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ABP pension fund

ABP pension fund

Customers Innovation Team

As the Innovation Designer for ABP's Customer Innovation Team, my primary role was to address communication gaps between ABP and its participants. I spearheaded customer interviews, led creative sessions with various teams, and developed prototypes and MVPs. Through user testing and quantitative research, I presented key findings and actionable solutions to ABP's board, empowering stakeholders to act on our insights. In this project I worked together with my design friend Robert Lijbers.

Our research and engagement efforts

  • Invitations: Reached out to 86,184 customers.

  • Customer Interviews: Engaged with 227 customers across 12 locations.

  • Demographics: Interviewed 118 men and 109 women, aged between 26 and 74.

  • Questionnaire Depth: Posed 1,542 distinct questions to participants.

  • User Behavior: Analyzed 30,122 click behaviors.

  • Advanced Analysis: Placed 42 participants under an MRI scanner for deeper insights.

  • Stakeholder Engagement: Conducted interviews with 62 stakeholders and experts.

  • Project Realization: Completed 14 projects over 1.5 years, resulting in 254 unique solutions.

  • Prototyping: Developed approximately 54 prototypes/MVPs.

Problem statement. The perception and trust of the pension fund has changed. Economies shift, rules change, the population is getting older, and complexity is increasing. Pensions are something to care about later, not now. Participants are therefore harder to activate, have less trust, and are less willing to contribute. Communication has a key role in this.

Engaging users to gain more knowledge and understanding

Pensions are one of the most important topic for many of people. The problem is that most people are only interested in the subject at a later age—and by then, it’s too late.

Engaging users to gain more knowledge and understanding

Pensions are one of the most important topic for many of people. The problem is that most people are only interested in the subject at a later age—and by then, it’s too late.

Before trying to develop a solution to engage (younger) people into pensions, we needed to obtain more understanding on the following: What information are participants looking for and when? How and where do participants search for information? In what ways can we make searching for information easier? How can we transfer knowledge in an easily accessible manner?

We collected this information from expert conversations with call center agents and data, pension information officers, and marketing department representatives, among others. By analyzing frequently asked questions at the call center and click paths from ABP.nl and MijnABP, the conclusion of our preliminary investigation: Participants search for personal information.

We cause confusion for participants

One of the most important lessons is that ABP, but also many other companies that have a MY environment, separate explanations from personal data and settings. They are often in two different environments and usually also separated via a password.The result is that users do not read explanations because they are not relevant and too generic for their specific question, and they cannot interpret their personal data and settings in the MY environment because there is no explanation.

Bring personal information and explanations together

Ideation sessions

By joining together in Crazy Eight ideation sessions, we come up with different solutions in a short time. From these multiple solutions, we test two or three feasible ideas among users. We use guerilla testing for this. At a train station, airport, shopping mall, or other places where there are many people, we briefly test our ideas. This process usually results in one or two winners. We work out one of the winners in a prototype where we can test the operation in reality.

In this case, we came up with the idea of breaking all information into information snacks, combining it with personal data, and presenting it to the user via a conversational UI.

Results & Conclusion

✴Quantitative (n = 1.007)

How to activate pension participants

Pensions are one of the most important topic for many of people. The problem is that most people are only interested in the subject at a later age—and by then, it’s too late.

How to activate pension participants

Pensions are one of the most important topic for many of people. The problem is that most people are only interested in the subject at a later age—and by then, it’s too late.

How to activate pension participants

Pensions are one of the most important topic for many of people. The problem is that most people are only interested in the subject at a later age—and by then, it’s too late.

Our lessons

People are difficult to activate to arrange complicated financial matters such as retirement for their future. They may think it is important, but will also think, “It will come later.” And then daily activities take precedence. By repeating several times the necessity of planning ahead, you can persuade some people to really take action. But you can’t keep spamming people.

First ideations

Many new ideas came from our creative sessions. Because we were initially focused on communicating, many ideas were also focused on that. Our first ideas didn’t change behavior and therefore failed.

After additional interviews with users and people in the financial sector, we gained new insights. We discovered that our participants use their banking app an average of 37 times a month.

