Super calling with Legrand CRM boosts WA fund's future

Changes in superannuation laws meant WA’s local government super fund had to woo customers for the first time. Legrand CRM created an affordable solution to help it do just that...

The Western Australia Local Government Superannuation Plan is one of West Australia's leading industry funds. It provides a range of superannuation and retirement solutions to local government and private sector employers and employees. One of the few superannuation funds administered from Perth, it manages over $1.3 billion on behalf of its 40,000-plus members.

In 2005, the appointment of a new chief executive, John McNally, heralded a change of strategy at WALGSP. Most prominent amongst the reforms was a renewed commitment to building and improving member services. The superannuation industry was becoming more competitive. Legislative changes, such as the introduction of employee choice of fund, meant that WALGSP could no longer rely on the automatic enrolment of new members. McNally realised the fund needed to engage more vigorously with members if it was to continue to thrive. It had to become more attractive and more customer-focused.

Getting competitive
Two of the first requirements identified as a result of the new strategy were the need for a member services department and for a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Paul Owen, WALGSP's manager of business development and advisory services explains: “At that time, we had no member services team, no financial planners, no customer system and no electronic document management system.

“So, if a member sent a document to the fund and wanted to find out where it was up to, there was no central record and no ability to track it. What we needed was to be able to log and track every time we touched a member – be it on the phone or when providing advice. We also wanted to easily find correspondence that had been sent to or received by members.”

Although WALGSP had a core finance system responsible for all information about individual member funds and accounts, the software was not user-friendly and didn't have a CRM component. It was too clunky for fast access by the new member services staff.

WALGSP's financial planning software did have optional CRM capabilities. However, Owen says, “It was very nice, but also incredibly expensive. We did have a limited budget to work with, so we were prepared to take something off the shelf if we could find the right solution.”

During 2005 and early 2006, the fund evaluated a number of packaged CRM products before it selected Legrand CRM. Ease of use, ease of configurability and the availability of local support were three of the major deciding factors.

“We were determined to try and avoid too much duplication between the finance system and the CRM,” says Owen.

“Finance had to be the single source of the truth, so we didn't want to repeat or duplicate names, phone numbers or other details in the contact system. We had to somehow link the two systems, while maintaining the information in one spot. We knew this couldn't be an entirely off-the-shelf solution. The local Legrand Software partner, Applied Business Applications, showed that they understood what we wanted and convinced us that they could deliver what we needed.”

Deployment began in mid-2006, with a review of how WALGSP would use Legrand CRM's functionality. The ability to attach, and track, documents to contact files led to a decision to use the system for memberdocument management, while Legrand CRM’s job allocation and management options provided an easy workflow solution. Applied Business Applications worked with WALGSP to map business processes, and managed the project from setting up Legrand CRM through to integration with the finance application. Along the way, they also delivered some additional customisation.

Within six months, the system was up and running.

How it works
Initially, the Legrand CRM was used by around 30 staff. Three years later, it is relied on by nearly 50 staff across all areas of the business, including member services, financial planning and administration.

Legrand CRM logs all calls, correspondence and contact with members. It is then used to assign tasks back and forth between staff; it stores templates for standard emails, letters and faxes, and draws contact data from the finance system. More importantly, in a compliancedriven organisation, Legrand CRM provides an audit trail of member-related documentation and contacts.

When correspondence is received, administrative staff scan and then archive the original document. The electronic scan is attached to a job order, which is then forwarded to the appropriate department for action or resolution. If the incoming mail is on a standard WALGSP form, optical recognition technology makes the process even easier, converting the data into an electronic form which is electronically checked to ensure that no essential data fields are missing. If an error is found, the system automatically generates a reply to the member requesting additional or corrected information.

Owen has also developed two Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. These extract data from Legrand's database and are refreshed every 60 seconds. One spreadsheet is prominently displayed on a large screen in member services and shows actual performance data, such as the number of financial plans delivered compared to the organisation's targets. The second spreadsheet is in administration and monitors activity such as the number of jobs being processed and performance against statutory time requirements.

In addition, the database is regularly mined for sales opportunities, which are then pursued and tracked via Legrand CRM. Data is accessed during each incoming call and has proved to be invaluable for up-selling members to new solutions.

An affordable solution
Owen acknowledges it's a sophisticated approach to CRM saying, “Our CEO and I had previously worked together and we had used CRM systems before, so we certainly understood the power of a system that was well set up and which provides all the information at your fingertips. What we set out to do here was to replicate that capability without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the end, we achieved it for just tens of thousands of dollars.”

When asked to nominate the main benefits of Legrand CRM, Owen says, “First, is the ability to know what work we have in progress. Second, is the ability to service the customer. Third, is compliance. I can't see how a business in today's environment can survive without a CRM system. At the same time, I don't understand why so many businesses spend millions on CRM when they don't need to.”

Owen's advice to others looking at Legrand CRM is clear: “The real key is to think through the (Legrand CRM) modules and decide how you are going to use them. Then be militant about it. CRM is incredibly powerful when used properly, but it is only as good as its weakest link. If someone doesn't record the phone call or write down what’s been said the system fails.”

“We'd be kidding ourselves if we said that Legrand CRM is just a bonus for our members, because I think we were behind the eight ball originally. If we hadn't undertaken these activities, we wouldn't survive in this market. Client expectations have risen to the sort of level that demands this sophistication,” Owen concludes.

For more information
>Legrand Software Pty Ltd
www.legrand.com
Level 2, 83 Mount Street
North Sydney, NSW 2060
PH: 1300 132 890
info@legrandcrm.om

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