Richard Lane leads the external affairs department of debt charity StepChange and was a speaker at our recent vulnerability webinar.
Monday
It’s an early start today. The BBC has published some new polling on the impact Christmas has on people’s finances and we’ve worked with them on some quotes and wider context.
I travelled up to Media City in Salford, last night, so we could do a round of radio interviews before BBC Breakfast today. It’s a long journey from London, but worth it to try and get the message out there about our work and problem debt. We got a really good amount of media coverage and doing the interviews is a part of my job that I really enjoy. Although I will confess to being somewhat bemused when the BBC make up team implied that I needed a little extra make-up for the ‘4.30am wake-up’ bags under my eyes. It was hard to disagree though.
Once we’re done, it’s straight back down to London to the office. We’ve been busy planning for StepChange’s 30th birthday, so I’m signing off the final collateral and a new report we’ve done to mark the occasion.
The rest of the day is catch ups with the team, including our head of StepChange Financial Solutions who oversees our equity release team. We talk in detail about some of the consumer jitters in the market at the moment.
The day is topped off with a long meeting about some new evidence we’ve received about predatory lead generators using google ads to imitate StepChange and prey on financially vulnerable customers. We agree on the next steps on how to keep tackling what is a real problem for us. I end the day hitting a spin class (which I love to do) before a bite and a catch up with a friend.
Tuesday
Back in our London office today. I was delighted to take part in an Equity Release Council vulnerability webinar. It was a chance for us to talk about what we’re seeing at StepChange generally, but specifically in our Financial Solutions team. The cost of living crisis is really having an impact and we’re seeing some real shifts in the demographics and circumstances of the clients coming to us for help. Seemed like a good turnout for the session and lots of insightful questions and comments, which is always helpful for me to take back to the team.
The afternoon is a catch up with StepChange CEO Phil Andrew who is down in London today. Whilst we catch up fairly regularly, we do make time for a more structured monthly sit down to talk about planning, development and other issues. It’s a slightly different one this month as Phil has just announced he’s going to be stepping down as chief executive in the next few months. We’ve done the announcements and I’m now supporting with internal and external comms on the process for finding his successor.
An afternoon of emails and calls quickly takes me through to the end of the day. My Dad is in London today for his birthday, so I head out of the office and take him for a celebratory drink.
Wednesday
I head up to Leeds for the day on the 6.30am train. StepChange has offices all over the country, but the majority of our colleagues are based in Leeds (where we were founded back in 1993).
I live in London but spend a fair bit of time up here. The two operational teams I oversee (StepChange Financial Solutions and StepChange Voluntary Arrangements) are both Leeds-based, as is the internal communications function that I manage.
Today’s agenda is a catch up with our Financial Solutions team. The market has seen some real turmoil following the rollercoaster year just gone. I’m keen to understand where things currently stand and for us to spend a bit of time thinking about the impact on clients who are looking at equity release, but also, particularly those who might be financially struggling and are either currently on a variable mortgage or might find their fixed term coming to an end soon.
Tomorrow our external affairs team has an away day to finalise 2023 plans and do some team bonding (something which I think can be a bit harder with hybrid/remote working). I have a catch up with our head of policy, head of media and head of Scotland to agree the final agenda and review the running order and presentations. It’s looking like a good day.
Whilst I didn’t get the chance today, being in Leeds is normally a great chance to spend a bit of time doing some call listening with the team. It sounds like such a cliché to say, but it really does bring it home and reiterates just how vital our work is.
Thursday
Today is back into the London office where we have our policy, research, public affairs and media teams. Whilst most StepChange colleagues are working on the frontline to support clients, we also use the huge amount of data and insight that we get from clients to campaign for change on key issues.
Today is about finalising our 2023 influencing plans. In the middle of a brutal cost of living crisis, it feels more important than ever.
This is a great opportunity for contributions from across the department, with time to share ideas and think about how we can advance our key priorities and effectively join up our plans.
This year will see a big focus on the private rental sector, what the future of the debt advice sector looks like, particularly how it is funded, and the future of a proposed Statutory Debt Repayment Plan scheme, as well as supporting households with energy bills.
We wrap up at about 5.30pm and then head out for a rather belated team Christmas event consisting of pizza and darts.
Friday
It’s a fun morning as a major newspaper group has asked us into their offices to brief a group of their journalists on all things problem debt. Our media profile is a great way to raise awareness of problem debt, but also to help shape the narrative around financial problems that can reduce stigma and shame when people are in financial difficulty.
I spend the morning talking through who our clients are, what type of debts they have, and the reasons why they are struggling with problem debt.
Afterward, I work from home for the afternoon. I spend most of my time in the office but we have implemented flexible working that allows our colleagues to spend time working from home as well as in the office. It’s been really popular and I think has supported colleagues to maximise their work life balance.
The afternoon is spent clearing the fair few emails I haven’t had a chance to get to, starting to jot down a framework for the board papers I’ll need to produce, catch up with some of my direct reports on any issues from the week and take a tentative peek at next week’s diary. I RSVP ‘yes’ to an invitation to speak on a panel session about the rising cost of living at the Equity Release Summit in May which is exciting. And that’s a wrap for the week, sort of. We’ve already got a few radio interviews planned for the weekend, so I have a look at the helpful briefing prepared by our media team and call it a day.
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