As Summer 2020 winds down, it has become apparent that it is time to accept what has become our "new normal." In Harvard Square, where MIDIOR is headquartered, late summer typically brings the honks of cars and shouts of enthusiastic students as they move into their dorms. Instead, we hear silence. When we do see students, they are all six feet apart and wearing masks. Restaurants are empty and shops are closed - a potent reminder that it has been anything but a normal summer in Cambridge. At MIDIOR, we have spent the last several months focused on collectively moving forward, with an emphasis on personal and professional development to ensure we continue growing and delivering on our commitments. We have also spent considerable time analyzing how the new way of working impacts our team and our ability to deliver value for clients in order to anticipate and adapt to the shifting landscape. I firmly believe that despite the uncertainty on the horizon, we cannot stand still - as individuals, as a company, as a country, and as a society. So, I challenge all of you reading this to look up, step up, and lean into our "new normal," accepting that this is our time to embrace change and, using the words from our former tagline, change the way we think.

Warmly,

Susan
Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Platform Practice Spotlight

We are excited to share our recent article,  The Modern Fund Office in the COVID-19 Era, which appeared in the August issue of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans'  Benefits Magazine. With remote work becoming the norm, at least for the foreseeable future, Susan Penta provides advice on rethinking the nature of work and the workforce, the increased dependency on technology, and several other considerations such as privacy and security requirements in a remote environment. She also discusses how to identify and move through obstacles, as well as how to ensure your technology roadmap accounts for a future that includes remote work and member self-service.

Product Practice Spotlight

The MIDIOR team took the opportunity this summer to revisit our framework for Voice of the Customer research in light of the changing landscape. We established a method for supplementing our best in class discussion-based research with machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms that leverage large, publicly available data sets. We also made adjustments to our interview approach to account for an exclusively virtual research environment. PDMA's July webcast, Virtual VOC: How to understand B2B customer needs...without the plane ride, was particularly relevant. We will be employing our revised framework in upcoming projects.

MIDIOR in the Community