Interview: Paul Brocklehurst, CIO, Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Paul Brocklehust, CIO of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, talks about digital transformation, AI and machine learning

Formerly the CIO of Surrey County Council, Paul Brocklehurst is now CIO of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the organisation which can recompense customers of failed banks for up to £85,000 of their savings.

The Scheme is able to make this payment within seven days, often far quicker. This is only possible thanks to the data upon which the organisations relies, says Brocklehurst.

"To be able to affect a rapid payout to customers who need us, we need to understand the single cusotmer file, and be able to process it quickly," says Brocklehurst. "So we have separate data teams who are wholly focused on this task. We're also keen on being insight-driven, so we use data on how our processing engine is working in order to improve the customer experience," he adds.

This focus on the customer experience pervades everything Brocklehurst does, including his recent success in moving the compensation process online.

"We've introduced websites to automatically handle compensation claims direct to the public and through representatives, to make it quick and efficient. Previously it was largely done on paper. It was a large, complex form. Over the last year we've introduced a streamlined way to do it online, and it's quicker, more efficient, and customers love it," he says.

Brocklehurst is also focused on improving ways of working internally, as well as the customer journey.

"We're continuing on our digital journey, looking at customer experiences, and making them quicker and more efficient. At the same time we're looking at the culture of our organisation, and how we can introduce more digital ways of working, and improve our workplace technologies. For instance we're looking at data analytics, and moving toward being a more insight-driven organisation. So it's all about using data, and the tools and techiqnues available now to offer a better service."