How we support vulnerable members

Customers turn to us, knowing that we will care and support them in the moments that matter.

Riffat Tufail – Head of Customer Vulnerability:

We’ve been trusted to look after people’s life savings and retirement needs for nearly 200 years.

We believe our focus provides us with the strong foundations to support our customers and meet their needs now and in the future.

Our focus is on delivering sustainable solutions and providing customers with tools and support to improve their financial wellness.

Derek Haig – Vulnerable Customer Consultant:

Our colleagues are trained to meet the needs of all our customers, including those who may need an extra helping hand due to their circumstances. Our helping hand champions work closely with the vulnerable customer team to make sure they have the knowledge and skills to respond to customers with compassion and care.

We’re proud of our training and our partnership with Samaritans, which allowed us to create training that helps colleagues become better listeners, an important skill for us all to have.

We listen to our colleagues and customer feedback and make sure we’re always working hard to meet their needs. This has led us to introduce Sign Live to support customers wishing to engage with us this way. As well as creating support for customers facing financial hardship.

Karen Stewart – Vulnerable Customer Lead:

We’ve created innovative ways to bring vulnerability to life for colleagues. As well as using our research and data, we bring in lived experience, so we get first-hand insight into the challenges customers face. We use tools that can help colleagues understand accessibility challenges; so we design with vulnerability in mind, and our immersive virtual reality experience that puts you at the heart of a customer and colleague conversation.

Embedding vulnerability considerations in everything we do means our products, services and communications are more accessible and inclusive. We’re proud of the work we do in this space and of the awards we’ve received that recognise this. Having engaging conversations about vulnerability with colleagues across our business helps make sure we’re all taking responsibility to deliver good outcomes for customers, including those who may be facing vulnerable circumstances.

Riffat Tufail – Head of Customer Vulnerability:

We’re creating a positive impact to tackle the societal issues we all face by challenging our industry and beyond into wider society, to prioritise vulnerability. As a team we’re the voice of vulnerable customers, putting their needs at the heart of everything we do. And together we make a difference to people's lives.