Trust is key to successful client work, says Money A+E

Gaining the trust of clients is vital for success in supporting people with their issues, according to one leading advice social enterprise.

London-based Money A+E provides money advice and education to disadvantaged groups, diverse ethnic communities and young people across the capital.

They’re funded, in part, by British Gas Energy Trust, as they seek to support people in fuel poverty.

And Money A+E’s Project Support Lead, Jeredine Thomas, says that building up a trusted relationships with their client base is what makes them so successful in providing that much-needed support.

The organisation is working with local health care providers, borough alliances and social prescribers to try and reach as many people in need of support as possible, with energy issues increasingly driving individuals into debt and substandard living conditions.

Jeredine says: “There’s a big connection between health – particularly mental health – and debt. They go hand in hand.

“Either way, whether it starts with health turning into debt or vice versa, it’s a cycle. Things can spiral and get worse.

“And it can affect people’s physical health, too. When stress becomes too much, it can often lead to a decline in physical health too.

“The common complaints are that bills are too much and when people reach out for help, they have to go through long processes and queues to get through to someone.

“There are some providers that will systematically call people two or three times a day, every day, to try and get through to people. For someone with paranoia, for example, that’s not going to work. They’ll just ignore the calls and the issue.

“Some will ask people to do things a certain way, through a portal for example. But some people, they’re just not able to do that because they are digitally excluded or do not have skills to use the system. What seems like efficiency for some big organisations simply doesn’t work for some of their customers. Things like Wi-Fi, data and calling all cost money.

“And that’s before we look at the terminology that some providers use. Some people don’t understand the words being used.

“I think some of these barriers are often overlooked.”

Jeredine says when people have serious issues, these come to the fore through people they trust, like health professionals.

“We have lots of referral routes,” she added. “A Social Prescribers’ role is to support people and link them to others who can help them in their community. They build up trust with their clients and refer onto services like ours.

“When we realised this referral route worked, we started to link up with similar networks to talk to them about the services that we provide.”

And once engaged, clients need to be reassured about the people they’re dealing with, says Jeredine – who believes that flexibility is key to dealing with people, particularly those most vulnerable. Most of the charity’s appointments are done over the phone, but they offer outreach and face-to-face appointments where the need is there – and to build up that all-important trust.

Jeredine added: “It’s not a case that we call them up and if they don’t answer we leave it there. Many people don’t answer the phone for various reasons – from not being able to get to it in time, to having paranoia about being chased by companies.

“We always call them first and leave a message to explain who we are. They usually call us back, but without harassing, we can also use text messaging, emails or even WhatsApp messaging to get in contact with people. We’ll do whatever is necessary to make the client feel comfortable about talking to us.”

And the process is working. Jeredine concluded: “For us, it has been really good.  When we’ve finished working with people, silence is good – it means people are getting on with their lives. But some go as far as sending cards, flowers and chocolates just to say thank you. They may not want to do anything formal like a case study or a news story, but just want to say a little thank you in their own way – and that can be very rewarding for us.”

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