MorganAsh, a support services provider to the financial services and utilities sectors, has launched a series of workshops on customer vulnerability, to help firms get to grips with the topic and meet the requirements of Consumer Duty.
The new series comprises of four workshops, each covering a key area of customer vulnerability, all developed using MorganAsh’s decades of expertise and experience in the sector. The practical and interactive workshops are face-to-face sessions and available to all firms – not just MorganAsh’s clients.
The workshops include an introduction to customer vulnerability and the FCA’s requirements as part of Consumer Duty. A more in-depth, one-day introductory workshop is also available, providing firms with deeper knowledge to improve their customer vulnerability strategies.
MorganAsh can also provide a gap analysis of a firm’s Consumer Duty board report, comparing a firm’s live document with the FCA’s requirements. This is followed by an optional workshop to go through the gaps and help firms compile robust reports. A final workshop focuses on vulnerable customer journey mapping, harnessing real vulnerable customer data to build better customer journeys – ones that are truly representative of a firm’s actual customers.
The workshops have been developed over years of working with clients, helping them to navigate all areas of customer vulnerability. The announcement is in line with the FCA releasing the findings of its multi-firm vulnerability review, which reveals that many firms are still unable to monitor or take action on outcomes for vulnerable customers. The review also found that some firms did not give appropriate support to vulnerable customers and for staff in identifying potential vulnerabilities.
It follows various reports, including the recent CII report, where firms called for greater training and support to identify customer vulnerability and meet the regulator’s requirements.
Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, said: “It is abundantly clear that there is still a real knowledge gap among firms when it comes to customer vulnerability and the critical role it plays in meeting the requirements of Consumer Duty. The FCA’s multi-firm vulnerability review is the latest example of this, identifying a lack of effective outcomes monitoring or appropriate support for both staff and vulnerable customers.
“The aim of our new series of workshops is to support firms in their customer vulnerability journeys, using our expertise in this area to help bridge those knowledge gaps. It’s more than just meeting the requirements of the regulator though – we want to put firms on the path of identifying vulnerable customers consistently, monitoring outcomes and minimising potential harm. In the process, firms will start to understand the competitive advantage that comes with knowing customers better and delivering tailored products and services, all while generating the necessary data and intelligence for quality reporting.”
MorganAsh is a specialist in Consumer Duty and customer vulnerability. The firm launched its award-winning MARS platform to help firms understand and monitor vulnerable customers and deliver good outcomes – as required by Consumer Duty. It is in use across financial services and the utilities sector, enabling businesses to adopt a consistent approach to identifying vulnerable characteristics and generate an objective Resilience Rating – much like a credit score.
To find out more about MARS or access a free trial, visit: morganash.com/mars or phone: 0330 159 8162.
