77% of customers still prefer human interaction for complex or sensitive issues. (UK CX Report, Ipsos & Engage Customer, 2025)
Across financial services, leaders are under pressure to deliver brilliant, compliant customer experiences, while navigating tighter regulation, rising AI adoption, and growing customer expectations.
But as the latest research shows, it’s not technology that defines the best operations. It’s the people behind it.
That belief sat at the heart of our recent webinar with Phillips & Cohen Associates (PCA), winners of the Credit Awards 2025: Best Use of Technology Partnership. The discussion explored how PCA built a culture of confidence, care, and continual learning that’s driving measurable gains in performance, accuracy, and customer trust.
What our audience told us
When we asked CX and operations leaders what will drive the biggest improvements in 2026, the answer was clear: “Building competence and confidence.”
More than half cited knowledge retention and consistency as their biggest operational challenges, not technology or tools.
This echoes industry data showing that poor staff competence is now the third-biggest driver of customer dissatisfaction (UKCSI 2025) and that frontline stress and unclear processes are fuelling rising attrition (ContactBabel 2025).
Together, these insights show a simple truth: competence and confidence aren’t HR metrics – they’re CX levers.
Lessons from PCA
Operating in one of the most sensitive areas of financial services (probate debt management) PCA’s teams handle emotionally complex and highly regulated conversations every day. Their goal was simple: help people get it right, first time.
Through continual learning powered by Clever Nelly, PCA have:
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Saved 614 hours of productive time
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Delivered $1.5 million in annual savings through error reduction
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Improved QA, CSAT and ESAT
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Reduced attrition and improved wellbeing
As PCA’s Kelly Chisnall shared during the session:
“When people feel confident, you can see it in the calls. They’re calmer, more empathetic, and the customer feels it too.”
And as Ben Scales noted:
“The organisations that thrive are the ones that recognise their people don’t stop learning after induction. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and very few actually measure competence.”
Why it matters
AI can speed up service, but only people build trust.
Empower them, and you don’t just reduce rework and risk, you transform CX, compliance, and confidence at scale.
Discover the insights, data, and practical lessons from PCA’s award-winning approach, and learn why the future of customer experience is human and digital, not human or digital.
Click here to access the paper >
