20 minutes to buy a tattie! Why self-service tech needs to be human-first

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, right? But what happens when self-serve systems become more of a barrier than a benefit?

In our latest blog, Mantle’s Graeme Riddoch discusses how self-serve technology is often designed without understanding the user in mind and how they engage. From supermarket tills to pension scheme portals, the promise of self-service often falls short of its potential, leaving users frustrated and longing for human assistance. Graeme discusses the alternative member self-service option to help solve these issues.

I was in a Coop in the North East of Scotland recently standing at the self-service check outs.

I watched an elderly man battling the technology. He kept putting a solitary potato ( tattie in the local tongue)  in and out of his shopping bag, as prompted by the checkout. The till couldn’t register that he had put it in.

Eventually he gave up shouting “20 minutes to buy a tattie,” watched on by a long queue of customers waiting for a manned till. There were six self-serve checkouts in the shop and no one was using them, bar this one poor chap.

It’s often the case that self-serve technology doesn’t appear to have been designed with humans in mind and how they try and do things. Anything that’s a barrier to getting the job done means that people give up and revert to looking for a human for help.

This is all too true in the case of getting Pension Scheme members online to self-serve. There  are many benefits for both the member and the Scheme.

Firstly the member can get what they need in their own time on the device of their choice. There’s a massive trend to online banking at the moment with apps on smartphones the preferred vehicle. No reason why that shouldn’t be the ambition for Defined Benefit (DB) pensions too.

From the scheme’s perspective there are clear benefits, more engaged members and resource freed up as members look after themselves. Of course self-serve wont suit everyone, but the easier it is for members the more likely they are to use it.

So what are the barriers to getting people online and looking after themselves?

The key thing to get right is the registration process, if it’s too difficult then people will disengage.

Typically pension websites use two factor authentication, user name & password with a one time code sent to the members device. It’s clearly vital to ensure that it’s the member trying to access their benefits, but it can be difficult to navigate.

With no clear imperative to register some members won’t bother. Typical registration rates for pension websites vary but 25% is a good outcome.

If members do get registered the next issue is logging back in. Generally pension websites aren’t heavily used so visits can be infrequent. Unless the member has saved their log in credentials they may struggle. We saw one scheme where around 50% of the inbound call traffic was for password resets. So what’s the alternative?

 

Member self-service from Mantle

 

At Mantle we developed a DB Smartphone app, My Pocket Pension, some four years ago. One of the key design principles was “easy to register.” Our best uptake so far is 70% for one Scheme.

The secret? No password, username or one time code, although the registration process is just as secure.

A QR code takes the customer to the relevant app store to download the app. The code is personalised and acts as a password, when scanned in the app. Next proof point is the customers NINO. When entered that’s registration complete. Selecting a 4 digit PIN makes it easy for the customer to get back in.

One minute registration and the job’s done, more time back for the daily shop!

To find out more about Mantle’s My Pocket Pension app, visit our website or see it in action, visit https://vimeo.com/587813490.