Vulnerability consultancy
We specialise in vulnerability. It is not an ‘add-on’ to other consultancy services. It is at the core of what we do.
Our consultancy offering
We can help you to better identify, engage, understand and support vulnerable customers across all your channels. We can sense-check, shape and improve your policies, practice, data, and systems to deliver the best customer and business outcomes.
With a decade of experience in helping more than 450 firms across all regulated sectors, and through our experience running National Debtline and Business Debtline, we know how you can improve support for customers in vulnerable circumstances in a commercially realistic way.
What we can do for your organisation
Focused guidance and review: Our team of experts can help review and guide your organisation on specific aspects of vulnerability. All our work is undertaken remotely or on-site, in a single session or over time, and with recommendations that match your needs.
Regulatory and strategic assessment: Our experienced team can conduct a detailed assessment into your department, team or organisational approach to vulnerability. In doing this, we will assess and advise on your alignment with regulatory, legal, and best practice frameworks.
Development and change: We can help you to change your practice. Whether you are starting out on a new strategy, taking on a new challenge, or wanting to see how you can improve practice, we can help.
We also provide tailored vulnerability training for senior managers, specialist teams, frontline staff, and non-customer facing staff via remote or in-person delivery. This can be chosen from existing modules or custom- built for your organisation.
Focused guidance and review
Timely input
We can help you to change practice whenever that help is required. Whether you are planning to make a change, are about to introduce a new way of working, or want to assess and evaluate on going practice, we can add value and insight.
Experienced team
You are the experts in your own organisation. We do not seek to replace that. Instead, our team brings experience of working with more than 450 firms on vulnerability, but also their own specialist backgrounds and expertise, ranging across frontline service provision, research and data, GDPR, quality assurance, complaints, training, and compliance.
Practical recommendations
Our recommendations are always made with your staff in mind, and the roles they occupy. It is more than ‘awareness raising’ as we describe how to practically respond to everyday challenges.
Focused guidance
We have helped firms:
- Improve frontline staff understanding on key issues
- Re-design customer journeys for vulnerability
- Devise vulnerability flags and data recording systems
- Revise quality assurance and complaint processes and many other aspects of firms’ business processes.
If your organisation has a specific challenge, and needs a clear response, we can help.
Case, journey, product, system reviews
When developing a strategy or approach to consumer vulnerability, this always needs to be both customer-focused and commercially realistic.
We can help firms by:
- Reviewing and helping calibrate responses to the most challenging customer cases
- Helping to build customer journeys that deliver positive experiences and outcomes
- Working with your team to inclusively design products and systems that take vulnerability into account.
Regulatory and strategic assessment
We work across all regulated essential services(FCA, Ofcom, Ofgem, Ofwat), as well as sectors such as retail and customer services.
We have helped firms to analyse their regulatory and legal gaps, prepare for regulatory engagement, and respond to regulatory visits. In doing all of this, we focus on what is beneficial for the customer, practically feasible for staff, and commercially realistic for the organisation.
Practical recommendations
Firms do not want lengthy reports, but short, practical, and effective recommendations delivered in a format that best fits their needs.
We deliver these in a traditional report format, slide deck (suitable for re-presentation), remote or on-site presentation, larger facilitated discussion or workshop, podcast or video presentation (including summary findings for a wider staff audience).
Full assessment
We are able to provide an organisation-wide aassessment, based on regulatory requirements and best practice, detailing how your firm is meeting these requirements and provide recommendations for improvement.
Targeted assessment
A full assessment may not always be appropriate or needed. In these situations we can undertake a targeted assessment review and provide independent recommendations.
We have the experience to help you to not only work more effectively with your vulnerable customers, but also to ensure your staff understand their part in your mission for change.
Development and change
Whatever the objective or challenge, we can give you a foundation on which to build.
We can help you achieve your ambition in a practical, balanced, and compliant way that improves customer and business outcomes.
Strategy, policy and procedure
Your vulnerability strategy and policy are the foundation of your success, and your team are the ones who build and deliver this for you. Ensuring your procedures align to this strategy and policy are instrumental to your staff so they can support vulnerable customers effectively.
We have worked with many firms and can support you through:
- Strategy conversations, workshops and outputs
- Vulnerability policy and creation testing
- Protocol and tool development
- Alignment of policies and procedures across an organisation to ensure alignment
We also provide tailored vulnerability training for senior managers, specialist teams, frontline staff, and non-customer facing staff via remote or in-person delivery. This can be chosen from existing modules or custom- built for your organisation.
Vulnerability data architecture
Data is essential in identifying and supporting customers in vulnerable situations. However, the collection, use, sharing, storage, and processing of vulnerability data can be challenging for firms.
Our experts have written key guidance on vulnerability, data, and GDPR, and we have assisted hundreds of firms with:
- Vulnerability flag design
- Outcome measure development
- GDPR and vulnerability data compliance
- Identification and communication strategies
Importantly we ensure that firms achieve these ambitions while collecting the most relevant data for meaningful action.
Quality assurance
Achieving outcomes for vulnerable customers requires effective quality frameworks. In addition to monitoring outcomes and service delivery, quality assurance also helps to identify areas of improvement and coaching opportunities.
We have assisted firms:
- Align QA framework to training and policies
- Identify relevant measures
- Implement assurance assessments
- Improve reporting and more…
Our team has extensive experience in these areas, including overseeing major programmes in large financial and regulatory organisations.
Contact our consultancy team
Interested in our consultancy?
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