Superannuation funds need to build strong bonds with employers as companies plan to review their default super funds following the global financial crisis (GFC), AustralianSuper education manager Peter Treseder has said.
"Post GFC, companies will be going through their books to see if there is anything that needs to be changed. One of those could be their default fund," Treseder told an Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees member services event last week.
As such, member services staff should be aiming to build strong relationships with the company, not just with payroll, but also with human resources, finance and even the chief executive.
"There should be multiple contact points between you and the company," Treseder said.
Member services also needed to create opportunities to show employers how they could add value, he said.
"You need to find reasons to get your message out to the company, and to do that you need to know the company and what kinds of questions and concerns they are dealing with," he said.
"If there are a lot of older people in a company, for instance, you could offer to go in and talk about transition-to-retirement strategies. If there are younger employees, you could talk about financial literacy and about co-contributions."
The death of a member employee could provide an opportunity to talk about the importance of insurance.
"Remember that you are a fountain of knowledge and that your role is to help these people maximise their retirement income," Treseder said.
Member services officers should not be disheartened if workshops attracted fewer "bums on seats" than hoped, he said.
As long as the workshop was well promoted, employees would know that officers were available to provide information and advice, and their employers would receive kudos for being seen to be doing something about superannuation, he said.
"There is a lot of unseen value just in being seen to be there," he said.
