In September 2024, we partnered with leading vulnerable customer SMEs, Money Advice Trust, to host a webinar on effective training approaches for customers in vulnerable circumstances.
297 senior financial services professionals collectively submitted over 120 questions for our panel.
Analysis of these questions revealed a range of pressing concerns, including:
- How to design engaging and inspiring training content (22%).
- A lack of clarity on what constitutes “good” vulnerability training (18%).
- Difficulties in measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of training programs (16%).
- Challenges in empowering staff to better assess and identify vulnerability (16%).
- A need for greater clarity on FCA expectations (10%).
- Concerns about maintaining staff competence over time (8%).
While a majority of firms on the webinar acknowledged the need for more frequent and continuous training and effective assessment processes, current training approaches often rely on generic e-learning modules (51% tailored, 45% off-the-shelf) with little emphasis on post-training evaluation or measurement of effectiveness.
Perhaps most concerning is the frequency of training delivered. For roles outside specialist vulnerable customer teams, contact centre staff, and complaint handlers, training typically occurs less than once per year, with a minority of firms admitting to only providing one-off training, raising important questions about the sustainability and effectiveness of current training practices in meeting the FCA’s expectations.
We also asked webinar participants for feedback on role- and function-specific understanding of vulnerable customers in their firm, which revealed a disparity in confidence levels.
- Sales teams were identified as possessing the lowest level of understanding, a concerning finding given their direct interaction with customers.
- Other functions raising concerns include outsourced customer service, claims handling, collections, and product/service design teams – all areas where vulnerable customers may be particularly exposed.
- Conversely, risk and compliance teams were perceived as having a strong grasp of vulnerable customer issues.