TOO YOUNG TO START? Strategies to trigger starters on earlier financial plannin

Contextmapping | Qualitative research | Persona | Design strategy 

TREND：LESS PENSION IN THE FUTURE

Because of economic and demographic developments, young people today will encounter a radically different situation in their post-retirement income from their older generations.  However, they usually do not experience the urgency to act upon their future income while people who are aware of the need to act upon their future income are usually too late to make a difference. 

RESEARCH QUESTION

How can ABN AMRO guide starter professionals, aged 25-35, who just start their professional life (working for 2-5 years), towards behavior that has a positive impact on their future income?

METHOD：CONTEXTMAPPING

Contextmapping is a participatory design method which facilitate designers to deeply understand people's every day life, to be empathetic and inspired for a better design. It includes five basic steps: preparation, sensitizing, generative session, analysis and communication.    

In this project, eight participants, aged between 25 and 35 years old, who just started their professional career were ask to think about their (financial) future. The highlights of the process are briefly introduced below.

1) WARM THEIR PAST UP AT HOME: SENSITIZING TRIGGER DEEPER THOUGHTS

In this phase, participants were sensitized about their daily life by finishing a 1-week homework booklet. This booklet made them to pay attention to the details in their daily life and be reflective on their decision making processes and financial behavior. Because of this phase, participants could be prepared for the research topic and be aware of their deeper feelings and thoughts.  

The figures show more details to the sensitizing materials.

Figure 1.1 Sensitizing kit

Figure 1.2 An example page of sensitizing booklet: 'Who else involved in my decision making. How they influenced.'

2) GATHER IN A WORKSHOP: GENERATIVE TOOLS TO EXPRESS THE IMPLICIT

During the generative workshop, participants might find it hard to express something abstract, such as feelings and desires. Generative tools and some activities can be used here to help participants make the implicit explicit. The tools and activities are such as pictures and words for making collage, toys for role playing or model building.   

The figures below show the generative tools used in the session of this project. 

Figure 1.3 An example of a participant's work  

3) INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION: ROLE PLAYING FOR DEEPER EMPATHIZING

Different from many other research methods which usually end up with a report, comtextmapping as an approach for design always ends up with design ideas. To help designers in ABN AMRO generate ideas and understand research result, a workshop and a role playing game 'what would you do' were done. Designers were asked to think as the personas and imagined their possible actions.   

When you finish the personas, you can try the game on the right and match the personas with their quotes.

Figure 1.4 'How would you plan a holiday?' Match personas with quotes.

THEIR CURRENT STATE AND THEIR DREAMED RETIRED LIFE

'A cheetah who wants to be a cat after retirement'

The current life of young professionals is very hectic and decisions are made on a day-to-day basis. They want to take everything out of life and have a strong desire to travel and see the world. They all have a very clear dream for retirement, ranging from being a forester to a volunteer. In general they see their retired life as slow-paced and stress-free.

PATTERNS ABOUT YOUNG STARTERS

Four persona's were created to categorize the young starters.

Figure 1.5  Four personas of young starters

The personas show the differences in behavior towards long-term planning, saving and the use of resources (e.g. money, time, people).

Figure 1.6 The attitudes of four personas towards long term planning

Figure 1.7 The saving habits of four personas

Figure 1.8 The way of making decisions 

STRATEGIES FOR ABN AMRO

All persona’s experienced internal and external barriers in making plans for their financial future. Limited time, complex systems and being ‘stuck’ in the present prevents them from taking concrete actions. Internal and external drivers, such as the negative effects of not saving, provide too little motivation to save for retirement.

ABN AMRO can help startes by making saving for a financial future very easy, transparant and tangible. With a personalized approach and making use of social norms they can guide starters towards a stable future income.

WHEN TO INTERVENE?

At what time can ABN AMRO trigger the starters and intervene their pension saving?

1) At a (major) life change or event

'I just got a new job... my new employer doesn’t give a normal pension..well he gives me extra salary to arrange my own pension.. So now I really have to think about it... Which is kinda late already...'

2) Before behavior becomes a habit

'For example, trigger starters at the beginning of their professional career, when they buy a house, when they have kids.'