intelligent

We see now that growth is far more important to be able to develop both scale and capability to help people , and that ’ s been key for the success of the business . More recently , particularly over the last two years , we ’ ve seen about 12 % growth in 2020 and around 10 % in 2021 . We need to be able to grow the business because customers ’ needs are changing so quickly . We need to scale to ensure we can provide what people are demanding .

Give us some insight into what your own career has looked like so far .

I earned a degree in economics and then went on to become a chartered accountant in the UK . Shortly after qualification , I moved into the finance industry . I ’ ve worked in insurance , telecoms and over the last 20 years I ’ ve worked in banking .

And while I enjoyed that part of my career , working in those large corporates , I took the decision to move to Saffron where I ’ ve been for the last eight years – CEO for six of them – because I wanted to move into a smaller business where I could see how it worked end to end and be closer to the customers .

What advice would you offer other C-suite executives to ensure each voice is heard ?

When you take that first step up into the C-suite , it ’ s crucial to really understand and develop your self-awareness because what will help you to be successful working at that level won ’ t necessarily be the same as what got you there in the first place .

Simple things to understand are – what works best for your colleagues around the table and the boardroom , and what turns them off ? One of the challenges I see is that people have the same conversation they would have with somebody within their own function and don ’ t tailor the message to the person who ’ s listening to it .

What are some of the key challenges your customers have been experiencing over the last 18 months ?

Everybody will likely have been impacted by COVID . For example , in the UK several businesses had to put their staff on furlough and , thankfully , because of the furlough scheme , they were supported .

But at the peak of the pandemic in the UK we had about 15 % of our mortgage customers impacted and wanting to take payment holidays over that period . Fortunately , we now have very few people in that situation , which is great news , but I think it ’ s certainly the case that many people have seen their finances and savings impacted .

How is your company providing ‘ more than money ’ to improve financial well-being and security for people in the UK ?

Our vision is around how we help people to have money happiness . The pandemic brought to a head that what we all need are two things . First , is physical and mental health and second , we need to have enough confidence in our finances today and into the future that we can enjoy ourselves and make good choices .

It ’ s not about being rich – it ’ s just being able to consider what it is that we need . It ’ s been a really rallying point for our staff and communities , and our members really like it as well when we ’ re doing more and more events to support money happiness .

One of the things we ’ ve done for some time is sit with members and talk to them about their future plans . Sometimes we ’ ll be able to help them directly and other times we can recommend other businesses or other options for them which are better choices at that time .

In the future we will need to get more comfortable with providing ‘ small a ’ advice – not regulated advice – and signposting choices to what people can do because

Previous page : Colin Field , CEO , Saffron Building Society

WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GROW THE BUSINESS BECAUSE CUSTOMERS ’ NEEDS ARE CHANGING SO QUICKLY . WE NEED TO SCALE TO ENSURE WE CAN PROVIDE WHAT PEOPLE ARE DEMANDING .