While technology offers many opportunities in the quest to deliver a more proactive and efficient customer experience, it’s the human interactions between brands and their customers that often make the difference, writes Oli Freestone, Institute Lead at Capita.

We’ve just commissioned some independent research into “Fairness in Collections” to gain a deeper insight into the issues facing people who are in debt.

The pandemic isn’t only affecting us as individuals – it’s affecting us as societies and economies too.

The impact of Covid-19 and the resulting social distancing has accelerated our online journey, pulling new businesses and customers onto digital platforms.

One of the things that the pandemic has surfaced is increasing inequality. The impact of Covid- 19 continues to take its toll not only on people’s physical and mental health but also on their financial stability.

As a market leader in debt management, we are witnessing first-hand the devastating financial impact Covid-19 is having on the personal finances of so many people.

The utility industry has faced consistent challenges with customer satisfaction, and is rated lower than the UK average for transparency, customer ethos and emotional connection.

For many people, the moment of truth with an organisation is when things go wrong - for example, when they fall behind on loan repayments.

In the next episode of our podcast series on the theme of the great opportunity our focus is on data and AI, and its application in the justice system.

Ian Elam, Business Development Director at Capita Customer Management, explains how data allows you to engage with your customers in a very personal way and reduce debt write-offs.