TECHNOLOGY
31 August 2020
atWORK 6 integrates Finametrica into its Wealth Module
PIERRE DIPPENAAR Head: Software Development, Finametrica
Cloud-based software solution atWORK has scored a coup by integrating Finametrica’s awardwinning risk-profiling toolkit into its newest financial planning software.
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dvisers who weren’t already convinced of the value of risk profiling have surely had their minds changed by COVID-19. The pandemic has taught both advisers and investors the true meaning of risk. And it’s underscored how vitally important it is to not only be aware of risk profiles, but also to measure them properly and to use these findings as one of the cornerstones of a comprehensive investment strategy. Which is why atWORK is thrilled to announce the integration of Finametrica’s industry-leading risk-profiling toolkit into its newest Wealth module as of 1 August 2020. What is atWORK? atWORK is a cloud-based solution for the financial services industry. Their latest version, atWORK 6, combines client and practice management, data gathering and import, compliance management and financial planning tools in one super-secure package. atWORK has over 9 000 users in South Africa.
ROSS SIBBALD Commercial Director, Striata Africa
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ver the years, banks, retailers and telecommunications have embraced new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to enhance their customer communication and, ultimately, customer experience. While there may have been a time to sit back and see what works and what doesn’t, these are now proven technologies. Organisations in the insurance space need to adopt this thinking or risk being left behind. Not only is today’s customer more tech-savvy than ever and expects the same high levels of convenience from their insurers as they do from other companies, but the last few months have put a spotlight on the need for a better digital communication customer experience. By meeting and, hopefully, exceeding these expectations, insurers can ensure customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive market. That, in turn, comes with several major business benefits, including increased revenue.
Why risk profiling matters Risk tolerance is a measure of how emotionally comfortable someone is with taking financial risk. Knowing a client’s risk profile can help an adviser assess whether the client will be willing to allow their portfolio to diminish in the short term, in return for the chance of bigger long-term returns. Being a psychological trait, a client’s risk tolerance is best measured with a psychometric tool. Having a clear idea of how comfortable a client is with investment ups and downs allows an adviser to make sure a client doesn’t panic or, worse still, blame the adviser when a risk is realised. Why Finametrica? Developed by Organisational Psychologists at the University of New South Wales, Finametrica is not only more accurate than other risk-profiling tools, it’s also much quicker. In only 15 minutes, an adviser can ascertain a client’s risk profile and compare it to over a million other profiles. Finametrica was recently crowned both Best Risk-Profiling Solution at the WealthBriefing Swiss Awards 2020 and Best Risk-Profiling Service for Advisers at the 2020 Professional Adviser Awards. How it works The integration will be welcomed by advisers
who are already using Finametrica and by those who’ve never used risk-profiling software. • atWORK has negotiated a discounted rate, which means atWORK 6 users will pay less than they would if they signed up for Finametrica directly • Advisers will be able to access all their planning tools from within atWORK 6, eliminating the need to fire up multiple programs • The profiling results are included in the atWORK 6 reporting function, which will make advisers’ lives much easier. In other words, the integration will save both time and money. This is just the start “atWORK 6’s embrace of ‘open systems’ allows seamless integration with third-party software from risk profilers, commission systems, antimoney laundering providers and much, much more,” explains Pierre Dippenaar, who heads up software development for the firm. “We’ve got several new tools in the pipeline, including one that will make it a whole lot easier for clients to manage signing documents online.” To set up an interview with atWORK’s Group Business Development Officer, please email trevor@work.za.com or call 0861 ATWORK.
Why insurers must embrace AI in customer communication
Catching up Of course, this kind of transformation won’t happen overnight. Historically, insurers haven’t done well when it comes to customer communication. Within the last few years, more than 90% of insurers did not communicate with their customers even once a year, and many customers did not receive a single communication all year. Of those interactions, many were limited to claims and related advice.
THE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON THE NEED FOR A BETTER DIGITAL COMMUNICATION CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE In a world where highly personalised products and services, supported by relevant, easy-to-understand and contextual information have become the norm, that’s no longer viable.
In order to overcome that deficit, it won’t be enough for insurers to simply retrain their staff and hope for the best. Instead, they need to embrace the kind of technologies that will have an immediate positive impact on customer experience. Using AI and ML Enter AI and ML. While some insurers have adopted these technologies to great effect in the back office – to speed up claims processes and in fraud detection, for instance – they haven’t been used to anywhere near the same effect when it comes to customer communications, which is a missed opportunity. AI improves customer experience through the analysis of data on hand in order to decide the next message that is best suited to each customer, based on actions taken with the insurer or changes in life-stages that changes their needs. By delivering the right message to the right person, at the right time, an organisation can dramatically improve the customer
experience. That relevance and timeliness, meanwhile, is most likely to result in the response the business wants: a policy renewal, an upsell or a new sale. As a subset of AI focused on automating tasks, ML can help decide which content is suited to a customer based on data on hand, such as past behaviour, demographics and location, making it easier to deliver truly hyperpersonalised communication. There are several ways organisations incorporate AI in their customer communications beyond hyper-personalisation and nextbest-action messaging. These include customising customer journey touchpoints (ensuring the tone is appropriate when the customer has suffered a loss, for instance) and allowing customers to interact with communications using voiceenabled tech (such as smart devices). Integrating chatbots into customer communications additionally allows for one-way communication to become a conversation.
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