Vulnerability Matters

For this fascinating ‘end of 2023’ episode, Lee Walls talks to Chris Fitch about the science, experience, and lessons for life and vulnerability, of being a fire-walker. Lee explains how walking over 350 degree red hot coals can help understand and reframe situations of personal and customer vulnerability, and how her own lived experience of alcohol addiction led to her stepping into, and onto, fire-pits across the world. Lee and Firewalk Scotland can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-walls and https://www.firewalkscotland.co.uk/

Katie Mackay and Jack Hatcher – from the Nationwide Building Society – talk to Chris Fitch about their ‘Speak Easy’ initiative to support non-speaking and non-verbal customers. Katie explains how her experiences of being non-speaking in certain situations informed its development, while Jack shares findings and communication lessons from the ‘Speak Easy’ pilot in Nationwide branches. You can find both on LinkedIn, and access the finalised ‘Speak Easy’ card system at: [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-mackay-a2a90512a/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-hatcher/

Joshua Aspden – a specialist in financial inclusion among refugee and asylum seeker populations joins Chris Fitch to talk about his work in helping helped thousands of people to make sense with not just a new country and culture, but with an entirely different system of financial and essential services. Josh talks about his own experience of being new to the UK, his work with asylum seekers and refugees, and the difficulties and vulnerabilities that people can experience with money. Josh can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-aspden-0730423b/

Best-selling author Tim Farmer joins Chris Fitch to chat about mental capacity, decision-making, and his latest book “Grandpa on a Skateboard. The practicalities of assessing mental capacity and unwise decisions”. Clinical Director at Comentis, Tim takes Chris on a tour of the practical action needed to identify and support customers with decision-making limitations (both online and off-line), as well as explaining the definitions and law that can surround and cloud this topic. More on Tim and the work of Comentis (the cognitive assessment specialists) can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timfarmertsf/

Steve Donovan from Ovo Energy talks with Chris Fitch about a tool that everyone working with customers will use every single day, but which most of us probably don’t give enough attention, care, or love to: our voice. Steve walks Chris through the Ovo training team’s ‘tone of voice’ model (covering pitch, pace, volume, energy, and articulation), talks about using this with vulnerable customers, and shares his top tips on how to protect and look after our voices. Steve is Vulnerability Lead at Ovo Energy and can be found at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-donovan-865a40131/

Rose walks our host Dr Chris Fitch through the science, experience, and impact of ‘being cold’. Explaining how the cold affects us in physical, mental, financial, and social terms, Rose outlines the actions that staff can take to help customers likely to experience detriment from colder temperatures and fuel poverty. Inclusive designer and researcher for a fair, low carbon energy future, you can find out more about Rose and Energy Systems Catapult at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-chard-35526625/

Elizabeth discusses her own experience of chronic pain, how it affects millions of customers in the UK on a daily basis, and how organisations can work to support customers living with it. Advocate, policy specialist, and writer, you can find out more about Elizabeth at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethblakelock/

Phil shares new research data on what essential service firms are saying their biggest themes, fears, and challenges are for consumer vulnerability in 2023/2024. Senior Training Consultant at the Money Advice Trust, Phil can be found at: https://www.moneyadvicetrust.org.uk/vulnerability

Sarah talks about working more effectively with trans customers, life as a transwoman, and how she is bringing about change herself. Co-founder of Simply Equality and Joint Head of Equality and Diversity at Oxford University, Sarah can be found at: https://www.simplyequality.com/

Back in February, The Financial Conduct Authority published its finalised vulnerability guidance. As firms continue their work to translate these expectations into practical action, it is made clear by the FCA that firms need to be able to evidence that their outcomes for vulnerable customers are as good as those of other customers.

So, just what is an 'outcome' and how do we decide which outcomes we need to monitor? Why do they matter so much when it comes to vulnerability? and most importantly, how do firms go about doing all of this?

Joining Vulnerability Lead Consultant Chris Fitch to answer these questions and more are:

Peter Tutton - StepChange, Head of Policy
Jane Rodrick - Lloyds, Head of Customer Vulnerability
Ian Phillips - Vulnerability Academy, Co-Facilitator.

Find out more about the Vulnerability Academy in partnership with UK Finance here: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/events-training/vulnerability-academy-improving-outcomes-customers-vulnerable-circumstances