Response to first prototypes of Pension in banking app

Learning: people look on average 37 times a month in their Bank App on their mobile Phone

Pension in your banking app Version 2

We obtained many new insights from telephone conversations with the first test persons, the 312 ABP participants who engaged in new face-to-face usability testing and quantitative testing. The biggest concerns people had related mainly to the concern that banks would have access to retirement data, leading to privacy issues. Indicate clearly in the prototype flow that banks do not have access to their personal pension data attracted the last doubters.

Research with 314 ABP participants

In this case, we came up with the idea of breaking all information into information snacks, combining it with personal data, and presenting it to the user via a conversational UI.

Results & Conclusion

✴Quantitative (n = 1.007)

Conclusion & Reflection

In our journey to understand the intricacies of pension communication, we've gleaned several invaluable insights. It all begins with a simple step: talking to your users or customers. Often, the stories and backgrounds of individuals are far from what we initially perceive. We've learned that people rarely engage with pension explanations unless it's tailored with their personal data. Contrary to popular belief, pensions aren't inherently complex; it's the fund's presentation that complicates matters.

Moreover, merely activating features or services without a clear purpose is futile. Many don't see the tangible benefits of pensions until they approach their 50s or 60s, highlighting the need for increased awareness about retirement planning. Interestingly, individuals are more open to sharing their data if it promises them clearer insights into their pensions. The key lies in delivering pertinent information at the right juncture and fostering a personal dialogue.

Our surveys revealed that a significant 56% of users prefer communication through questions and statements, although 16% don't share this sentiment. A resounding message from users was clear: "Use my data to assist me." By merging personalized data with clear explanations and employing a conversational UI, we can enhance the Customer Effort Score (CES). In essence, the path to effective pension communication is paved with personalization, clarity, and timely engagement.

Conclusion & Reflection

In our journey to understand the intricacies of pension communication, we've gleaned several invaluable insights. It all begins with a simple step: talking to your users or customers. Often, the stories and backgrounds of individuals are far from what we initially perceive. We've learned that people rarely engage with pension explanations unless it's tailored with their personal data. Contrary to popular belief, pensions aren't inherently complex; it's the fund's presentation that complicates matters.

Moreover, merely activating features or services without a clear purpose is futile. Many don't see the tangible benefits of pensions until they approach their 50s or 60s, highlighting the need for increased awareness about retirement planning. Interestingly, individuals are more open to sharing their data if it promises them clearer insights into their pensions. The key lies in delivering pertinent information at the right juncture and fostering a personal dialogue.

Our surveys revealed that a significant 56% of users prefer communication through questions and statements, although 16% don't share this sentiment. A resounding message from users was clear: "Use my data to assist me." By merging personalized data with clear explanations and employing a conversational UI, we can enhance the Customer Effort Score (CES). In essence, the path to effective pension communication is paved with personalization, clarity, and timely engagement.

Conclusion & Reflection

In our journey to understand the intricacies of pension communication, we've gleaned several invaluable insights. It all begins with a simple step: talking to your users or customers. Often, the stories and backgrounds of individuals are far from what we initially perceive. We've learned that people rarely engage with pension explanations unless it's tailored with their personal data. Contrary to popular belief, pensions aren't inherently complex; it's the fund's presentation that complicates matters.

Moreover, merely activating features or services without a clear purpose is futile. Many don't see the tangible benefits of pensions until they approach their 50s or 60s, highlighting the need for increased awareness about retirement planning. Interestingly, individuals are more open to sharing their data if it promises them clearer insights into their pensions. The key lies in delivering pertinent information at the right juncture and fostering a personal dialogue.

Our surveys revealed that a significant 56% of users prefer communication through questions and statements, although 16% don't share this sentiment. A resounding message from users was clear: "Use my data to assist me." By merging personalized data with clear explanations and employing a conversational UI, we can enhance the Customer Effort Score (CES). In essence, the path to effective pension communication is paved with personalization, clarity, and timely engagement.

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Let's work

together.

Mobile +31655886045

mail@frenz.design

Check my Linkedin

Let's work

together.

Mobile +31655886045

mail@frenz.design

Check my Linkedin