Volvo Car Financial Services UK (VCFSUK) and specialist vehicle finance firm, Moneybarn, have won two prestigious accolades at the Credit Strategy’s Car Finance Awards 2023.

Working in partnership with employee-centric Artificial Intelligence (AI) provider – Elephants Don’t Forget –– the award winners, who took home the Innovation Award (VCFSUK) and Best Technology Partner (Moneybarn), respectively, received admiration from this year’s judges panel for their approaches to continuous employee development, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in learning design, and proactivity in improving customer outcomes and experience in line with evolving UK regulatory expectations.

Innovation Award winner – VCFSUK – integrated AI from Elephants Don’t Forget to establish a Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) approved training programme for Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) Expert equivalency; becoming the first organisation in their sector to gain SAF Expert equivalency without the need for traditional examination.

The traditional approach to attain and maintain SAF Expert status requires staff to self-study training material and sit a 60-question, 60-minute, online exam. Candidates must attain a minimum pass mark of 75% and subsequently repeat the process annually to maintain competence and retain their SAF Approved status.

Acknowledging the need to innovate their approach, reduce learner anxiety around annual examinations, and make learning design more inclusive, VCFSUK deployed AI from Elephants Don’t Forget – Clever Nelly – into their learning design.

The successful collaboration enabled L&D at VCFSUK to customise individual learning pathways for their staff, improve, maintain and evidence SAF competence in real-time, and demonstrate a proactive culture of authentic compliance.

Commenting on the successful award submission for VCFSUK, Car Finance Award judges stated:

“VCFSUK and Elephants Don’t Forget’s entry impressed judges through demonstrable success delivered through innovation that’s not business as usual, while its consideration of diversity and inclusion and individual learning preferences, as well as its utilisation of AI for constant learning for colleagues, all being highlighted.”

Mike Lucia, Head of Learning and Development at VCFSUK, commented:

“It’s an ‘industry first’ that we’re excited about and a huge step forward in reducing the learner anxiety that is normally associated with traditional SAF examinations. I hope to see it go on to help many in the wider industry to achieve their ‘SAF Expert’ status with greater inclusivity and learner confidence.”

Winner of this year’s Best Technology Partner, Moneybarn Vehicle Finance – recipients of Credit Strategy’s Responsible Lender of the Year Award 2022 – received judges’ acclaim for their approach to continuous employee learning which supports them to underpin a genuine culture of compliance, further embed customer centricity within their business model, and facilitate better customer outcomes.

With a focus on aligning individual employee understanding, retention and in-role application of critical regulatory themes within their frontline operations, Moneybarn have seen tangible improvements in key operational metrics – correlated from improved staff competence and capability – that support improved outcomes and experiences for their customer base.

Moneybarn commented:

“We’re pleased to share that alongside our key partners – Elephants Don’t Forget – we came away with Best Technology Partner for their work with us throughout 2022. The award recognises and highlights how we are constantly evolving to ensure better customer outcomes.”

Commenting on the successful award submission for Moneybarn, Car Finance Award judges stated:

“Through their work, Elephants Don’t Forget and Moneybarn have been able to develop a good tool that enhances the understanding of compliance in motor finance, improving customer services and outcomes. This has been driven by a ‘little and often’ approach to checking in with their agents’ knowledge base.”

Adrian Harvey, CEO at Elephants Don’t Forget, commented:

“In association with these two exceptional organisations, we are delighted to receive these awards. These accolades champion the drive, personal responsibility and dedication of our customers to innovate within the financial services sector and adopt readily available and cost-effective technology within their learning design.

These awards recognise and celebrate that improved levels of individual employee competence and capability are directly correlated to improved business performance and – critically – better customer outcomes.

In an evolving and complex regulatory landscape that is putting more pressure on employees to learn and retain what is trained – and to individually translate this into in-role competence – organisations are recognising the importance of implementing more modern, inclusive, and authentic approaches to learning and development. These firms are testament to this fact, and their respective awards and judges’ recognition are extremely well deserved.”

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