When sorry seems to be the hardest word - The science behind communicating change

In the pensions industry we’re no strangers to change, whether it comes in the shape of legislation, regulation, technology, working practices or a sponsoring employer’s business strategy or financial position.

It’s easy to get caught up in the complexities and forget that – at their heart – pensions are about people and the lives they lead both now and in the future. It’s particularly important to remember this when it comes to communicating change, because it can help us anticipate and understand how members may react.

So how do you communicate sensitive times of change with clarity, whilst minimising confusion and anxiety?

Over the next few pages, we explore how understanding human behaviour can help you to communicate even the most difficult and complex of messages.

An example

GMP equalisation – a pension communicator’s nightmare

One change we’ve seen many schemes grappling with recently is GMP equalisation – a topic that seems designed to put pension scheme members off engaging with pensions at all. A three-letter acronym followed by a five-syllable technical term – urgh!

We all know that GMP equalisation is a complex topic and that there may be winners and losers as schemes work out if members have been over or underpaid. But because it’s technical, it can be easy to forget that, at its most basic, this is all about managing change.

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