The Creative Life and Pension organization

A major challenge all Financial Services (including pension) organizations are facing on the path to value-creating digitalization is balancing the need for investing in transformative technologies and programs—i.e., “step up” activities—with the need to maintain the day-to-day “keep up” activities, critical to running your business.

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At the same time counteract human nature in not shaking the familiar (don't rock the boat) and the resistance new initiatives and change will bring.

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In the current situation, organizations may start to find it difficult to find funds for accelerating business transformation due to revenue stagnation, tight budgets and increasing regulation (costs that do not deliver customer nor shareholder value).

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Most organizations need to modernize their technology platforms and legacy systems to drive agility and business transformation to meet not only competitors (old and new) but also shareholders' desire for growth.

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An organization that is unable to grow is a dead man walking! Keep-up and step-up activities may not be enough!

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Competent leadership always look at their organization from a holistic point of view, looking at the vision and mission statement and perform running reality check on current strategy. What significance will it have for the businesses that have invested in Russia and Ukraine? What will it mean for returns in the short and long term?

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The Creative Life and Pension organization, status and what if…

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Can you or your competitors deliver a dynamic pension solution today, that use life event data to predict and map individual counseling needs, while you have active dialogue with a given customer?

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Can your customer facing organization deliver real time visualization to customers with what-if scenarios, so they can grasp different options from several angles and various assumptions? Delivering a good customer experience, need to include data you can trust and act on?

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Transformative digital technologies in the pension industry also requires delivering financial education and proper customer advice around pension and insurance, which can be understood by laymen, whether they are 29 or 61 years old.

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Currently the pension/insurance market movements is between the current Financial Services companies – with no real market growth in volume. Remember an organization that is unable to grow is a dead man walking! You need to be creative and think outside of the normal box and budget planning as a commercial organization.

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At the same time, regulation is increasing and cost follows (hours and money). FS businesses need more strategic approaches that can create customer and business value out of this political created situation.

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At the same time shifting demographics and aging populations is the norm in Denmark and most other Western World countries, most people do not have funds to live up to a 1/3 of their lives on their savings! They need your help to understand this situation, and what they and your organization can do about it!

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A very large percentage of FS customers say good digital customer service makes them more loyal - that also means that;

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Insurers and pension organizations employees need new types of skills, particularly around data manipulation, analytics and other advanced technologies. Other and older financial services task and skills will slowly disappear or will be automated.

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New ways of working will change the very conservative approach in current FS organizations, work from home and work time when there is customer demand, combined with AI based DIY systems is the new norm.

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New sales and distribution models? Maybe the very union/employer and fixed way we have pensions savings in Denmark and Scandinavia will change, since most customers want the flexibility to choose for themselves and which company they want to do business with. The current pension providers are not ready for that scenario!

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Old legacy products and systems affect operating expenses negative. Are you aware of the operating cost of maintaining this legacy, both in time and money? You know the current IT system operating cost, but do you also have the alternative cost and systems scenarios? Are you pouring money and resources into black holes that could have been used to create customer and shareholder value? A human trait is to maintain the known and avoid the unknown, but if you do not oppose this as leaders, you will stay in the current and die as a commercial business – it is only a matter of time!

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Focus on Healthcare insurance (SUL in Denmark is currently a negative business) and how to turn this around without losing to competitors and at the same time deliver better customer experiences, so the customer can and will approve an increased police price is a work in progress that need to improve.

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From CGI Voice of our Clients 2021 interviews we can see the following:

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Macro trends

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Geopolitics:

???????Globalization slows and de-globalization is prioritized in the short term

???????Geopolitics is influenced by U.S.–China poles and currently by Russia’s attack on Ukraine

???????Europe’s regulation continues to influence most domains

???????Energy sources is strategy

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Climate change:

???????Climate change action accelerates from pressure to de-carbonize

???????Energy transition requires both investment and innovation.

???????Government facilitates through regulation

???????Private sector plays largest role in execution

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Economics:

???????Maintaining growth is a key challenge for developed countries; innovation is critical

???????Business value and supply chains are reconfigured to react to de-globalization and technology advances

???????Economic inequality continues to influence policy

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Social demographics:

???????Aging population puts pressure on public systems

???????Equitable work-life opportunities and well-being for all generations becomes the expectation

???????Talent shortages persist and require technology advances and life-long learning approaches

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Technology:

???????Consumer and citizen digital expectations increase and threaten intermediaries in multiple sectors

???????End-to-end digital value chains become essential

???????Sovereignty considerations continue to increase in importance

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Accelerated volatility:

???????Volatility and rapid change increase across economic, geopolitical, technological, and social health spheres

???????Leaders in private and public sectors are those who can quickly navigate volatility and adapt for their consumers and citizens. The rest are managers.

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Based on the above here are some:

High level recommendations

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·????????Continue to focus on creating a superior customer and stakeholder experience

?·????????Break down internal politics and power struggles

?·????????Maintain focus on proven demand from Customers and Business that create highest value

?·????????Technology must support this focus and not be adapted to personal technology preferences.

?·????????Technology is support, not business strategy!

?·????????Tackle the issue of talent, retention of the skilled experienced people and use succession planning on all levels

?·????????Combat bureaucracy at all levels

?·????????Focus on sustainability without becoming religiously or politically correct!

?·????????Most pension customers need the greatest possible retirement savings – forget your political correctness!

?·????????Address customer security from a holistic point of view.

?·????????Proof you are protecting your customers' data

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?If you want dialogue and concrete recommendations, you are more than welcome to contact me!