MySuper and superannuation 'gamification' - the winner takes it all

Many people have seen the transition to MySuper as a challenge, but Suncorp’s Geoff Summerhayes argues that it is also an opportunity.

I very much doubt that my highest Space Invaders score would make it into an Arcade Hall of Fame list (apparently in the vicinity of 55,000!), but who would have thought that playing adult games could be a way forward for the superannuation industry?

“Gamification” is sweeping all industries, making technology more engaging, driving the right customer behaviours around education and helping solve real life problems, and it should be no different for superannuation.

It is likely we have all engaged in gamification. Facebook, LinkedIn and Seek are some of the most popular forms of gamification.

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At its basic level, we are encouraged to build our profile and have reasons to return to the site.

The ‘ah ha’ moment is that we can actually engage adult customers through games. Yes, 30 years ago it was Space Invaders, and now everyone is playing Angry Birds. 

The link to superannuation is that, in the lead-up to the industry launching MySuper products, we should consider how to use this as an opportunity to better engage our customers.

We must find ways to improve trust and confidence and better engage customers in an industry that, in five years, will be responsible for managing an estimated $2 trillion of Australians’ savings.

MySuper is a great opportunity for providers to use gamification as they roll out their solutions.  

There are two compelling forces at work in our economy that, combined, reveal gamification as the solution to the customer engagement issue. These are:

• The New Conservatism, characterised by a loss of trust and confidence post-GFC; and
• The New Age of the Consumer, characterised by the democratisation of consumption.

In the New Age of the Consumer we must find ways to engage the customer through technology.

Through technology we can also respond to New Conservatism with better customer experiences leading to higher levels of trust and confidence.

By providing the right, relevant technology we can give customers more reasons and more opportunity to better engage with their superannuation. 

Over the last four years, we have driven a simplification mantra at Suncorp Life, particularly in superannuation, where we have simplified:

• Three trustees down to one independent trustee;
• Transferred 12 superannuation funds to one;
• Merged two administrators down to one;
• Rationalised three core systems down to one; and
• Many complex successor fund and intra-fund transfers. 

These changes have been done through the lens of the customer, driven by a desire to remove complexity.

We have introduced a plain-English eight-page PDS, redesigned and simplified our annual statements and introduced regular video market updates.

Although a number of industry-wide initiatives are currently in progress to make super work for Australians, customers are still “super confused” and “super worried” about superannuation.

Suncorp’s ‘Attitudes to Superannuation Survey’ – conducted in January and capturing the views of 1738 Australians aged 25-70 – found that:

• One in five Australians feels “ashamed” or “dumb” when it comes to superannuation;
• 58 per cent worry they might be financially exposed upon retirement; and
• 43 per cent feel powerless about their superannuation.

We can assume from this scorecard that we still aren’t putting ourselves in the shoes of the average Australian and understanding their needs when it comes to superannuation.

The New Age of the Consumer is characterised by the speed of communication and virtual communities, where interaction online is the norm and the customer is more powerful than ever.  

This power shift to the customer and the associated behaviour change will continue to have huge ramifications. The whole structure of consumption is changing and is driving a fundamental structural shift in the global economy.  

Online shopping is growing at 30 per cent per year and the impact of this move “from bricks to clicks” is reshaping our economic landscape. 

Make no mistake. This is “game on” for the super industry.

Understanding the ramifications of these two forces is fundamental for an industry with the responsibility to protect and grow superannuation savings, which by 2018 will be larger than the balance sheets of the four major banks. 

PWC’s recent report, The Digital Tipping Point, ranked four bank websites in the top 25 websites overall.

Customers are selecting their bank based on banks’ “online capability” and “digital features”.

Furthermore, 75 per cent of bank customers are using basic online banking features. 

This is a significant change in customer engagement – and it’s happening now within our own industry. 

Is it such a leap to aspire to having more people state their superannuation website is among their 25 most visited or even that their super app is their favourite?

The issue is that we haven’t yet built the bridge from gamification to superannuation. 

We need to embrace these trends and move quickly to stay relevant. It is a fundamental shift where we are no longer selling superannuation but selling comfort and understanding about our financial futures.

My aspiration for superannuation is one where customers are engaged in saving for their financial future – and MySuper presents an opportunity to transform customer engagement through technology.

Geoff Summerhayes is chief executive of Suncorp.