Digital transformation and trust: the public sector experience

Many of our fund partners joined us as TAL hosted the FEAL Luncheon briefing with keynote speaker, former senior NSW Government Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello for a conversation on digital trust. With the acknowledgement that public sector organisations are notoriously complex and difficult to transform, Victor shared anecdotes on the Service NSW success story and how it accelerated digital transformation, plus some of the challenges along the way.

The keynote was followed by a leadership panel including TAL’s Chief Claims & Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Jenny Oliver and in Sydney, Aware Super Chief Operating Officer, Jo Brennan for an open audience discussion on the implications and considerations of digital trust for the superannuation and life insurance industries. Victor and the panel provided insights and practical advice with particular discussion around nurturing partnerships, building trust, and creating the right culture.

Digital trust as an enabler of digital transformation

While digital transformation is high on the priority list for superannuation funds and life insurers to deliver simpler, faster and safer experiences for their customers, the challenges are becoming increasingly complex. The issues at play include AI, cyber, data and cloud – in addition to struggles with legacy technologies, bureaucratic processes, digital adoption and lack of trust.

The World Economic Forum quotes that a functioning society is built on trust. Every interaction with consumers has the potential to build or erode trust. As an industry invested in transformation, trust needs to be at the heart of our digital strategies, so we can increase engagement for superannuation fund members and deliver better experiences grounded in security, privacy and ethics.

Nurturing partnerships

It’s important to remember that building trust can’t be done alone. An end-to-end digital experience requires the various back-end processes to be automated and connected which likely covers multiple operations teams and functions. There are always multiple stakeholders and departments, so it requires everyone in the relationship to work together.

In this context, digital literacy is fundamental so that all stakeholders understand the technology enough to make informed decisions. We all have the responsibility of understanding the technology fundamentals.

Building trust

You can build trust through putting the customer in control, and digital tools are a great way to do this. At the same time, digital leadership doesn’t mean digitising every single journey. We work in businesses that protect and support people, so we need to provide opportunities to engage, show empathy and connect with human care. So, we need to be considered and controlled in our digital plans.

However, trust is a fragile commodity – once it’s lost, it takes a long time to rebuild. When things go wrong, speed of response and transparency in communications are the building blocks for trust. To do this effectively, real-time data is essential to enable real-time action. Gathering feedback through service level monitoring and from customers enables you to learn quickly when things are going off track and to take ownership and resolve them.

Creating the right culture through internal capacity and an agile mindset

Technology and the world around us are changing fast, so an agile mindset and culture are critical to success. Digital change should be considered as a lifestyle rather than a destination, as what seems like the end point today, will just be a step on the journey to tomorrow.

Whilst it’s tempting to use external contractors and consultants to speed up delivery, this needs to be balanced with building internal capacity and core strength. This embeds the culture and the knowledge to continue to adapt and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.

For the same reason, getting started can be tough. There are lots of competing priorities with uncertain end points, so moving forwards isn’t always easy. But this is where momentum gets lost and change starts to fail. Success comes from deciding what’s most important and just getting started.