We are proud to have been Lead Sponsor at the 23rd Annual Complaints Management Forum, the premier conference for complaints management executives in financial services. It proved to be a fantastic day, as attendees shared experiences and discussed the challenges facing those in complaints resolution and customer service.
For those who were unable to attend the event, these are the five main takeaways:
People are the heart of complaints
In her keynote speech, Lauren Long emphasised the importance of the human aspect of complaint handling.
Firms need to recognise that many of those complaining will be under stress, worried, anxious or alone. Instead of taking a ‘winner-takes-all’ approach, firms should implement FOS guidelines to provide a tailored service to customers, and embed Consumer Duty throughout their business.
Consumer Duty isn’t just important when it comes to complaints - it’s something to be embedded across the board
Under the Duty, firms must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. This should be achieved by empowering complaints teams, giving handlers the responsibility to determine the best course of action within the Consumer Duty framework.
Root cause analysis from the customer’s lens is an important component of Consumer Duty. This helps handlers get to the granularity of the complaint and alter their service accordingly. It is also essential for organisations as they seek to pre-empt complaints and improve customer retention.
Consumer duty should be embedded across the business agenda, a key consideration at all points of customer contact.
Front-line employees are vital to the future success of complaints
Senior management are susceptible to “analysis paralysis”, which can distract attention from the individual customer.
Although data driven insights are fundamental to the future of complaints, these must be implemented alongside contributions from those on the front-lines.
Senior leadership must be challenged to put the customer first, which can mean communicating via their channel of choice, providing a flexible and tailored approach, and through active listening.
Customer vulnerability is not clear cut
In an effort to account for customer vulnerability, some firms implement overly simplistic measures for vulnerability - which can skew outcomes.
Part of providing a truly tailored approach is ensuring that special treatment is given where required, and not to someone who does not need or want it.
The tick-box method is an outdated way of capturing customer vulnerability. Organisations need to ensure that the service is tailored to the needs of the individual customer.
For example, there might be various points across the complaint lifecycle where a customer’s vulnerability impacts the manner of the complaint, and service provision must be adapted accordingly.
AI must mean a ‘human-in-the-loop’ system
Firms should be investing in the right technology to help complaints teams deal with rising complaints volumes - FOS has experienced an almost 20% increase in escalated complaints in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.
However, these must be tools that complement existing workflows, and maintain the ‘human’ aspect of complaint handling.
Tools like the CourtCorrect platform are already being used by financial services companies to:
Ensure compliance with Consumer Duty;
Conduct root cause analysis;
Automatically generate Final Response Letters; and
Flag vulnerable customers.
This frees up time previously spent on administrative tasks, enabling complaints handlers to refine and deliver a more personalised service.
Complaints resolution should be top of mind for all businesses, not just from a regulatory perspective (e.g. Consumer Duty), but because every complaint is the story of a customer and the opportunity to win their trust!
We look forward to what lies ahead in this exciting sector and to help organisations achieve their objectives in complaints with cutting-edge, reliable and high-quality AI solutions.
