In November 2014, the Kingfisher Group launched an app, Bolt to the finish, to encourage its 36,000 employees to engage with retirement saving.
The app is part of an integrated five-year campaign, Saving for your future, which was developed together with agency Teamspirit following the successful auto-enrolment of 14,000 Kingfisher Group staff on 31 March 2013. The campaign includes the introduction of four new educational modules each year, with topics ranging from retirement provision to saving through the approved share schemes the group offers to its employees. With a wide age demographic and employees located across multiple sites, the campaign aims to support all elements of its workforce and ensure they have the knowledge to make informed decisions around long-term saving.
The app features characters from the Bolt family, which were first introduced as part of the group’s auto-enrolment campaign. The characters, and other imagery within the game, draw on products familiar to the group, which includes B&Q, Screwfix and KITS, such as screws, nuts, bolts, glue and tape measures.
Dermot Courtier, head of group pensions at Kingfisher, says: “Throughout the education programme, we have kept alive the Bolt family because the feedback we received from our employees indicated that they were starting to identify the Bolt family as retirement messages.”
During the game, users select to play as a member of the Bolt family, overcoming obstacles to collect gold coins. Upon completion, as well as seeing where they rank on the leader board, players are directed towards the pension trustee website and educational material about saving.
With 25% of its workforce under the age of 25, the Kingfisher Group saw the app as an opportunity to engage younger employees with saving. It also aims to encourage staff to increase their pension contributions so that they become used to the higher levels ahead of the compulsory minimum contribution increases that will come into effect under the next phase of auto-enrolment.
Banafsheh Ghafoori, pensions technical and communication manager, says: “We understand not everyone has one way of learning or absorbing information. We felt that by introducing this app it would be more effective at reaching younger employees than sending them communication by post. It brings out a level of fun.”
The app has been positively received by staff and has had an impressive impact; 78% of players said that the app encourages them to think about saving for the future, and there has been a 20% increase in the number of staff choosing to save into their pension at the maximum contribution level.
