As part of Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, Standard Life has established itself as a market leader in providing support for vulnerable customers. It’s Helping Hand Programme is championed by the highly awarded Vulnerable Customer Team, who are extensively trained in recognising the range of possible vulnerabilities across their customers and how to deal with each in an empathetic, practical, and decisive way.
We were engaged by Standard Life to help clients, and the wider industry, understand customer vulnerabilities and the impact they can have for those not getting the support and guidance they need to make good financial decisions.
Utilising our expertise in immersive technology, we dramatised a real telephone call that took place between a team member and a vulnerable customer with mental health difficulties through an emotive piece of 360° content.
Set in 2 separate locations (Standard Life’s office and the customer’s kitchen), the film depicts an interaction between a vulnerable customer and Dani, a Helping Hand trained Standard Life employee, in whom the customer confides she is having suicidal thoughts.
The two locations were stitched together to fully immerse the end user, and give the illusion that all three (customer, team member and user) are sitting at one table. To date, the experience has been viewed by over 100 clients, Employee Benefits Consultants (EBCs), advisers, pension trustees, and industry figures (including representatives from the FCA and The Pensions Regulator) and over 200 colleagues, including senior leaders.
“As a teaching tool, the VR experience has been a very efficient yet emotive way of educating colleagues across the business, on how important it is that we consider vulnerability in everything we design and to weave compassion into our approach.
Colleagues have loved the innovative vehicle of VR, and for many this is their first VR experience, which enhances it even more. We have also been able to take the VR experience on the road to multiple external events across the UK to showcase our thought leadership credentials.
The feedback has been incredible, and we are extremely proud of this project and the reach we can achieve with it across a range of audiences.”
Riffat Tufail
Head of Customer Vulnerability, Standard Life