Ongoing merger and business transformation activity in superannuation is driving a staggering rate of change and has given rise to the most interesting transition work QMV has ever faced.

This work is inherently complex and lengthy which means the lessons from each transition journey can prove pivotal to the success of the next transition.

Transition governance and risk controls are the backbone to ensuring transition optimisation and ultimately achieving payback within the desired timeframe. Delivering on the commitment to major change in view of ‘member best financial interests’ is always ultimately at stake.

A high-performance mentality that promotes collaboration and information exchange is fundamental to realising a fund’s key objectives like developing tailored strategies and products, better meeting member expectations and various uplifts across automations, data quality, emerging technologies, compliance and so on.

Below I share foundational principles of getting things right, how to avoid critical missteps and I touch on a few important elements of assembling an efficient and effective transition program team.

Core principles for successful transitions 

• Define what success looks like early to avoid getting stuck with a lengthy project tail of ‘20% to completion’. 

• Ensure a sturdy framework for monitoring attainment of benefits and key objectives. 

• Ensure governance and risk controls are robust, pragmatic and promote decision making and activity. 

• Be accurate and early with the quantitative information relevant to each project stream.  

• Ensure reporting is accurate, available, consistent, transparent and aligned with the quantitative information (preferably dashboards).  

• Ensure supportive sponsorship and clear accountability for scope items to drive healthy momentum. 

• Be pragmatic when assessing change of scope.  

• Manage scope in line with agreed principles and the ultimate ‘go live’ date.  

• Do not kick the project down the road where possible. Same goes for deliverables within the project once in flight. 

• Make the ‘business readiness’ stream the keystone of the project. 

• The transition is a long journey, take special moments to recognise success along the way.  

Critical missteps in transitions 

• Over or under planning.  

• Too much or not enough consensus. 

• Too much instruction and not enough leadership.  

• If the balance of these things is not right, decisions will be missed or won’t get made.  

• Avoid ‘analysis paralysis’ and foster a ‘can do’ mentality that encourages team members to see beyond the current constraints to enable progress.   

• Be wary of early confidence; available time can be a source of false confidence.  

• Equally, be aware of delving too far into detail that does not readily translate into an outcome for the next version of a deliverable.  

Important elements when assembling the transition program team 

• Choose an experienced, good humoured (but not flippant) program lead that has done it 100 times.  

• Assemble the program team with clever, open-minded people who have extensive transition experience (typically external) combined with key people that have intimate knowledge of the business (typically internal). 

• Choose people who will not need instruction on performance and quality. 

• Choose people who will understand that their contribution is a component that must efficiently integrate into a bigger solution to achieve the ultimate outcome. 

• Empower a passionate pedant to manage the reconciliation. 

Final word 

Doubts and delays can be unfortunate visitors to transition projects. Empower the program lead and the pedant to deal with them, so they can alleviate the technical team of distraction and hygiene issues. You might also be interested in ‘Celebrating 500 merger, SFT and platform transitions’. 

If your organisation needs assistance with merger, SFT or platform transitions, QMV can help. Please contact QMV for further information on p +61 3 9620 0707.  

Regards 

Michael Quinn – Executive Director 

QMV provides trusted advisory, consulting and technology to Australia’s leading superannuation, insurance, banking and wealth management organisations. For further information please telephone our office p +61 3 9620 0707 or submit an online form.

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