Case Study - Alex Hodson

The Money Guiders Network is a free UK-wide programme aimed to help individuals and organisations develop the skills and confidence to have effective conversations about money. Aimed at professionals whose role involves supporting others with money-related challenges, the service provides practical tools to find information, explore options and access support for any kind of money matter.

Lucille Roache, Regional Network Coordinator for Money Guiders England, spoke with Alex from Credit Union about the importance of community focused financial services and how Money Guiders is helping her team build confidence in supporting their members.

Alex shared:

“My job is Head of Lending. We're a not-for-profit organisation; we put our members at the heart of absolutely everything what you do. There are not many places where a member can ring, pick the phone up and speak to a human at that point of contact. You have a responsibility, they’re a member, not a number. It's that community for us.”

How did you find out about Money Guiders?

“I was introduced by a company partner; they've been members of the Money Guiders for a long time. We went for our first event, about two years ago in Manchester, and it was amazing.”

Since then, Alex has been keen to ensure her team can benefit from the same support, training and resources.

“I’m eager on getting our new team members trained with Money Guiders. I think we are drawn to it because it gives us that working partnership.”

Alex explains that working in financial services means understanding the distinction between guidance and regulated advice and how Money Guiders has been a valuable tool for her team.

“We are heavily reliant on support and obviously we can't really give advice. I want this team now to grow with Money Guiders and to say, right, OK, we need clear, advice, guidance, what can we say? It backs us up from a regulatory side, but it also gives us important tools to help that member out and to point them in the right direction.

“It's cementing those skills, and the difference between advice, between guidance, and how you can help that member, and show them about budgeting.”

As part of her future plans, Alex hopes to introduce Money Guiders learning across her entire team.

“Going forward, my task is to get all my team part of the Money Guiders’ journey. It's great for us because we have a connection with payroll. So, for us to sell to our payroll partners that all our member services team are Money Guiders, is a great benefit to us.

"We’re in such a fortunate position, because we've got open banking, we can pretty much help anybody budget. We’re looking to learn how to help members better by using skills from the Money Guiders. I think it’ll be great and everybody's on board.”

Alex shared which Money Guiders events she has attended so far and what she has taken away from the sessions.

“I attended the session about credit unions and I also attended a Northern Ireland one that was very interesting. I like how there's always a reference to a credit union when there might be a couple of people on the call who are from credit unions and we’ll say, push your credit union.

“The Northern Ireland events a great one for me because I came off the computer after having a look at it and said I found this and that and I thought brilliant, so I sent it around the team.”

What would Alex like to see more of from Money Guiders in the future?

“I'd love to see more joint promotion between Money Guiders and credit unions, such as short videos we can share with employers and payroll partners. Also more training on topics like gambling, budgeting and credit scores, which are major issues for the members we support.”

Today, Alex and her team use that knowledge to help signpost members to relevant support

"Whenever we spot an opportunity to refer someone for utility support, we ask who their utility provider is and make them aware of the help available. It’s now created a quick-response template. It's been beneficial for both us and the people we're helping.

“The more Money Guiders events we can attend, the more opportunities we'll have.”