Transforming workplace savings behaviour

25 May 2019

This article was featured in the June 2019 issue of the magazine.

Johanna Nelson, associate director communications at Punter Southall Aspire, reveals the seven steps to powerful communications

Employees today are demanding more information and better communications about workplace pensions and savings from their employer. Recent research on pensions communications – It’s time to change (http://bit.ly/2HEpQ8x), published by Punter Southall Aspire – highlighted this issue. Surveyed were 2,000 UK employees aged between 16 and 65, and we found that:

72% want more support and education from their employer about pensions
68% want their employer to keep reminding them about any actions they need to take concerning their pensions.

But devising engaging and creative communication campaigns around workplace savings can be a challenge for companies, especially if those tasked with the role have little communications experience. Many won’t know where to start or what messages will resonate with their workforce.

The good news is any organisation can produce an engaging communication strategy even without a background in comms or marketing. As with everything in business, it comes down to having a good process to follow.

We’ve created a seven-step process for companies to follow to develop engaging workplace savings campaign. The model is based on many years’ experience of developing workplace savings and pensions communications aimed at improving and changing saving habits for the better.

1: Set clear objectives and begin with the end in mind

The first step is to identify the campaign goals and the desired impact on employees’ saving habits. Just wanting people to save more is too vague to be meaningful.

Be very specific about the result you want, such as having a 10% increase in the number of over-55s accessing financial advice or a 50% increase in new staff attending a seminar on pensions. The more specific the campaigns, the easier it is to measure their effectiveness.

The research also highlighted that people are more worried about their existing financial pressures than saving for retirement. Over 60% said they are most likely to respond to communications focused on their current financial situation and this research can influence the goals set for the campaign. Could it be useful, for example, to try to help people reduce their outgoings, so they have more money in their pocket today – before encouraging them to contribute more into their pension? When improving employees’ general financial wellbeing, there is often a positive knock-on effect on their pension behaviour too.

...produce an engaging communication strategy even without a background in comms or marketing...

2: Segment staff

Imagine a 32-year-old man receives an email about the steps he needs to take in the three years before he approaches retirement. He’s likely to hit the ‘delete’ button immediately.

This 32-year-old employee might be earning quite well but spends all his money on a lavish lifestyle. Or, alternatively, he might still be towards the bottom of the pay scale, but scrupulously puts money away each month for his future.

These scenarios highlight why employers shouldn’t send the same workplace savings comms to the entire workforce or make presumptions about age. Just because people are the same age, doesn’t mean they share the same financial means and priorities. Age is not necessarily the best way to segment staff.

Employees fall into different brackets demographically and financially, and they will have different attitudes to savings and to money, too. The financial messages that ‘speak’ to one group may be completely irrelevant to another. Divide staff into several groups, so that each one can be sent communications that will resonate with them. The more targeted the campaign, the more effective it will be.

3: Time the communication correctly

Plan for messages to be delivered when they’re most likely to capture employees’ attention. With retailers, for example, there’s no point sending staff important pensions information in the run-up to Black Friday when everyone will be busy and distracted.

On the other hand, human resources (HR) might consider running a pension campaign to coincide with a general pay rise. Everyone will be thinking about the money in their pocket, anyway.

Our research found that people are most open to communications around workplace savings when starting a job (56%) or leaving a job (76%), and when they are talking about changes to their remuneration (60%) or benefits (72%). Make sure you roll out campaigns at these junctures, when staff are most receptive.

Plan to communicate often. One-off campaigns won’t be enough to change employees’ behaviour long-term. Drum-in messages with ongoing comms too.

...don’t discount more traditional mediums such as print and face-to-face meetings

4: Form the key messages

By this stage, HR should know what they want employees to do and have already divided them into different groups, which share certain characteristics, like distance to retirement or career stage. It’s now time to connect the dots. What is your business going to say? What key messages are you going to convey?

What arguments can be made to each group, to persuade them to act? What questions will they need answered? What objections need addressing? These messages are the heart of the campaign. Express them simply, keeping jargon to a minimum, to get the audience’s attention.

It’s tempting to scare employees into saving more, telling them about the negative consequences they face if they don’t save more. But messages that use scare tactics have become so common that people have started to tune them out.

Just 38% of people we surveyed said they would respond to scare tactics, and even fewer (32%) said they would respond to guilt tactics about not saving. Try some positive messages, instead. Help people imagine a retirement they’ll love, where they have time to enjoy the hobbies they have now.

5: Pick the channels

Focus on channels and media staff use regularly. There’s no point sending out emails about how to plan for retirement to staff based on an oil rig, with no Internet access. On the other hand, if employers know their employees are glued to their phones, they’ll want to utilise texts.

Whilst digital is all the rage, don’t discount more traditional media such as print and face-to-face meetings. But remember it’s not about the way the business likes communicating – it’s about how staff like receiving information. If unsure ask them.

Also, think about reaching employees at home – 72% of people like making decisions about their pensions and other finances in the evenings or weekends, away from the office. Over 20% even did their financial housekeeping on their commute.

Send letters to their home address, consider whether personal email addresses can be used and ensure that any material posted about workplace savings on the Intranet is accessible from home as well.

6: Perfect the design

Everyone wants their comms to look sleek and professional, but if that’s all the design does, it’s missing a trick. Good design can provoke emotions and that’s what’s needed to change people’s savings behaviour. Logic is not enough.

Stay away from standard stock photos. Find graphics which provoke strong reactions. Make readers laugh, excite them, get them thinking about the kind of life they want to lead.

Some 63% of people told us they want to see pictures that reflect their life right now, rather than pictures of what their retirement might be like, decades ahead. Today’s reality will always provoke stronger emotions than theoretical events tomorrow.

The colours used will influence their emotions, too. A good designer will make sure that the design reinforces the key messages.

7: Measure success

Measure the success of any campaign. Go back and look at the original objectives again. Did the campaign fulfil them? Which part of the campaign has under-performed and what worked well?

Analyse the campaign’s performance and feedback the lessons into the next set of comms, to see continuous improvement. The seven-step model is a circle, not a straight line, so as soon as one campaign is finished go back to step 1 and start the process again.

Remember, digital campaigns provide lots of data about how well comms performed, so monitor the stats in real-time. Ask people what they think too – 86% of employees believe employers should seek feedback on their workplace savings communications, so survey staff regularly to find out how they rate comms.

Follow the full process outlined in the seven steps above and any organisation can develop a successful comms strategy around pensions and financial wellbeing and change savings behaviour for the better.