Pensions communications
This section covers tips and case studies specifically on pensions communications. It aims to help companies get full value from the pensions schemes they provide by ensuring that employees are properly informed about workplace pensions.
The material is this section was kindly provided by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) working with the Employer Task Force on pensions. The CIPD and The Employer Task Force on Pensions would like to thank Sue Howlett from the Pension Management Institute for her help and support in producing this Guide and the Institute's researchers Janice McNair and Margaret Snowdon.
Key elements of the pensions message
This list provides a summary of the things to think about when developing messages about pensions for your staff. Messages should be:
- brief - Long-winded messages, including every detail, are a great comfort for the legally minded, but employees only want to know what they need to know. Too much information can be a distraction. Details can be made available separately.
- in plain English - To be effective and understood, the message must be simple, straightforward and contain no jargon. To make it attractive, focus on the packaging.
- bold - 'Dare to be different' is the advice from GAP. The use of bold images, colour, high-end graphics and innovative designs grab attention and can create a talking point among employees. Humourous messages are effective, reduce or remove feelings of fear and can make the message memorable. Nationwide uses a short, witty video to get the pensions message across to new recruits.
- personalised - Employees are interested in matters affecting them personally, so the more a company can target the information individually, the more buy-in it will achieve. Benefit statements and modellers achieve this, as do letters sent to an individual's home address, where the family can also be involved in understanding the message. The Royal Bank of Scotland found the introduction of a prototype pension forecast incorporating state pensions increased the appreciation of its occupational scheme.
- open and honest - Don't wait for good news to obscure any bad news you have to give. People respond better to being told the truth, even if it is unsavoury. If good news is delivered alongside bad, the impact of the good may be reduced and may be missed altogether. Most of our case studies emphasise the importance of openness and honesty and consider that more positive results come from being sincere. Some companies shy away from talking to staff about financial matters for fear of breaching regulations. Acme Whistles advises employers not to fear regulation – it’s important to get the message across about the value of occupational pensions.
- timely - The information about the pension scheme must come at the right time. If it's a change, especially a potentially negative one, and information is delayed, then rumours, invariably worse than reality, will circulate. It will take considerable effort to dispel those rumours before you can get your own message across. It's always tempting to wait until every 'i' is dotted and every 't' crossed, but communication is an area where speed is often preferable to total completeness. In addition, our case studies show that getting the initial message out early is important, but that delivering the whole message slowly, in a measured and staged way, takes out the emotion in a difficult change, as it gives staff time to absorb the information.
- championed - If someone known and respected believes in the scheme or the change, others will too. Celebrity endorsements can work, but just as effective is someone from the company, trusted and known to have staff interests at heart. For this reason, many organisations, such as Nationwide, recognise the influence of trades unions and staff representatives and include them in the communications process. Such champions should have suitable training so that they understand how the scheme works and why it's important that people should be saving for retirement.
- branded - Most organisations believe in reflecting the corporate brand in the pensions communication materials, but some, like Aon, create a look and feel linked to the brand, yet distinctive enough to avoid confusing the audience.
- promoting the benefits, not the features - You want employees to buy the pensions 'deal' and people tend to buy what they perceive they need. The message about pensions ought to clearly explain the benefits of membership to the employee, rather than just the design details of the scheme.
- focused on financial awareness - For younger employees, the idea of saving for old age can be irrelevant and a big turn-off. If your message is about old age and pensions in the same sentence, then a large part of your audience could be lost to you. People often don't think about pensions seriously until later in life, yet starting to contribute earlier makes for a more secure retirement. Younger people don't want to know about retirement – they have more interesting things to do. Many of our case studies have a young workforce, so they have found that emphasising financial awareness and planning, of which pensions is an important part, scores more points than talking about old age. So much so, that companies like Nationwide and Emap deliberately portray young, active people in their pensions communications. GAP even decided not to include the word 'pension' in the early stages of its campaign.
- varied yet consistent - A message repeated in the same way becomes monotonous and may be filtered out. Something new and fresh will catch the eye and gain the attention of the employee. For example, Emap and GAP regularly update the pension message through new posters on the walls every few months, and they change their pension brochures every two years, to ensure they remain 'in fashion'. As well as changing the message to keep it fresh, delivering the same message in different ways, using multiple media will have the same beneficial effect. It is important that the sense of the message remains consistent, although the delivery can and should vary.
- repeated - People forget about 80 per cent of information immediately after they receive it. Repeating a message over and over, especially in a new fresh way, gives a better chance that more is retained and, importantly, used. Many of our case study organisations recognise this and use it to good effect. For example, Acme Whistles routinely talks to its employees about pensions and financial matters, bringing up the subject again and again. Honeywell advises that there is no such thing as too much communication and Emap repeats its message throughout the year, especially as it has a high turnover of staff. A simple device like repeating a helpline number on all written materials helps ensure that members are aware of this service.
Case studies
BAE Systems [PDF file size 32kb] - Using communication and consultation to effect difficult changes.
Honeywell [PDF file size 34kb] - Communicating the introduction of a new Defined Contribution plan.
Aon [PDF file size 32kb] - Communicating to employees online about pensions.
Royal Bank Scotland [PDF file size 32kb] - How a large employer communicates pension information.
Emap [PDF file size 34kb] - Selling benefits to a young mobile workforce.
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