Leading a complex NHS communications programme
Requirement When changes were made to public service pension schemes in 2015, only those closest to retirement didn’t have to feel the effects. As this treated people differently based on their age, the Court of Appeal ruled it discriminated against younger people in these pension schemes. As part of the Government’s mission to remove this discrimination from all public service pension schemes, the Department for Health and Social Care sought support to plan and lead a highly complex communications programme for the NHS Pension Scheme.
Delivery With a background delivering Behavioural Science informed messages for some of the UK’s bigger consumer finance brands - including Legal & General, MBNA, Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland - our communications consultants specialise in leading complex financial communications programmes to engage, inform and educate readers about their money. The drew on their extensive experience to:
Design and deliver a flagship piece of qualitative research for the NHS Business Services Authority to inform their future communications best practice and test our creative approach.
Write and deliver a communications strategy underpinned by Behavioural Science to increase engagement and improve understanding for employers and members of the NHS Pension Scheme.
To plan a multi-channel programme of communications to share timely, effective messages with employers, trade unions and pension scheme members.
Apply behavioural insights to design empathetic, effective communications to disrupt harmful biases and nudge readers towards positive financial decision-making for their individual circumstances.
Work with NHS Business Services authority to develop a bespoke direct mail process, fit to deliver the unmatched complexity of the programme. Built with rigour, our process reduces risk and increases efficiency while generating attractive, personalised communications designed to make complex detail simple to understand and easy to act on.
Support the development of staff by creating a set of evidence-based communications principles and coaching sessions to help them apply Behavioural Science to everything they write.
Result We’re still in the thick of delivering this programme but so far, so positive. Where our communications principles have been applied, the quality of communications has already improved, with results ranging from higher click-through rates on newsletters to low query numbers coming into the contact centre. Our unique research project for the NHS Business Services Authority has garnered interest from the Department for Health and Social Care and beyond, with stakeholders from Cabinet Office to HM Treasury registering keen interest in the results. We’re expecting insights to help us evidence how Behavioural Science can help to simplify complex information and frame it in the right way to support people to make the right choice for their personal circumstances.