Scotcash Annual Report 2021-22 - Report - Page 15
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Staff stories
Our exceptional team pulled together to address the challenges of
2020-21: looking after worried customers and switching to working
from home. We needed to furlough four of our team for a short period
in 2020 and were diligent in reassuring them and all members of staff
that we would bring people back from furlough as soon as we could.
We appreciate the effort and commitment everyone made in this
year like no other, and thought we’d ask all of our team for their
reflections. You’ve already heard from Sharon and Will – read what
everyone else had to say:
Susan McClelland, Deputy CEO:
“Borrowing options for lots of families and households are
extremely limited, and we knew that many customers were
not only worried about making their repayments, but also
what impact any defaults would have on their ability to obtain
affordable credit again in the future: mainstream banks don’t
tend to offer short-term, small-sum loans and if people borrow
from a payday lender they pay the poverty premium, whereas
we offer a valuable and fairer alternative. Our team worked
sensitively and sympathetically with customers throughout
the pandemic – and we ensured every member of staff was
supported too.”
Julie Spence,
Office Manager:
“It’s obviously been a very challenging year but we have a
great team behind us helping to look after our customers.
We’ve been through challenges before and built strong
procedures. Like some others in the team, I was furloughed
for a few months but the management kept me in the loop
and ensured I understood they were working to get us back
to work as soon as they could. It was good to have that
reassurance. With two young kids myself being furloughed
meant I could really empathise with what many of our
customers were going through when I came back to work.
Pretty much everyone has been affected by the virus – and
the team have all worked really well and all pulled together.”
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Claire Irvine,
Customer Service Administrator:
“I’ve enjoyed the experience of helping customers out. Lots
of people in Scotland don’t know about things like the Best
Start Grants, for example, and these make an enormous
difference helping people with the costs of being pregnant or
looking after a child.
“It’s been scary for everyone but working for Scotcash has
been really positive, they are always checking in to ensure
you are OK.”
Staci McLeod,
Finance Officer:
“The process to work from home was actually really smooth.
You can understand why many customers were panicking at
the start of the pandemic, but Scotcash dealt with it really well
and made sure we could all help customers deal with their
situations.”
Annetta King,
Credit Controller:
“We were helping people as much as we could, first of all with
the hardship grants and signposting them to other support
they may not have known about, and by being as proactive
as possible in reaching out to customers.”
Neil Duncan,
Pauline Birney,
“I was furloughed for a couple of months at the start of the
pandemic, but colleagues kept checking in on me to see if
I was OK and I knew they wanted to get us back as soon as
they could. When I came back to work I could empathise with
how people had been affected if they’d been furloughed or
had their hours cut.
“It was seamless. Sharon and Susan had prepared us well
and we got all the backup we needed – we could access our
managers at any time.
“It can be difficult to contact people if they are in arrears but
we work hard to agree realistic repayment plans and I’m
really confident about the year ahead.
Gillian Coats,
Customer Service Administrator:
“Working from home was not an issue for me because the
communication across the team was so good – it felt that if
there was ever anything you needed you only had to ask.”
Marion Brown
Affordable Credit Advisor:
“All the work we did to support customers took a lot of the
pressure off them.”
Affordable Credit Advisor:
“Scotcash had never done anything like the hardship grants
before. It made a huge difference. Many people might not
understand, but that £50 was paying for someone’s heating
for a week, or food on the table. Many customers we
contacted were overwhelmed when they realised we were
going to give them money.
Affordable Credit Advisor:
“There was a risk some customers could struggle if they
were used to dealing with us face to face and didn’t have any
access to the internet. We spoke with lots of people on the
phone and I know it was a relief for many customers.
“Sharon and Susan phoned me regularly while I was on
furlough to keep in touch, which I found really helpful. I’m
looking forward to the buzz when we’re back in the office.”
“Nine out of ten of the people we phoned were in a difficult
position. We helped customers to contact energy companies
and pointed them in the direction of the school uniform fund.
“Some customers struggled with the website so other loan
officers and I talked them through the process. It went well
and the people we helped became much more confident,
and are happy logging in on their own now.”
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