Letter from our CEO
In Member Services, all appears to be calm on the surface. Dig a bit deeper, though, and you will see organizations grappling with accelerated, member-driven change.
In the last edition of Peer Intelligence, we explored CEM’s macro insights from 30 years of benchmarking investment performance. In this edition, we turn our attention to Member Services. Having held our annual Global Pension Administration conference in Vancouver in May, co-hosted with BC Pension Corporation (BCPC), it is a particularly good time to explore recent trends.
For context, we have benchmarked the service quality and costs of Member Services organizations since 1999. This year, we will collect data from the Member Service organizations from roughly 80 systems globally. Collectively, these systems represent over 50 million members.
We analyzed a 30-system sample of these plans, looking at their data over an uninterrupted period of a decade. While the headlines suggested calm and steady, a deeper dive revealed a different picture.
At the highest level, the sample group experienced a sustained and prolonged period of stability. The average cost per member rose modestly from USD124 per member in 2015 to USD129 per member in 2022. The 0.5% annual growth trailed inflation – roughly 3% p.a. – over the same period.
As well, the median CEM-calculated service score ticked up modestly from 75 in 2015 to 77 in 2022. Again, on the surface, everything looks stable.
When we dig deeper, though, we see an industry in transition. The pandemic accelerated the share of transactions in digital channels. More than two-thirds of the systems experienced a material uptick in digital reach. The increase in reach was most evident in website visits, up 72%, with calls and mail decreasing 10% and 45%, respectively.
Online service has required greater investment in both digital channels and member experience. We see an increase of almost $10 per member (+33%) in IT project spending versus pre-pandemic levels. We also see plans investing in member journeys, greater surveying, and feedback management. We recently launched a new Voice of the Customer benchmarking subscription, and, two full quarters in, we see material deviation in customer satisfaction across systems.
On artificial intelligence (AI), it is still early. Systems are experimenting, primarily in their contact centres and back offices. We include an example from BCPC in this edition of Peer Intelligence.
In this issue of Peer Intelligence, we are also delighted to share:
- The rankings from the 3rd Annual Global Transparency Benchmark. As the year-over-year scores demonstrate, many funds have invested heavily in their reporting. Also, there is a new #1!
- Groundbreaking research from the Georgetown Centre of Research Initiatives, in collaboration with CEM. In the research, we analyze private asset inclusion in DC plan default options.
- An interview with Fleur Dubbelboer, who works intimately with our UK & Dutch clients, is a mother of two gorgeous daughters and counts climbing Kilimanjaro as one of her best travel memories.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Rashay
