Australian super funds could soon be required to hold Annual General Meetings (AGMs) if the government’s flagged changes to governance go through. AGMs are a thorny issue for the companies that hold them. Australian law currently requires that physical meetings are held, and that shareholders are individually notified. Research by Computershare found that one company spent nearly $1 million on its AGM, which would have been $5/per investor, but only 100 investors physically attended, driving the cost to nearly $10,000 per investor.

With the largest super fund in Australia having over 2 million members, and the prospect of a hefty new administration expense looming, how can Australian super funds best prepare for this new age AGM?

Change is coming, and super funds need to be prepared.

Many corporate AGMs seem more like a battlefield than a meeting. At best, it’s a broadcast and rarely a conversation, with distant directors versing the disgruntled shareholders. Even though everyone is a stakeholder with supposedly the same interest in seeing the company succeed and grow, there’s an unbridgeable gulf between the two sides.

Super fund members may feel similarly disgruntled if their fund’s performance has slipped and the fund hasn’t clearly articulated how and why this has happened. Brokers regularly provide detailed reports to their clients on global market forces and the performance and outlook for individual stocks, making clients aware of potential shocks and downside. Likewise, companies provide market updates and quarterly or half-yearly results briefings. Without preparation and continued communication, a super fund AGM could rapidly become a bun fight in a bad year if members are taken by surprise.

We’ve previously discussed how super funds needs to start engaging in a compelling and interactive way, with state-of-the-art apps and digital services. This is exactly what the new boutique super funds that are entering the market are doing.

This digital engagement can and should extend to super fund AGMs. The event should be seen as a key opportunity to reach out and communicate with members: to show them that the fund is moving with the times, harnessing technology and is transparent about how it manages and invests the retirement savings for their members.

Here’s what super funds can do, before, during and after their AGMs to better connect with members.

Pre AGM…

Companies, including super funds, are not run by robots, they are run by people (at least as of now). The strongest bonds between people are forged through emotional connections, and this comes through the sharing of each other’s stories and lives.

Board members can film short videos about their motivations, their upbringing, their lives, what makes them tick, and what they bring to the equation. This helps put a much more open and human face on the board, and reduces the sense of “them and us”. It’s all the more important as super funds are required to be more accountable, and as alternative options emerge.

To further encourage communication, board members might also have a permanently open channel for people to ask questions that they answer on a monthly basis, similar to a political surgery. Shareholders can also submit questions in advance of an AGM, whether via text email, chatbots or even video, as the ABC’s Q&A programme enables. This ongoing dialogue reduces shocks at AGMs, since you know in advance what your members’ concerns are.

During the AGM…

In Australia, the ASX still requires listed companies to hold a physical AGM. As said before, they can be very expensive.

With management fees already a point of contention for some super funds, no one is going to be happy for huge amounts of money to be spent on AGMs, particularly with low attendance.

But many corporations are moving to hybrid AGMs, and there’s a push to allow fully virtual ones. These are already permitted in the US, UK and New Zealand, with virtual AGMs seeing much higher attendance than physical meetings, as well as saving vast amounts of time and money.

Super funds in Australia should definitely push for this option, if and when they are required to hold AGMs.

Technology can enable better engagement at a lower cost. Shareholders of listed companies are increasingly voting online, with over a third of votes being lodged this way. Online voting, via desktop, has risen 68% over the past five years. While super fund members don’t currently vote or have input into investment strategy, polling their sentiment about how their money is invested and what they feel passionate about is important. Surveying your members could help anticipate whether you are offering them what they need.

After the AGM…

Engaging virtually also makes it easier to engage with stakeholders on a continuing basis. The Governance Institute finds that “shareholders often engage more easily with directors and senior management at non-statutory investor briefings than at the AGM” and that retail shareholders are more likely to attend informal briefings. These are easy to hold online, and something that super funds can do: keep a channel of communication and Q&A open.

Change is coming, and super funds need to be prepared. Using technology to engage with members is also about branding. It shows your fund to be an innovator and rapid adopter of technology, who values customer experience.

We’ve suggested before that super funds emulate banks and other financial institutions, and overhaul their digital presence and start building apps. Such an app could then easily be used to facilitate AGMs and further engagement. A platform through which a fund can really connect with its members, and something that will enable not merely communication but true support for the cause.

So perhaps the need for super funds to hold an AGM will be just the impetus that’s needed to spark up the industry to better engage with its members.

Simran Gambhir is the founder of technology and software solutions provider Ganemo Group. He was previously CTO for Flybuys and News Corp’s digital arm.

This article was originally published by Industry Moves.