For the most part, financial advisors carried on with business as usual as Covid-19 restrictions took hold, according to a survey by Redtail Technology, a provider of client relationship management solutions for financial services firms.

The 2020 Working Remotely survey, which polled more than 1,750 financial advisory employees to gauge how they adapted during the pandemic, found that 86% were prepared with the appropriate technology for a seamless transition to work from home. Respondents indicated that one of the challenges they faced was how to continue to build and maintain client relationships, but many were able to effectively use existing modes of communication such as phone (97%), email (96%), and video (80%).

Well over half of the advisors (60%) indicated that increasing engagement with existing clients was the number one priority, followed by reaching new prospects (18%). And while a quarter (26%) said they are not on social media, they noted they will consider using it to reach clients.

The survey found that most advisory employees (74%) did not experience an interruption of their revenue stream due to working from home, and nearly 5% were able to grow their revenue despite the economic uncertainty.

As such, the survey indicated that advisors are leaning toward spending less time in the office. It noted that in 2019, two-thirds of respondents (67%) never or rarely worked from home; however, 65% now believe they will work from home at least one day a week moving forward. The survey further noted that 73% of respondents indicated they plan to return to their office in some capacity once they can, while 7% of respondents are giving up their office entirely.

Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin said what he found most surprising in the survey was the complete flip in advisors’ mindset related to work from home from 2019 to 2020.

“It seems the workforce has changed entirely, and advisors will continue to work remotely in some capacity or another for the foreseeable future,” he said in a statement. “While this hasn’t been an easy year for anyone, I commend advisors for how quickly they adapted."