Advisors’ work lives are getting more difficult, according to Bill McManus, managing director of applied insights at Hartford Funds, a national investment management firm.

Because of the pandemic and a market that has experienced rapid ups and downs this year, clients are demanding more of their advisors at the same time communications techniques are undergoing a sea change, McManus said in an interview Tuesday.

“When you layer market volatility on top of the uncertainty created by the virus,” clients’ expectations of their advisors are soaring, he added. Communications methods have changed and “advisors’ jobs are getting harder.”

Advisors can take action to combat the more demanding nature of the current client climate and thereby make their lives more manageable.

“The walls have literally come down” in the past few months, McManus said. “Advisors used to have an office and a process. Now they have a phone and a computer at home.”

First of all, advisors should set specific hours so their time is manageable. They should assume contact with clients will be more frequent in volatile times, but the time spent on each interaction probably will be shorter, he said. The method of communication has changed, but the basic message is the same. Advisors need to assure clients they have a plan to deal with uncertain situations. “Making clients aware of dedicated office hours avoids burnout among financial professionals, as expectations are set around when they are available to speak with clients,” he said.

“Advisors should leverage every bit of technology they have available to them—to not only meet clients’ expectations about investments and planning, but also to enhance the care-giving that clients need,” he said. Communications techniques should be re-evaluated, if they have not been updated already, to meet the new need for high-touch experiences.

Now that new communications techniques are widespread in the financial industry, he said, some seemingly minor points should be taken into consideration. For video meetings, “be aware of where you position yourself in relation to the camera. Do not sit so close that you appear intimidating, nor so far away that you seem aloof.”

Firms that are in growth mode need to plan their virtual client prospecting techniques, he added. The end of the year is always a good time to re-evaluate office processes, review the team members’ roles, and set up new systems for the coming year. This year, those needs are even more pressing, McManus said.