We’ve all picked up some digital skills over the last two years – even if it’s just knowing our way around the functions on video conferencing apps

For the people we work with at Clean Slate, skilling up digitally is vital. From banking and benefit checks to job hunting, our service users need to be online. And those are just the basics, before we’ve even got to bagging the best deals on shopping, travel or utilities.

So what has the pandemic taught us about Clean Slate and our place in the anti-poverty fight? Before 2020, our offering was predominantly face-to-face. Covid of course meant we had to move quickly to a service that was online and on the phone. 

The basis for our support was, and continues to be, the Future-Proof Finance Quiz. The pandemic showed us very quickly that this could also work as an online, self-serve feature. 

So online and telephone alternatives covered the logistics of Clean Slate carrying on with our vital work. A recent report we pulled together found we were able to keep making a difference – average financial gains for clients in crisis referred to us by DWP during 2021 was nearly £2,000 (£1,852.83). This contact was predominantly online.

But two years down the line, has that pivot come at a personal cost to service users and staff?

Online and on message

One Clean Slate staff member admitted that if she’d been asked about the switch to remote working before Covid she’d have been sceptical.

Now, though, there’s evidence to show that across the country, moving online can bring benefits. A survey of 2,000 UK adults by policy analysts VoxEU found that, in general, for small groups online meetings are very efficient. They found that for large groups of ten or more people it’s still better to meet face to face.

There’s more to chew over further into the findings. Women and middle-aged respondents were much more likely to get the most out of online meetings, while older and less-educated people (perhaps unsurprisingly) did less well communicating digitally.

The study focussed on work environments, but many of the variables apply equally to Clean Slate and our services. Good internet connection and skills, for example, are vital for meeting online whatever the occassion. But facial expressions and body language can be lost on small screens, and the impact of these things on the success of the meeting is hard to measure.

Debt services shakeup

These findings are useful, as a post-Covid shakeup of how debt services are provided in England may result in fewer face-to-face meetings in favour of remote support.

Although government funding has increased overall, the amount being channelled into local, in-person services faces a controversial cut.

Getting service provision right has never been more critical. There are an estimated 14.5 million people in the UK living in absolute poverty and the cost-of-living squeeze looks set to become a cost-of-living stranglehold as the pressures that we can all see approaching really start to bite.

At Clean Slate, we’re not debt advice providers but are working in the non-regulated, non-crisis intervention space. For us, online meetings meant we could reach more of those in need of our help. It’s not just a question of geography – firing up their computer or logging in with their phone can feel a lot less intimidating to someone with mental health struggles, physical disabilities or caring duties than getting themselves to a strange location.

When you’re face to face with someone you can gauge through human nuances what is going on

Maggy Owen, Clean Slate support worker

Clean Slate support worker Maggy Owen says she’s noticed pros and cons to both the online and in-person assistance she provides.

“My personal experience is that both work well for different reasons,” she says. “When you’re face to face with someone you can gauge through human nuances what is going on.

“With online work, although it’s remote and in a sense ‘blind’, it’s surprising what can be picked up. I personally find it quite easy to build a rapport with someone in a short space of time and can then work with their own ways and personalities.”

Maggy’s also found that remote working has a value beyond being a method of last resort in Covid times.

“I have come to learn that remote work sometimes actually allows us to help people who just would not have made it out of the house for many reasons and therefore would not have accessed help,” she adds.

“This could be for a multitude of reasons… mental health or anxiety, loneliness, isolation, the cost of fares, health or disability, lack of confidence, embarrassment at their situation, or childcare or caring issues. Another upside to remote contact is that I am able to work with people all over the country.”

Clean Slate’s Head of Programmes Emma Kernahan agrees remote working has been easier than she expected – but points to one major drawback affecting some of our service users.

“Those who are very vulnerable and unable to communicate well on the phone are even more isolated,” she says.

Partnerships are the future

There’s no way to get an accurate figure for how many people might self-exclude if the only option to them for support is logging on for a Zoom call. With too strong a focus on digital offerings, these vulnerable clients could be lost.

However, for Clean Slate the ‘pandemic years’ brought another innovation – this one entirely positive. Surviving a Winter of Discontent: UC and the lessons from the frontline was our first ever webinar for industry professionals.

The 90-minute discussion held in November looked at the perfect storm that we all knew was about to hit low-income UK households. 

We have ambitions to host around three of these a year. As we see it, partnership working will be key to our success in future and the fact that the webinar was fully subscribed gave us huge grounds for hope.