Relationships, who needs ’em? I’m an actuary!
A female friend recently received a text message from a member of the actuarial profession. It read, ‘I’ve never done this before, but if you’re not seeing anyone, would you like to have some uncomplicated fun one night?’To me, these 21 words are perfect evidence to support the supposedly strong held view by the public and other professions that actuaries can’t communicate. It also indicates that some of us don’t know how to build relationships and are unaware that relationships are imperative if you are to get what you want from someone. In business and pleasure!
CommunicationLet us look at the communication aspect. What is the main message of the text? One of the things we are trained to do is communicate a complicated message in a straightforward way. I am hazarding a guess that the individual is trying to say ‘fancy sex with me?’. Then why not just say that? This has a lower word count and surely stands a better chance of meeting the approval of a CA3 examiner, depending on what the examiner looks like, of course. Surely this text is an example of an actuary communicating a simple message in an overcomplicated way.However, I may be wrong and the author may have been proposing a night at home studying the mortality of the tribes of Venezuela. In this case the message is at serious risk of being misinterpreted.
RelationshipMoving on, let’s look at the importance this actuary puts on the relationship with the individual they wish to influence. In this case, the relationship appears to rank pretty low. Let us assume that the intended message is a request for copulation. Normally a relationship would be in existence before a proposal such as this is made, by text or otherwise. However, it appears that this actuary feels that a relationship is not required. This is a fundamental mistake and one which actuaries need to be aware of! Imagine for a moment that you are the scheme actuary for a large multinational company; in fact, many of you probably are. You have calculated that the finance director needs to make a £100m injection into the scheme over the next five years in order to keep his scheme and business solvent. What is the most effective way of obtaining this cash for the trustees? I would argue that it is only really possible to get the money when a good relationship exists between the actuary and the finance director first. This enables you to deliver difficult or sometimes personal messages in a relaxed and inoffensive way. Then, if the relationship is strong enough and there is no other way of communicating with the finance director before the deadline, perhaps yes, a text or email saying ‘the estimated amount is around £100m’ may just be appropriate.
CaveatsOn the plus side I am pleased to note the use of the caveats in the text, ‘I’ve never done this before’ and ‘if you’re not seeing anyone’. Caveats are another commonly used actuarial trait. The former, obviously to mitigate the risk that the individual has experience in whatever they are offering so ensuring my friend was not disappointed if she took up the offer. The latter displays the risk-averse nature of actuaries not willing to get messed up in anything that may be difficult, complicated, or involving financial settlements of any sort.On the other side of the argument this text may indicate that actuaries are just becoming more like the sort of salesmen and women who sometimes give the impression that their charm can replace the need for building a strong relationship before entering into a contract, business or otherwise. In this case we need to be careful that we do not become overconfident in our ability to charm our clients too much, as we play a difficult game with serious consequences if we get the messages wrong. I apologise to whichever one of you is squirming, surprised that a message sent on a Saturday afternoon has reached the editor of your professional magazine. I do not know who sent this message, only that they are a student and – I am speculating here – male. If it is you, thank you for providing me with my editorial topic. Perhaps you would like to write and let us know how the evening went. I promise to publish the letter.If it isn’t you, then look carefully at your colleague opposite. Could this be the author of this short request? -Â Margaret de Valois(I would argue that Venezuelan mortality rates meet the criterion of being relatively uncomplicated as there would be no medium cohorts to worry about, and it would probably be more fun than graduating the PMA92 series. Whether I’d sacrifice an evening for it is another matter.)I apologise to whichever one of you is squirming in your seat, surprised that a message sent on a Saturday afternoon has reached the editor of your professional magazine. I do not know which member of our profession sent this message, only that they are a student and, I am speculating here, male. If it is you, I thank you for providing me with my editorial topic. Perhaps you would like to write in and let us know how the evening went. I promise to publish the letter.
