Resident Focus Project
To improve the quality of service that we provide to residents, we carried out a review of our customer service functions across housing and repairs. We asked Pennington Choices to carry out an independent review of our customer service and repairs functions and they made 24 recommendations for improvement.
This project started out under the title of 'Customer Service and Repairs Review', and is now being taken forward under a new identity – the Resident Focus Project. This name was chosen to reflect our aim to better meet the needs and aspirations of our residents and improve their satisfaction with our services.
We have now set the timescales for each recommendation to be implemented, and created an action plan which we will use to track our progress. The recommendations document has been updated and you can view this below. It tells you what has been completed, what is currently in progress, and what is yet to begin. This will be updated and published monthly.
Project updates for the past six months can be found below. If you'd like to view an update from before then, please get in touch with the Housing Communications team.
If you would like to be kept updated on this project, please sign up to our communications channels, including the newsletter and social media, on the Housing Communications page, or come back to this webpage for updates.
- Staff have met to discuss the Housing Action Plan for the upcoming year. The Action Plan has been developed from overarching strategies and focuses on the shorter-term goals for the Housing Division.
- In April 2024, the Regulator of Social Housing rolled out their inspection program for housing providers with over 1,000 properties. In preparation for this inspection, staff across the Division are meeting regularly, reviewing documents, data and processes.
- Policies that are approaching their review date are currently being re-assessed and adapted where necessary to meet current guidelines and best practice. These will be put out for consultation with residents then presented at an upcoming Committee meeting for approval. The policies to be reviewed shortly include the Community Centre and Tenancy Policies.
- We are pleased to announce that the policies presented to Committee in late November have been approved. These include policies on Hate Incidents and Lettings and Transfers. They have been added to our website alongside our existing policies. These frameworks guide our processes to ensure we deliver an excellent, effective, and consistent service to you.
- Civica, our Housing Management System has been updated. The upgrade has restored the ability to send email directly from the system as well as fixing some other issues to improve efficiency.
- We are pleased to announce that the policies presented to Committee in late November have been approved. These include policies on Compensation, Fire Safety, Repairs and Maintenance, Empty Properties (Voids), and Damp, Mould and Condensation. They have been added to our housing policies web page alongside our existing policies. These frameworks guide our processes to ensure we deliver an excellent, effective, and consistent service to you.
- We have introduced an online tool to provide staff with easy access to key procedures. This tool also identifies the responsible person for specific queries, enhancing efficiency and accountability.
- As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring all roles receive the relevant training, some staff members have recently completed courses on professional boundaries and effective complaint handling.
- Staff are currently testing an upgraded version of our Civica Housing Management System, which includes new features and bug fixes to improve functionality and user experience.
- Staff within Housing and Property Services continue to meet regularly to discuss ways to improve our procedures. This month, the focus has been on compliance activities, health and safety, and performance measure reporting.
- The Housing and Asset Strategies are now in their final stages. These strategies serve as overarching frameworks for service plans, guiding the direction of the Housing Division in the coming years.
- We have drafted a new Empty Properties (Void) Policy, which is currently under review by the HUB consultation group for resident feedback. If you're interested in helping shape our policies and procedures, you can sign up and find out more information here.
- The HUB consultation group have recently reviewed new and updated policies associated with Compensation, Damp & Mould, Fire Safety and Repairs & Maintenance. The feedback is being reviewed and considered for amendments. These will go to Committee soon for their approval.
- A recommendation from the Pennington’s consultation was to review the onboarding process to provide a clear and effective central resource for inductions for new staff, streamlining and standardising their starter experience. In response to this we have relaunched the Starter Hub on our staff site. This includes resources for both the new employee and their manager with links to both corporate and job specific information.
- We are pleased the Compliance Manager (Fleur McNeil) and Head of Repairs & Maintenance (Beverly Andrewes) have joined the Property Services within the Housing Division. Both bring a wealth of knowledge, plenty skills and experience which will feed into improving our processes to better maintain your home and your estate, to ensure your safety and satisfaction of where you live.