Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP)
2024
Data-informed UX optimizations for measurable business outcomes
Summary
Enhancing the self-serve retirement experience
Problem area
Who we were designing for
On average, retiring teachers are 59 years old and have been teaching for two decades or more. While excited to retire, they're often uncertain about what to expect. They intend to apply online, but the irrevocable decisions the application requires leave many feeling they need support. More than anything, they want transparency and reassurance, not just a form to fill out.
Data sources
Insights from quantitative and qualitative sources
We drew on various data sources to understand where and why the self-service experience was breaking down for members:
Google Analytics
Abandonment patterns
Genesys call centre data
Call volumes
Contact centre staff
Call reasons
Web intercept survey
Direct user feedback
Google Analytics and Genesys call centre data gave us volume and pattern — where members were dropping off and what they were calling about. But call data had limitations: a topic was subjectively assigned to each call by contact centre staff as a secondary task, and members often called about more than one issue at a time. To get richer insight, the UX team also regularly listened to recorded calls.
Contact centre staff filled in the gaps I couldn't get from data alone. I interviewed staff, attended their team meetings, and embedded representatives in the project as SMEs. They revealed the anxiety behind the numbers: the recurring questions members had, and the moments when they lost confidence and reached for the phone.
A web intercept survey gave us direct feedback from members mid-experience, capturing frustration and confusion in their own words.
Together, they let us prioritize with confidence, focusing on the moments most likely to break trust or trigger a call.
Success metrics
Digital containment
Increase % of unassisted journeys
Inbound calls
Reduce calls for assistance
Internal effort per application
Streamline workflows
Member logins
Increase use of self-serve portal
Solutions 01
High application abandonment
Analytics showed members were often abandoning the application at the first step but completing it successfully on a later attempt, suggesting they were arriving unprepared. We added a checklist directly before the first step, reducing drop-off and the need to restart.
Progress tracker showing application status across three stages
Solutions 02
Uncertainty about application status
Members who applied online were frequently calling in for updates. We added progress trackers to the pension application and document uploader, and introduced status emails at each stage of the review process, giving members visibility without needing to call.
Progress tracker showing application status across three stages
Status indicators for documents outstanding, under review, or reviewed
Solutions 03
Manual document follow-up
Staff were frequently emailing members about missing documents and managing the replies, a time-consuming process that also slowed approvals. We replaced it with automated reminders triggered by document status, prompting members to upload what was needed without staff intervention.
Emails triggered by member actions and application status changes
Solutions 04
Anxiety during the waiting period
After approval, members faced a waiting period before their first pension payment, prompting many to call for reassurance. We launched an educational email series that proactively answered the questions members were calling about.
Emails distributed evenly between pension approval and first payment dates
Retrospective
Results
40% of retiring members completed their journey entirely within the self-serve digital channel, up from 30% the year before.
+33% Digital containment
Status transparency increased member confidence
−30% Inbound calls
Triggered emails and trackers reduced reassurance-seeking
−23% Internal effort per application
Automated reminders replaced manual document follow-up
+81% Member logins
Emails drove engagement with digital tools and content
Why data foundations mattered
Bringing the Insights & Data team in at the start helped us prioritize the highest-potential features, and meant we could report credibly on outcomes after retirement season closed.
This initiative delivered the largest single-year increase in digital containment on record, with lasting impact on both member experience and operational efficiency.
