Uplifting our data and reporting capabilities

To make effective strategic decisions, it is essential to have up-to-date, accurate data at your fingertips. TAL is making a leap forward in our reporting capabilities, which will transform how our partners interact with their data. Philip O’Connor, TAL’s Enterprise Head of Information Delivery, talks us through the changes.

Firstly, can you tell us about your role at TAL?

I lead a team of data and reporting specialists and developers. Part of their role is to manage the service, operational and regulatory reporting needs of TAL’s superannuation fund partners, as well as identifying key trends and insights.

What are some of your recent achievements in terms of data and reporting?

Over the last couple of years, we’ve made good progress against our strategy and roadmap. This has included uplifting our operational claims reporting and our regulatory reporting to support SRS 251 and RG 271.

What are you focusing on next?

We’ve listened to feedback from our partners around the need for more sophisticated reporting. To meet this need, in early 2025 we’ll be transitioning our partners from Tableau to Power BI. This is a more robust and user-friendly platform with enhanced self-service reporting capabilities.

What will this mean for partners? 

Power BI will provide our partners with 24/7 access to the most up-to-date data insights for their fund. The data will be updated regularly, removing the need to wait for TAL’s monthly operational reports. To ensure data consistency, reporting will use TAL’s Data and Analytics platform as its source of truth, meaning that TAL and our partners are using the same data source. 

The upcoming change also provides us with an opportunity to streamline our monthly reports since much of the information will already be accessible to partners through their Power BI dashboard.

What features does Power BI offer? 

Our new Power BI suite’s dashboards and supplementary reporting for claims and underwriting offer advanced visualisations. These provide deeper insights into the member journey and service level performance against key metrics. With access to daily data updates, partners can filter and slice data as needed to support timely and informed decision-making. 

TAL and our partners will access the same data consistently and reliably, ensuring transparency and minimising the risk of discrepancies between different reports.

What cybersecurity controls are in place? 

The new platform will use Okta authentication, with single sign on (SSO) extending from Group HQ to Power BI. This will ensure the highest levels of data security and integrity, as well as delivering a smooth user experience.

What do partners need to be aware of during the implementation period? 

As we prepare for the implementation, partners may soon notice minor changes, such as a Power BI link on the Group HQ landing page.

To facilitate a smooth transition, the TAL Partnerships team, with the support of our Technology   team, will implement the necessary change management practices as we migrate our partners to Power BI. We’ll keep you posted on the next steps.

What’s next on the horizon for data and reporting at TAL? 

We’ll use the new platform to establish a reporting workspace, which we’ll leverage as we collaborate closely with each of our partners to explore opportunities for additional enhancements. This will enable us to continually improve our reporting and analytics capabilities in alignment with their strategic needs.

Looking ahead, we plan to further enhance our internal technology solutions using advanced analytics, with the goal of providing partners with additional reporting functionality and insights in FY25. 

Offering a more powerful data and reporting solution will help our partners better understand the member journey and, in step with TAL, drive an improved member experience using data-driven insights.

For more information about our data and reporting enhancements, speak to your Partnership Manager.