Pension communication should focus on doers, encouraging action by being clear, purposeful, and simple, and focusing on what users want to do.
In a presentation delivered by Quietroom lead consultant Caroline Hopper argued that communication, especially in pensions, should focus on helping users act rather than overwhelming them with unnecessary information. She emphasised the need for precision and clarity in pension communication to engage members meaningfully over long periods.
She stated that communication is a skill that requires a precise strategy rather than an art like creative expression. “Art is an expression of creativity. It’s something that can mean many different things to many different people. If communication were like that, where it meant different things to different people, we’d have a very big problem on our hands. So, effective communication is not an art.”
Hopper emphasised the need for action-focused communication based on user demand for pension schemes, directing users to what they need to do.
“When our pension members come to a communication, it’s because they want to do something. They want to find out how much money they’ve got. They want to understand what they have to do next. They want to work out what they need to start doing to be able to retire. Why, then, do we give them lots of things to read?.”
She also stressed that communication should be a tool to drive behaviour change. She said: “If we’re communicating for any reason other than to change behaviour, we’re wasting time. Our goal is to move people to action, whether that’s saving more into their pension or planning for retirement.”
Hopper noted that visual communication is critical because most people engage with images or visual elements before reading text.
She said: “Employees are already engaging with visuals, whether they know it or not, and so we need to align our communication with that… If we ignore this and just fill pages with dense text, we’re missing the point of how people engage with content today.”
Hopper highlighted the Apple TV remote as an example of design simplicity that prioritises user needs, unlike standard remotes that have extra buttons.
She said: “This is what we need to aim for in communication: stripping away the excess and giving people just what they need to take action.”
She also referenced the Gov.uk bank holiday page which highlights the next bank holiday, as an example of successful, user-centered communication. “People are not searching for a potted history of bank holidays and why they exist,” she said.