Observations from Our 49th Year as We Look Ahead in Our 50th

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Verisk. It would have been hard to forecast that in our 49th year, we’d experience such world-changing events.

It was just over a year ago when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and suddenly, we all found ourselves in unchartered waters. Even in the earliest days, we were committed to uninterrupted service and business continuity, as every Verisk teammate shifted to a remote work environment essentially overnight—and with all the complexity and challenges introduced by doing so. It felt, and continues to feel, intensely personal.

Here are just a few observations from 2020—Verisk's 49th year in business—a year in which time horizons were compressed, commitments were reaffirmed, and new sources of strength were discovered.

Digital Transformation Accelerated

The term digital transformation took on a new meaning.

The foundation of the workplace and the economy today is digital. But I don’t consider that transformational in itself. Transformation happens when a company fundamentally rethinks its processes and how it operates and does business in light of digital enablement.

With ongoing lockdowns occurring throughout the world, the pandemic accelerated companies of all sizes to move their data and applications to the cloud, as businesses sought greater flexibility, scalability, and agility. 

The continued emphasis on artificial intelligence methods, including machine learning, also contributed to transformation. These methods helped deliver better insights to a wide variety of companies. While underlying data sets often grow at linear rates, analytic methods can improve exponentially. Companies invested heavily in advanced technologies in 2020 with the confidence that increased investment and adoption would make their businesses more resilient and efficient.

Digital transformation also impacted the mix of talent inside companies. With cloud computing and the use of emerging analytic methods, the need for capabilities in data science, data analytics, large data management, and other technical fields continued to increase from already high levels.

Finally, the acceleration of digital transformation moved customer experience to the foreground, where it belongs. A good example of this is the use of software as a service models that leverage APIs to connect different parties seamlessly and efficiently—and improve the overall customer experience.

People and Organizations Became More Resilient

Is resilience innate or is it something we can learn to be? Both, I think. When was the last occasion when our stores of resilience were more deeply tested?

During the pandemic, both personally and professionally, we’ve observed many different types of resilience—emotional, social, physical, at the community and business levels, and in many different environments.

At Verisk, we adjusted how we worked and modified our infrastructure. Being agile and adaptive, viewing challenges as opportunities, being open to acquiring new skills, demonstrating optimism and empathy—these were all keys to success borne out by providing customers with uninterrupted service during a time of great disruption.

Around the world, across many societies, we saw examples of people supporting one another. We rejoiced at stories of fundraising campaigns that shattered records, food distribution operations of epic proportions, strangers volunteering to help older adults register online for vaccinations, retired medical and front-line workers who came out of retirement to provide care where they could, and virtual schooling initiatives to support the education of children—a lifeline for many in disadvantaged and remote communities.

At Verisk, we provided resources to support working parents, including a volunteer tutoring program and assistance for special needs children. Our Verisk Parents Network provided support for colleagues balancing work and family demands. And we helped our local communities by volunteering for mentoring programs, fundraising for local organizations, and participating in charity drives.

Leadership Teams Stepped Up

Business challenges yield leadership opportunities. And in the wake of a year that saw racial injustices and tragic events unfold, in July 2020, Verisk released a Statement on Racial Equity and Diversity. The statement commits us to a 14-point action plan that falls under four pillars: organize for progress, embrace differences, strengthen people, and support communities. We’re more committed than ever to ensuring that Verisk fully embodies the communities we serve.

In listening to our many colleagues across our verticals and in our offices around the world, we heard time and again that a bottom-line requirement of leadership is ongoing, clear, and frequent communication. During the past year, we intensified communications with all our constituencies through blogs, virtual customer visits, and completely redesigned customer events. We also launched The Daily Dose, an internal daily newsletter that shares wisdom and encouragement from across our organization.

Stakeholder Capitalism Moved to the Fore

It’s always been true of the best and most enduring companies that their laser-focus on customer needs, commitment to the growth and support of employees, and active concern for the communities in which they live and work have combined to generate sustainable and meaningful returns for shareholders. This was particularly evident in the pandemic year, where companies with balanced, long-term perspective stood particularly tall. We also saw that many companies became more committed to stating and living out their purposes, which is a positive trend gaining acceleration.

Looking Ahead in Our 50th Year

As we emerge from a year of compressed time horizons—where it seemed that people and technology accelerated to accommodate the new realities of our day-to-day lives—Verisk is so fortunate to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The common denominator that underlies the resilience we exhibited during the past year and for the last fifty years is the quality of our people. Our company has persisted and is now the strongest version of itself because of our 9,000+ teammates.

Many of the things that make businesses successful—an engaged workforce, a sharp focus on serving customers, a robust business model, and an unwavering commitment to quality—have sustained our company for fifty years, even in the most challenging environments.

History tells us that this won’t be our last challenging year. In many ways, the issues facing our world—climate change and clean energy, cyber risks, inequity, and other social and humanitarian challenges—are only becoming more complex. Yet, we can trust that our increased resilience and focus on long-term sustainability will see us through to our best future—just as they did in 2020.