BAE Systems redesigns pension website

BAE

BAE Systems has relaunched its pension website after redesigning it to improve the information available for employees.

The organisation’s pension scheme members regularly use the online portal, which receives more than 5,000 visitors each month.

However, its pensions helpline still received a large number of calls because employees could not find the information they required online. 

BAE Systems worked with communications consultancy Shilling which ran a series of analytics on the website to understand how members were using the website and the nature of their queries. 

As a result, it has rebuilt the website focusing on three key areas:

  • Improved user experience by making it quicker and easier for members to find information.
  • Reducing calls to the pension helpline by addressing common enquiries online.
  • Modernising the design to support user experience and align the pension brand more closely to the organisations brand.

The website now has more than 20 of members’ most frequently asked questions under a quick help button and features a redesigned search function to be more prominent and support with free text search.

An enquiry form has also been created for members to submit personal queries online, removing a step in the communication chain to submit and resolve a query.

The site has also been designed to be fully responsive on mobiles and tablets.

Julie Cook, head of pensions policy at BAE Systems, said: “We are always seeking ways to improve the readability and clarity of all of our member communications and having an effective and engaging pension website is a key component of that.

“So while designing and implementing a new pension website did seem daunting, the excellent support we received from the Shilling team in helping us to understand the analytics and providing their advice on content, ensured that the process ran smoothly.

“It worked closely with us and has translated our vision into a simple, clear and engaging new site.”

In December 2013, the organisation launched an online tool to help manage its defined benefit pensions.