Specialist insurance and inspection business HSB improves employees’ confidence in investment choices through an approach centred around its pension governance committee and providing resources to staff.
The organisation has a workforce of 550 UK and Ireland employees. Its committee comprises four appointed members, including external pension advisors and a representative from the pension scheme, and meets quarterly to review and discuss the performance of the investment funds.
It also has a sub-group of the committee, made up of volunteer employees from different business areas, which also meets quarterly. This focuses on the effectiveness of pension communications and helps the committee to support employees to become more comfortable with pension issues, investment options, and highlight potential pension developments or changes. It also gathers feedback from across the organisation to stay attuned to employees’ evolving needs and preferences for receiving information, such as webinars, face-to-face meetings, intranet updates or other methods.
HSB also hosts webinars in collaboration with its pension scheme provider to keep employees informed about the performance of their pension funds and offer guidance tailored to different career stages, from early to late-career, explains Anna Higgins, head of HR operations.
“Cross-business newsletters are distributed to all employees, providing updates on pension fund developments, performance and available tools, such as pension apps that enhance pension engagement,” she says. “Employees also have access to a dedicated pension site on our HR intranet, which is regularly updated with relevant information. The content is shaped by insights from the committee sub-group, ensuring it meets the specific needs and interests of staff.”
HSB identified what its employees already knew about pension investments and what they wanted to learn through a comprehensive financial wellbeing survey. This provided insights into employees’ financial behaviours and understanding of pensions and pinpointed the specific areas where they needed support and information. This then formed the basis for its financial wellbeing programme.
As a result of the changes, the organisation saw positive outcomes, such as increased employee engagement with its pension provider’s website, higher employee contributions and a reduction in the gender pension gap.
It uses several communication channels to keep staff informed about essential pension information. As well as digital newsletters to deliver updates directly to employees’ inboxes, webinars are hosted to provide detailed explanations and guidance on pension matters, says Higgins.
“Pension information is also readily accessible through the HR intranet, offering employees a centralised resource for updates and details, while posts on Viva Engage help disseminate important information and foster ongoing dialogue about pensions,” she adds. “Engagement with the committee sub-group ensures that feedback from various business areas is incorporated into communications. This multi-channel approach ensures that employees receive relevant information in formats that suit their preferences and needs.”
