Digital first
Annual Report 2023
STRATEGIC THEME:
Digital first – progress in 2023
SUMMARY:
We will embrace technology and adopt a ‘digital first’ approach. Our members operate throughout the UK and around the world, often working across jurisdictions. We aim to provide them with digital access to all of the services they need ‘Anytime, Anywhere’. We will use data to develop greater member insight and technology to personalise member services as never before. Setting and maintaining the highest professional standards is a core activity for a professional membership body. In general, the standards that we set for our collective professions and members is higher than the minimum threshold standards set by the relevant regulators though the purpose is common – we do so to provide public trust and confidence in the profession and the sector.
Recognising the esteem with which UK professional membership bodies are held overseas, we will also aim to become more influential on the development of professional standards for the insurance and financial planning sectors internationally, working directly with regulators in overseas jurisdictions and in collaboration with the Institute’s International Affiliated Institutes.
We will support our members by developing an ‘anytime, anywhere’ ethos. We will do this by building out our digital capability and creating an omni-channel approach that enables our members to move seamlessly between web ordering, contact centre engagement, qualification assessment by remote invigilation, and attending face-to-face events amongst other things.
In future, our ability to harness large volumes of member data will allow us to share targeted insights with individual members and provide evidence to inform policy positions on their behalf.
COMMENTARY:
Mat Mallett, Chief Digital and Information Officer, reflected on the progress made against the ‘Digital First’ strategic theme in 2023:
“We have made significant progress in this area, most importantly in creating a more seamless digital journey for our members and customers. We have addressed many of the internal systems issues that were impairing our ability to meet the needs and expectations of members. As a result, we have seen IT-related complaints reduce by more than 50%, exceeding our target, and call volumes handled by our centres have also reduced by more than 30%.
Following a ‘deep dive’ review of our customer services approach, we have improved our investment in customer service training and development. This has enabled us to achieve our target customer satisfaction standards on all channels, with particular success with voice and chat interactions.
We do, however, face considerable challenges in our IT estate that will be a focus for some time to come. The CII Board has approved a comprehensive IT roadmap for 2024-2027 to make further improvement and remove redundant systems. This is intended to reduce the technical challenges experienced by our members and staff alike, while ensuring our IT operating costs are reduced in a controlled way through the new governance and rigour we have deployed internally. This will not slow us down; it will increase our ability to be more focused and responsive to our members’ future needs.
As promised, we reviewed our existing membership directory, listened to our members, and consolidated our core websites to improve digital engagement, including ensuring accessibility met the required standards ahead of schedule. We will continue to listen to our members’ feedback and make iterative improvements enabling us to provide a more engaging digital experience.
The delivery and introduction of our new CRM system has improved our understanding of our customers’ and members’ needs, allowing us to gain more insight and tailor services better in the future.
Whilst we have been delayed in gaining Cyber Essentials+ certification – a recognised industry standard on cyber-security – we have improved our security posture significantly over the year. We will attain Cyber Essentials+ in 2024.”
PERFORMANCE:
