Participant and employer interaction in the pension transition

Is your customer contact centre well-prepared for the transition?

With the transition to the new pension system, a new phase begins, where the interaction between pension organisations, participants, and employers will significantly increase. Important changes will occur in terms, benefits, and arrangements. It is not only crucial that participants and employers understand these changes, but also that they can make active choices based on them. An efficient customer contact centre (CCC) is essential to inform participants and assist them with questions. Our solution ensures optimal execution of customer contact, whether you need a complete solution or specific support for your CCC.

19 mln

pension entitlements in the Netherlands will be transferred with the transition
100 mln

transfer signals will be sent to participants
>50%

of Dutch people know little to nothing about the changes in the new Pension Act

The transition to the new pension system brings various challenges for customer contact

Increase in contact volumes

The transition to the new pension system will go hand in hand with a significant increase in contact volumes, driven by outgoing communication and media attention. This increases the pressure on all communication channels, including contact centres, mid- and back-office operations, and digital assistance.

(Un)predictable peaks

In addition to the increase in contact volumes, the (un)predictability of fluctuations plays an important role. Peaks can be both predictable (driven by own communication) and unpredictable (external causes). These peaks affect the required capacity in the CCCs.

Lack of pension knowledge

Most Dutch people know little about the upcoming changes in the pension system. With the new Pension Act, more responsibility will lie with participants. Therefore, it is extra important that they are well-informed and that contact employees have the right pension expertise.

What actions are you taking today to address these challenges and prepare your CCC for the new Pension Act?

The combination of human and technology is essential to handle the increasing contact volumes and the expected & unexpected peaks.

Due to the increasing contact volumes, it will not always be possible to keep participant support via the contact centre fully human-driven. We can help with smart technology that relieves and assists employees. With a balanced combination of human and technology, we offer the scalability that is so much needed.

Technology

It is important to leverage the possibilities of technology without losing sight of the human aspect. Smart technology offers the possibility to guide and help participants in a structured way through unassisted channels, such as a website or chatbot. Additionally, (AI) technology provides support in the form of agent assist tooling in the assisted channels.

Human

Naturally, not all questions can be fully handled by technology. For certain types of questions, human contact remains necessary to effectively handle participants' inquiries. Especially when in-depth pension expertise is required, it is crucial to make the right distinction.

Continuous monitoring and optimising quality is essential to make the most of the combination of people and technology.

Our solution for an efficient customer contact centre during and after the transition.

Effectively managing the customer contact centre is important during the transition to the new Pension Act, but also afterwards. We offer a solution that focuses on relieving and improving the CCC. Our solution consists of 5 components:

We help shape, implement, and monitor the CCC strategy for the pension transition.

Taking control and responsibility over multiple contact channels such as phone and chat, and developing communication plans.

Optimising customer and user journeys, both for participants and your own employees, and employers where desired.

With our flexible resource pool and smart technology, we can quickly scale up and down where needed, with an eye on quality and cost control.

Our AI solutions, such as our chatbot "Penny", can support agents, analyse conversations, and respond to customers.

Do you have a specific challenge in mind and do not immediately need our total solution? We can also assist you separately with the following topics:

Maturity assessment: Independent assessment of the current maturity level of your contact centre, overview of (in)efficiencies, and specific recommendations for improvement.

Contact centre strategy: Jointly shaping a strategy, digitisation, or transformation plan for your contact centre, aligned with your business and pension fund strategy.

Capacity plan reassessment: Clearly defining the service requirements per channel, with an emphasis on a consistent customer and employee experience. Customer needs are monitored and reported.

Communication plan: Optimising the pension communication plan in relation to the capacity plan to smooth out peak moments and optimise the number of contact moments.

Channel strategy: Examining your current channel offering, the interaction between different channels (omnichannel routing), and shaping the desired situation. Conducting a gap analysis in the service, the strategy for using new channels, segmentation of channels based on customer personas.

A powerful combination

PwC and Welten Detachering have joined forces to create a unique combination of expertise. Our partnership enables us to offer a full-service solution for CCCs in the pension transition.

PwC

Our PwC specialists have in-depth knowledge and experience in pensions, relevant laws and regulations, customer journeys, technology, process optimisation, and change management. Moreover, we have extensive experience in leadership roles at contact centres.

Welten

Welten is part of the Welten Group, which also includes Dukers & Baelemans. They are the only finance secondment company in the Netherlands that both mediates and trains in-house on its own learning platform with its own and customised learning content. As a leading secondment company, Welten has a large pool of trained professionals who are essential in the challenging pension world.