The Guardian Roadshow is on the Road Again!
By Olefile Moea, Director: Communications, Marketing & Consulting
From its modest beginnings in 2010 to the well-oiled programme that it has grown into, the Guardian Roadshow programme remains a vital part of the member communication, education and accessibility strategy for Fairheads and participating funds.
The restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic and concern for the well-being of guardians and members as well as staff members resulted in the Guardian Roadshow being put on hold for 2020 and 2021, meaning that guardians, caregivers and members have not had the opportunity to attend a roadshow workshop and benefit from it. Having experienced a turbulent two years, leaving many people with shaky foundations, it is vital that we enable face-to-face contact with guardians, caregivers and members again, giving them comfort and support and providing us with a valuable opportunity to be updated on our clients’ challenges and concerns. In particular we need to reach new members who have been onboarded during lockdown and those who have not updated their annual Proof of Existence (which means their payments are suspended until they do so – Fairheads has a fiduciary duty to do this to avoid fraudulent activity).
The objectives of the Guardian Roadshow are:
The Roadshows will take place between August and November 2022. We have taken care to try and overlap with school holidays, so that members themselves can attend as well. It has been part of our strategy for several years now to engage meaningfully with 15-16 year olds, to help advise them on how to get an ID document, and think about their careers. As in previous years, guardians and caregivers have expressed deep concern about members receiving a lump sum when they turn 18, as many are still at school and also unable as yet to handle finances responsibly. This is why Fairheads, along with other industry players, has been lobbying the authorities to amend regulations such that the age of termination for beneficiary funds be increased to Age 21 (which used to be the age of majority until an amendment to the Children’s Act changed the age to 18 in 2007).
As before, the Roadshows will be held in the language of the relevant region. We will have the opportunity also to remind and encourage guardians, caregivers and members not just to rely on the Roadshow but also to communicate with us through our well-established channels which include our walk-in offices and state-of-the-art contact centre. We will remind them that the contact centre agents are able to access their details immediately in order to help them efficiently and also that if they have run out of airtime, we will call them back.
As a team, we are tremendously excited to “get the show on the road” again and look forward to catching up with known clients and meeting new clients face-ot-face.
Details of the 2022 Guardian Roadshow
The current strategy adopts a rolling three-year programme that will ensure that workshops would have been held in areas with the highest member concentration by the end of each three-year period. This strategy has proved to be successful and 2022 sees the start of a new cycle.
The regions identified are the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Venues are selected within the target areas, with proximity to main transport routes being one of several selection criteria. All clients with valid cell phone numbers within an approximate 0-100km radius from the venue will be invited via SMS.
Following below is a draft schedule, showing some confirmed venues with others still to be confirmed. The final schedule will be sent to all stakeholders when finalised. It will be placed on Fairheads’ Facebook page and be communicated to the relevant clients who call and visit the Fairheads contact centre and client walk-in centres.
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