As the year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to say a massive ‘thank you’ for choosing to work with Lowell in 2023, and to reflect on a what turned out to be a pretty busy year for us.
I'd like to start by celebrating the work undertaken by team members across Lowell as we've continued to integrate the Hoist Finance UK business into the Lowell family. I'm really proud of the work which has been delivered and the results we continue to see.
We've welcomed over 1 million new customers, giving us the data and insight to further strengthen our award-winning customer interactions. As Lowell customers they now have access to our award-winning app and website, benefiting from features like our budget calculator, free credit scoring, 'Entitledto' benefit calculator, and so much more. We have seen 200k customers who weren't engaging with Hoist engaging with Lowell, and using their channel of choice to repay their debts. In addition, a review of over 90 internal policies and processes was completed to ensure that we retained the best from both businesses, ensuring we deliver the best outcomes for our customers and resulting in a more personalised, and streamlined customer journey.
We've been delighted to welcome new clients as part of the acquisition process, and build on our existing relationships. As a result of the integration we have been able to introduce 3PC capability to the UK business, continuing to strengthen the services we provide to you, our clients. We also welcomed 120 new colleagues from Hoist, retaining the Salford office and positioning it as a new recruitment facility for the North-West, enabling Lowell to attract and retain the best talent possible.
As a result of the hard work and dedication of the team members involved we were proud to win the Transformation Programme of the Year award at the 2023 CCS Awards. This was in recognition of the remarkable work that teams across Lowell have been doing in transitioning customers, clients, and colleagues into the company.
Overall, our transformation initiatives saw excellent results. We’ve improved customer outcomes, driven efficiency savings, and enhanced our customer journeys, as well as refining our data and analytics processes.
The Client Satisfaction Survey results are in!
On the back of these improvements, I’m excited to reveal the headline results from our 2023 Client Satisfaction Survey:
our CSI score has remained high at 90.8%, this is consistent year on year and an improvement of 5.2% since 2020
and our NPS has improved year-on-year to 81.2, an improvement of 7.1 year on year and an increase of 14.5 points since the 2020 survey.
I’m incredibly proud of the results this year. We’ve read every comment that you’ve shared with us: they’ve been incredibly useful, giving us the insights, ideas, and inspiration to improve the service we give you. We'll share more details from the results in the new year, in the meantime please keep sharing your thoughts with us.
Further highlights from 2023
We've been at No.1 The Square for three months now and it already feels like home, over 1,900 colleagues have now moved in and it's great to be able to meet and collaborate in our new space. We have had the pleasure of welcoming many of you already, and we're looking forward to welcoming more visitors in 2024.
Our financial results were strong throughout the year, with the UK continuing to underpin the Group's collections performance. We continue to make considerable progress in our sustainability reporting, reflected in EcoVadis upgrading our rating from Bronze to Silver in October.
On top of ramping up the sustainability of our business, we’ve also been making a positive impact on our customers and their communities. This year, our colleagues voted for our charity partnerships for 2023 and 2024, selecting national charity MyBnk alongside regional charity Turning Lives Around.
- MyBnk work nationally to create and deliver innovative financial education programmes to children and young adults, covering topics such as saving, budgeting, debt, and public and student finance. They have education hubs around the UK.
- Turning Lives Around are a Leeds-based charity, who work with the most marginalised in society to prevent homelessness, encourage independence, and promote wellbeing at home. They offer accommodation and support to help people into work, education and to play a full part in their community.
As well as our charity partnerships, we’ve been working on our Financial Vulnerability Index to help us understand the national debt landscape and see how we can further tailor our support for customers, including how to spot and support customers in vulnerable situations. Our Customer Journey manager, Michelle Dunn, talked about this in a recent Lowell webcast.
Finally, our UK CEO, John Pears has been propelling Lowell to the forefront of discussions about how to improve the standards of financial education across the country. He’s been continuing our work with the Centre for Social Justice and speaking to prominent figures from across the UK’s political landscape, thought leaders, and media commentators to advocate for those who are most financially vulnerable.
Time to take a breather
And that’s it. We’re in the final days of 2023, which has once again been a remarkably busy and productive year. And we couldn't have achieved all that we have without the support of our clients – thanks for being there for us, we appreciate it.
So finally, on behalf of everyone at Lowell, I’d like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year. The team and I look forward to working with you again in 2024.
See you on the other side!
Nick Ollard
Chief Commercial Officer
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