Supporting Vulnerable Customers Through Behavioural Training

How behavioural science helped Phoenix build empathy and listening skills across its workforce

The Challenge

Vulnerable customers are at a higher risk of harm when interacting with businesses, particularly when organisations fail to recognise their needs or provide appropriate support.

Customers may be experiencing financial hardship, disability, mental health challenges, or difficult life circumstances. These situations can make it harder to navigate complex services and communicate effectively with organisations.

Phoenix Group had already made strong commitments to supporting vulnerable customers. However, they wanted to go further by ensuring their colleagues had the skills and confidence to recognise vulnerability and respond with empathy.

To support this ambition, Phoenix partnered with Samaritans, the UK’s leading suicide prevention charity, which provides 24/7 emotional support to people in distress.

Together, they asked:

How can employees actively listen to customers and colleagues in order to deliver better outcomes for vulnerable people?

Our approach

Cowry collaborated with Phoenix, Samaritans and learning specialists to design a behavioural training experience that would help employees understand vulnerability and develop more empathetic conversations.

1. Behavioural diagnosis – We explored the psychological barriers that prevent effective listening and empathetic communication.
2. Active listening framework – The programme was built around the Samaritans Listening Wheel, a framework used by Samaritans volunteers to support individuals experiencing distress.
3. Behavioural learning design – Using behavioural science principles, we created an immersive learning experience that allowed employees to understand vulnerability from the perspective of the customer.
4. Interactive e-learning – The result was a 30-minute interactive training course, developed collaboratively with learning design specialists and behavioural experts.

The programme was delivered within just over three months, from concept to launch.

The solution

Cowry designed an immersive e-learning programme that helped employees understand vulnerability and develop stronger listening skills.

The training combined expertise from three partners:

1. Samaritans, providing expertise in active listening and emotional support
2. CanStudios, delivering the learning design and digital experience
3. Cowry, applying behavioural science to shape the learning journey

The course used storytelling and interactive scenarios to demonstrate how conversations with vulnerable individuals can unfold. Inspired by the concept behind the film Inside Out, the training explored the gap between what people say and what they are actually feeling.

Two interactive scenarios were developed:

• a conversation between a colleague and a vulnerable customer
• a conversation between a colleague and their manager

These scenarios illustrated how poor listening can lead to misunderstandings and negative outcomes.

Three behavioural science techniques shaped the learning experience.

1. Narrative Transportation: Stories were used to help employees emotionally connect with real-life vulnerability scenarios, increasing engagement and empathy.
2. Embodied Cognition: Participants experienced tasks while simulating conditions such as macular degeneration, helping them understand the practical challenges customers face.
3. Loss Aversion: Participants made decisions within simulated financial hardship scenarios to demonstrate how financial stress changes decision-making behaviour.

Impact:

The training programme delivered strong outcomes across Phoenix’s workforce. Feedback from participants highlighted the impact of the programme on how colleagues approach conversations with vulnerable customers.

The programme was also recognised externally, winning the Financial Services Forum Award for Innovation & Transformation 2023.