VicSuper says, why wait for retirement?
VicSuper says, why wait for retirement?
Month Date, 2007: VicSuper admits that most people find trawling through superannuation details a little dull and boring. But with a new web based strategy and a range of ‘net banking’ style tools on board, they’re planning to get people excited about money again.
Many Australians, particularly those not on the verge of retirement, are uninterested in their superannuation details and often find themselves with multiple accounts strewn all over the place. In order to turn this trend around, Melbourne based VicSuper commissioned a web based content management system in a bid to raise the interest levels on those slowly accumulating dollars.
“A lot of people don’t view the money as being there in the same way they do their bank account, they’re a lot more removed from it” says Tarnia Puchlenko, Communications Manager at VicSuper ““Superannuation is not a particularly interesting topic for most people, it’s something that only kicks in at retirement”.
VicSuper is well aware that while everyday Australians have no hesitation in using internet banking when managing their normal savings and credit accounts, most are extremely hesitant to be bothered with their super until it’s too late. By introducing netbank-esque features to their online super management options, VicSuper has made information more accessible and hopes consumers will find it more appealing to use.
“The project was about making web features a lot more accessible and real for people, we wanted to make it more similar to their net-banking experiences,” says Puchlenko.
In an effort to first tackle the problem back in 2005, VicSuper moved to implement a Website project. After reaching Morpheum through a tender process, they choose the Morpheum developed content management system known as Lantern.
Originally powering the VicSuper main-site, the Lantern implementation turned out to be an astounding success, even despite the few adjustments needed that are intricate to the nature of a financial institution. It was this success that inspired VicSuper to incorporate Lantern into all of their web based operations, including the VicSuper internal intranet, a separate sustainability website and the VicSuper main site.
Puchlenko says one of the attractive features of Lantern was the ease of use for VicSuper staff who were to ultimately be in charge of the website. “For someone with more of an industry focus than a website background it was a really easy windows application to adapt too,” says Lavinnia Mylvaganam Communications and Website Consultant at VicSuper.
Lantern’s operations run off a web based login, so remote access is quite easy for VicSuper staff. According to Mylvaganam, quite a large number of staff members use the remote access features while out on the road, as well as one particular staff member who uses them exclusively to work from home.
“I received some initial training from Morpheum back in 2005, but it was easy to pickup, basic things like editing pages you can figure out as you go. This became especially easy once I got to know the program,” says Mylvaganam.
For Morpheum, working with a financial institution actually brings its own set of challenges to their CMS. The security and safety concerns are extremely high for customers, and increased levels of precaution needed throughout the installation and operation process of the project.
Dealing with VicSuper, Morpheum staff members had to work with more firewall and hard-coded security layers than with any other client and spent more time on site using offline networks. The end result has been a fresh new integrated face for both VicSuper and Morpheum, the experience of dealing with such a highly secured network and finding answers to associated challenges.
VicSuper is now a flagship customer for Morpheum as the super fund have over the years continuously broached the subject of new features and new ideas to expand on Lantern’s base options. These new features shaped through VicSuper now form a solid basis for Morpheum to target other financial institutions.
“The key thing we’ve taken away with us is that the more collaborative and closer the relationship between client and vendor, the better the outcome,” says Nicole Dixon, General Manager at Morpheum. “On both sides we’re continually understanding and educating.”