Deeper member engagement needs reliable, accurate and meaningful information. Having the ability to centralise member data and enhance it to include preferences, behaviour, communications and other demographic information creates data that supports improved decision making, better targeted product and service development and of course, more meaningful engagement.
Implementing a Data Management system offers a superannuation fund a tangible route to be simpler to do business with – whether it’s as a member, an employer or a service provider.
And that means data is not about compliance, it’s about asset management……
The introduction of the Data Management framework requires a “whole of organisational” shift in the way data is viewed, used and managed. It is a long term, ongoing commitment towards ensuring that data is viewed as an asset which then becomes the responsibility of all users to nurture and maintain. It affects all areas of an organisation where data is used: from the executive level that uses data to make decisions, through product and marketing designing new service offerings; to administration engaged in day to day maintenance and retention activities.
Implementing a Data Management framework will be by far more challenging where multiple systems are involved, however regardless of size or complexity of systems, both large and small organisations benefit from implementing a data governance framework. This will set the “rules” for the management and ownership of data within the organisation; improving reliability and accuracy of an organisation’s data to minimise inaccurate and duplicate records but also to provide a wealth of information that can be used to better understand clients (through the use of analytics) and therefore provide better services tailored to client’s needs.
A Data Management framework delivers the governance, policy and processes framework implemented to create a single source of truth of accurate and reliable data/information within an organisation. When data capturing and updating rules are in effect, an organisation can be confident that the information they hold is a trusted point of reference. In the superannuation context, consider a master member record which is accurate and reliable; has rules around validations, who can manage the record and which updates take precedence so that everyone in the organisation is using the same data whether in the Admin Team, the Call Centre or working with Employers and Advisers. The data goes beyond the basic member data used to administer their benefits it will facilitate the capture and storage of enhanced information collected for example, how the member responded to the last promotion, providing a much richer profile on which to base key decisions.
When shared across various departments, accurate data becomes key to ensuring quality in the provision of services as well as enhanced client interactions. As an example, an organisation may hold a member’s superannuation data which would include their personal and family’s (dependant) details, employment details, asset and liabilities (wealth) position for financial planning purposes and health details for insurance purposes. This information can be relied upon by multiple departments and in some instances can be updated via a number of sources (the member, their employer and even regulators). If changes to the data are not carefully managed, the quality of the information can quickly deteriorate and become unreliable and the costs to fix it escalate.
Most organisations will have an IT Security Policy in place that sets out rules about users, access, downloads and updates changes and breaches. A Data Management framework is similar: it establishes rules around access, updating, managing and deleting data, survivorship, ownership, stewardship and the processes that govern each of these aspects.
It makes sense that if data is a valued asset in your business, it is managed at the very minimum with the same sense of rigour that is applied to your infrastructure.
If you want to know more, or learn about what Data Management approaches or methodologies may suit your organisation, get in contact with the IQ Group.
Principal Consultant
With decades of experience in the superannuation sector, Leigh has deep insights into project management and operational experience in both public/private sector and defined benefit fund environments along with extensive change management experience.
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