In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, the weekly podcast from IFA Magazine, we discuss the behavioural science side of complaints, and how such complaints affect financial advisers.
Joining us to do this is BareRock’s COO John Netting and Head of Behavioural Science & CXO, Babs Crane. Together, we unpack how and why advisers react to complaints, which can often feel like personal attacks to them.
We also discuss BareRock’s recent report, which aims to flip the script on traditional guides, looking instead at the psychology of the finanacial adviser.
The report suggests that many disputes are caused more from a lack of client understanding, with clients nodding along to avoid appearing confused or asking questions they feel might be obvious. John and Babs explain the social psychology behind this and suggest how advisers can break throough that barrier.
We also dive into how the human memory can naturally rewrite history when things go wrong, and how mistakes can change a client’s psychology in different ways depending on how those mistakes are discovered.
Be sure to check out this episode and all other episodes of IFA Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon!
Also, listen to the Brooks Macdonald episode, mentioned in this podcast, by clicking here!
John Netting (COO of BareRock)
John has spent over two decades managing complaints at the coalface for financial advisers.
He understands exactly where firms break down, the emotional toll a single dispute takes on support staff, and how transactional client relationships breed claims.
Babs Crane (Head of Behavioural Science & CXO at BareRock)
Babs holds an MSc in Consumer Psychology and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology. She is the scientific engine that explains why clients act the way they do. She can talk brilliantly on concepts like the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (why clients legitimately forget risks explained to them), Hindsight Bias, and how power dynamics cause clients to nod along when they are actually drowning in cognitive overload.
