People living with any addiction - be it gambling, alcohol or substance misuse - can have complex and difficult lives. This can easily lead to financial detriment, including over-spending, loss of control and difficulty managing their finances.
Recent research shows that one in four frontline creditor staff find it difficult to talk about the issue of 'addictions' with customers – more than any other type of vulnerable situation.
With one in four specialist staff and one in ten frontline staff encountering customers with an addition 'most days' or 'every day' it is vital staff are able to understand, identify and support customers suffering from an addiction.
Course outline
Aim:
To give people the knowledge, skills, and confidence to identify and support customers who are living with a gambling, alcohol or drug addiction. It provides practical instruction on how to identify these customers, support them within the parameters of the business context, and who to refer them to.
Who is it for?
All frontline, customer-facing staff, management, specialist teams, back office staff and relevant suppliers.
What’s covered?
What addiction is, how common it is and how can we help customers deal with it
What causes addiction and the financial consequences of addiction on customers
Identifying the cues and signs of addiction
Understanding why conversations about addiction fail
Learning where you can get help for a customer with addiction
The five components of the TEXAS acronym as a tool for dealing with addiction
The four points of the IDEA technique as a tool for understanding addiction
Strategies for dealing with challenging circumstances, including customers who may resist or even refuse our help
Benefits to you:
Improve your reputation as a responsible organisation that treats customers fairly
Gain the skills, tools and confidence to help customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly and consistently
Improve your debt recovery rates and broken repayment arrangements, and minimise the likelihood of additional financial costs
Meet your legal and regulatory responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and Data Protection Act
Supports all parts of your business (lending, customer service, fraud, retention, collections and digital)
Training options
In-house: we come to you and deliver a one-day session customised for your staff. Avoiding a 'tutor talking from the front model, this instead uses a mixture of videos, interactive exercises and discussions
Consultancy: we can work with you to develop training, policies and principles that take your workplace practices into account