caddie’s Guide to Risk
The Rise of Insurtech Innovation
How small startups and large companies are bringing game-changing tech to insurance.
Managing Risk Is Key to Maintaining Cyber Security
Safeguarding a business against digital dangers requires a strategic plan—and the right team.
Q&A with
Anurag Batta
Chief Operating Officer, Zurich North America
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY
THE FUTURE OF RISK
The Rise of Insurtech Innovation
How small startups and large companies are bringing game-changing tech to insurance.
Advice from longtime caddies Scott Vail and J.J. Jakovac about how they work with their pros to evaluate risk and reward every week, on every shot.
The Pro Caddie’s Guide to Risk
Safeguarding a business against digital dangers requires a strategic plan—and the right team.
Managing Risk Is Key to Maintaining Cyber Security
Q&A with
Anurag Batta
Chief Operating Officer, Zurich North America
THE FUTURE OF RISK
PEOPLE + CULTURE
SUSTAINABILITY