Benefit Services (Pty) Ltd May 2011 Issue 19
Authorised financial services provider
Southern Africa’s leading independent service provider of beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts
KEEP ON TALKING By Nikki Jacobs, Client Consulting Director In early 2010 Fairheads announced a broad strategic communication initiative in the Fairheads Times with the bold headline “Asikhulume!” (let’s talk). And that is what we did last year. We talked to our members, beneficiaries and guardians/caregivers. We sent them questionnaires, we held focus groups at guardian workshops, we held internal workshops, and we talked. We wanted to find out what members need from us, how they would like to get it and what they would like to hear. This client-centric exercise was very useful and has already led to some major changes in our communication. This article describes some of these. Elsewhere in this Fairheads Times, other projects are discussed, such as our call centre. We see this strategic communication process as ongoing. We now need to check in again with our members to see if we are doing things better and giving them what they asked for. What we do know is that the more we communicate, the more we learn and the better our service.
copies available at all of our walk-in offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Sandton and Durban. We also plan to use the guide in educating the media, as a way of spreading awareness of the important role beneficiary funds play in our society. Plain language In line with the requirements of PF130 and now the Consumer Protection Act, we are rewriting some of our member documentation as an ongoing project. To date we have vastly improved the format and content of documents such as the beneficiary statement and certificate of existence. Such documents are important and can get extraordinarily complex. It has been a challenge yet rewarding to distil the information, while retaining the necessary detail.
What we do know is that the more we communicate, the more we learn and the better our service.
Digital strategy The new Fairheads website has been well received. We are making the above member information accessible on the web as an initial project and longerterm we are working on a beneficiary/member portal for individual interaction to provide online access to information, submission of requests and updating of information. As the world – and South Africa is no exception – moves towards online email, mobile internet and cellphone banking, we are looking to the future in this regard. Our new Facebook page is a start in making ourselves more accessible to our clients and other audiences (see page 9) .
Member guide The most recent outcome from the communication process has been a new member guide for our flagship Fairfund Umbrella Beneficiary Fund. See pages 4 and 5 for a glimpse at this 18-page booklet. It aims to answer, in plain language with the use of graphics, the most common questions that we get asked by our members and guardians/caregivers. Although written specifically for this fund, the information will be of use to members, beneficiaries and guardians/caregivers in other funds. It should also be of interest to employers, trustees and consultants as it provides a comprehensive A-Z of how beneficiary funds work. We would like to thank Anette van der Spuy of Nyani Communication who is advising us on member communications and who produced the guide.
One of the main outcomes from our focus groups at the guardian workshops held last year was the request to communicate via sms. Although we have used sms for some years now, we have increased the usage. We now sms receipt of all documents from guardians/caregivers and members if we have been provided with a cellphone number. Sms is used extensively to request relevant outstanding documents as well as to notify that certificates of existence have been posted and reminders to return them.
We are launching the guide in May, sending it to current active members and guardians/caregivers of the Fairfund Umbrella Beneficiary Fund and all new members joining the beneficiary fund. It will also be distributed electronically via e-mail to trustees, principal officers, consultants and intermediaries. The brochure will be downloadable on our website and hard
Guardian workshops After a successful and rewarding run of regional guardian workshops in 2010, we plan to include more regions this year. We are planning workshops for
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