roundup of this year's content

Written by Catherine Nessworthy | Dec 15, 2020 3:18:23 PM

As we come to the end of 2020, we’re using this last edition to look back over the Growth Series content we’ve provided this year. There’s a quick reminder summary of each one, its key message and how it can help you. We’ve also provided a quick link so you can go straight to the ones that interest you.

	What is it?	Key takeaway message	How it could help you	Link
Jan 20: How you can help your customers get into good savings habits	Ideas for how your customers can get into the habit of saving, by making just a few easy changes.	It’s easy to help your customers to make a good start on building up their savings pot You can show them how to find the best home with us for their new found savings.	It contains an overview of our account types, and which kind of savers they suit, to help with your customer conversations (if not right now, then in the future when things go back to normal and we're encouraging customers to come and see us face to face again). So you can share it with your staff. There are also links to our budget calculator, which is a great tool for helping your customers to work out how to spend their cash most effectively.	Here
Feb 20: Are your customers working their savings as hard as they can?	A reminder of the key benefits of holding an ISA, despite the existence of the Personal Savings Allowance (PSA).	ISAs are still worthwhile for a variety of reasons – and can be especially useful for savers with large pots who will use up the £1,000 tax free interest limit ISAs are easily explained if you have the right tools. Our video, ‘Getting Started with ISA Saving’ can help you with this.	Customers still need help working out how to save tax free effectively. This blog will help you to identify and explain when an ISA is still the best option for your customer, so it’s ideal for sharing with your team. This will be especially useful during ISA season.	Here
June 20: Helping your business thrive during the crisis and beyond	A blog to help you maintain relationships with your customers, especially during these unusual times. This is intended to help you with the non-YBS side of your business (if you have one).	It’s really important to keep in touch with your customers, especially if you’re not seeing them face to face There are many ways you can do this, from sending a customer newsletter to having an email marketing plan, to making the most of your website and using social media Being flexible, both with your ways of working and your staff will help you to adapt as the business climate changes.	It contains some useful hints and tips for making the most of both your website and social media, as well as best practice for email marketing.	Here
July 20: The importance of channels working together and helping your customers to embrace the digital world	This article is about understanding what customers need and keeping up with the times. We can do this by providing both digital and face to face service options.	Channels don’t need to compete – they can complement each other, providing choice for customers Channels have different purposes – and agencies can add value in ways that online channels can’t We need to attract new audiences both into agency and online Historically, older audiences have been slower to embrace online channels and may be more worried about the risks involved. Our blog ‘Talking to your customer about staying safe online’ here can help.	Consider the bigger picture from a customer service perspective, and how you can promote the strengths of face to face service, as well as digital.	Here
August 20: Additional ideas to use with the Training & Competency scheme	A supporting guide to give you some ideas for additional activities you can use alongside the Training & Competency Scheme. This also includes live case study examples, where performing these activities has benefited both the colleague and the agency.	There are many things you can do to support and develop your staff on top of the T&C scheme These include increased observations, more frequent 121s and outbound call observations You should also keep an eye on NPS scores to see what customers are saying about the service they receive from your agency team.	There are some great ideas for keeping your staff motivated and engaged, which will benefit both yourself and your business.	Here
September 20: The Training & Competency Guide	This is the official Training & Competency Guide which sits on the Sharepoint site. It contains most of the same information as provided in August within the official document. However, there are also extra resources – e.g An observation tool guide A 121 tool guide Coaching videos Key questions for colleagues to ask customers (developing inquisitive skills).			Here

You’ll notice that there are some months when no Growth Series content was provided. This is because it has been such an unusual year, and there were months where it didn’t feel appropriate.

Looking ahead to 2021

Look out for next year’s Growth Series content. We’ve got some really interesting things in the pipeline, including, for the first time, a podcast!

In the meantime, Happy Christmas. We’ll see you next year!

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