Housing engagement event giving tenants a voice
Earlier in the year, senior members of our housing and environmental services met with tenants and leaseholders from across Gateshead to discuss the investments we're making to improve the services we deliver, as well as providing a unique opportunity to ask questions and share views and ideas with service directors on issues that matter most to them.
Martin Poulter, Performance and Customer Services Manager was delighted to be involved and listen to the important views of customers, and was grateful to all who took part.
"Tenant and leaseholder engagement forms a vital part of our service development. As strategic partners, we must take every opportunity to hear their views and firsthand experience, and feed this into improving the services we deliver.
Martin and his team lead on our customer engagement, and he was only too happy to respond to a series of questions relating to enablement, how we measure and report on customer satisfaction, as well as the role of effective communications.
Also involved was Neil Bouch, Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities, who fielded questions on our approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, as well as advice for multi-storey residents and garage rentals.
Key questions asked of the Performance and Customer Services Manager
How often does customer involvement actually influence housing services?
Our Resident Influence Strategy details the range of opportunities we offer for residents to engage, feedback and influence services. This ranges from providing opportunities to join our Strategic Housing Board or Resident Influence Panel, to taking part in one-off focus groups or completing a surveys.
A recent example of how customer involvement influences services is the scrutiny review of complaint handling. Tenants and leaseholders carried out their own independent review of responses to stage 1 complaints. They concluded that the best way to improve complaint handling was to create a specialist housing complaints team. We have accepted this recommendation, and we are currently putting a new team together that will focus on complaint handling and learning from complaints.
Another example is a review of the Housing application process. The aim of the review was to improve the customer experience of the Housing Online application process We carried out a survey of recent applicants and then followed this up with in depth interviews with individual customers to fully understand what works well and what could be improved and why. We are currently working on implementing a wide range of recommendations based on feedback that will improve the process for customers.
How do our Tenant Satisfaction Measures scores compare to other local authorities
We have published our full results on our website. Later this year the Regulator of Social Housing will publish the results of all social landlords on their website. You will then be able to compare our scores.
Do you publish the number of satisfaction surveys completed?
Yes. We have updated our website to show the sample size that we were required to survey, and the actual number of responses. We have also published information about how the survey was undertaken.
Are housing complaints reviewed by senior managers?
Complaints are received from customers in a variety of ways, sometimes direct to senior managers. Our Complaints Policy makes sure we maintain a consistent approach to responding that complies with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling code. Complaints are investigated and responded to by the relevant service. We provide regular updates on complaints and common themes to senior managers and elected members, as well as publishing updates on our website.
Communications with customers has been mentioned a lot in today's session. We need to ensure that customers are involved, as they are the ones this is directed at. They should have a say on how it looks and the language that is used. You need to remember that not everyone is online and or has access to systems that can do this this.
As not all customers have digital access. How do you make sure we're communicating effectively with everyone?
How effectively we communicate with customers is really important. It must be accessible and easily understood by all. To check and test our approach the Resident Influence Panel has recently commissioned a scrutiny review of customer communications, and this is underway now. Tenants and leaseholders will look at how effective communications are across all channels including online, as well as physical material such as leaflets and newsletters. They will write a report that sets out their findings and recommendations. The report will be discussed with the Resident Influence Panel and officers, and we will then agree the recommendations that will be implemented. We will keep you updated via our regular customer newsletter and on our website.
In addition, one of the aims of our customer Equality Diversity and Inclusion Group is to ensure the way we deliver services is accessible to all. This includes how we communicate important information to customers. For example, they recently scrutinised a draft rent setting policy to ensure it was clear and understandable for customers before it was approved.
Key questions asked of the Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities
Is there any help or assistance for vulnerable people especially for those with invisible disabilities, such as autism, when they report anti-social behaviour?
Yes, support can be tailored to the individual which would be discussed with the person as part of the action plan to address the ASB. We also use a customer assessment tool to help identify any risks and support required. Each ASB case is assigned a named officer as a point of contact who takes responsibility for managing the case and providing any feedback.
Could we have more information for residents on how to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour?
We publish information on our website about how to report anti-social behaviour, but we acknowledge that this could be enhanced. We are currently working on a review of our anti-social behaviour policy, and this will include looking at the information we make available to customers.
Are you going to include tenants in the review of the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy?
Yes, we will include tenant's views in the review of this policy. We will use a number of methods to capture views, such as a tenant focus group, feedback from complaints and feedback from the anti-social behaviour survey responses
Do you provide any help for tenants with maintaining their gardens?
Yes, we do offer a Garden Tidy Service. Between April and October, you get a visit approximately every four weeks, weather dependent. You also get two more visits between November and March. Although its not a full gardening service, but does helps to keep gardens tidy. The cost is added to your rent account but you may be eligible for help.
I live in a multi storey flat and we have problems with rubbish being left under windows. How should deal with that?
Every block receives a caretaking service, and if there are any items of rubbish identified during their daily inspections or are reported to them, the caretaker along with the wider multi-storey team will take the necessary action to remove the rubbish and take appropriate action.
Do multi storey blocks have designated fire escape areas?
Our Building Safety team have confirmed we don't have a designated fire escape area for high rise blocks, as we have a stay put policy. We provide a range of fire safety information to residents who live in multi storey blocks.
Who is responsible for TV aerials? Is it tenants or the council?
Tenants and leaseholders are responsible for their own TV aerials and broadband connections. The exception is buildings such as multi storey blocks where the TV oriels are communal.
Can garages be rented if you don't have a car, but want to use it for storage?
A decision may be taken to demolish a garage site if the cost of maintaining it is too much. We are currently surveying all of our garage sites, so we have a clear picture that allows us to make informed decisions. Where a site is not earmarked for demolition, repairs will be undertaken to enable the garage to be rented out to residents who can benefit. It is our approach to allocate garages for use in storing private motor vehicles. This helps to provide sufficient parking space on our estates and to try and limit impact on residents from pavement parking.
Earlier in the year, senior members of our housing and environmental services met with tenants and leaseholders from across Gateshead to discuss the investments we're making to improve the services we deliver, as well as providing a unique opportunity to ask questions and share views and ideas with service directors on issues that matter most to them.
Martin Poulter, Performance and Customer Services Manager was delighted to be involved and listen to the important views of customers, and was grateful to all who took part.
"Tenant and leaseholder engagement forms a vital part of our service development. As strategic partners, we must take every opportunity to hear their views and firsthand experience, and feed this into improving the services we deliver.
Martin and his team lead on our customer engagement, and he was only too happy to respond to a series of questions relating to enablement, how we measure and report on customer satisfaction, as well as the role of effective communications.
Also involved was Neil Bouch, Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities, who fielded questions on our approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, as well as advice for multi-storey residents and garage rentals.
Key questions asked of the Performance and Customer Services Manager
How often does customer involvement actually influence housing services?
Our Resident Influence Strategy details the range of opportunities we offer for residents to engage, feedback and influence services. This ranges from providing opportunities to join our Strategic Housing Board or Resident Influence Panel, to taking part in one-off focus groups or completing a surveys.
A recent example of how customer involvement influences services is the scrutiny review of complaint handling. Tenants and leaseholders carried out their own independent review of responses to stage 1 complaints. They concluded that the best way to improve complaint handling was to create a specialist housing complaints team. We have accepted this recommendation, and we are currently putting a new team together that will focus on complaint handling and learning from complaints.
Another example is a review of the Housing application process. The aim of the review was to improve the customer experience of the Housing Online application process We carried out a survey of recent applicants and then followed this up with in depth interviews with individual customers to fully understand what works well and what could be improved and why. We are currently working on implementing a wide range of recommendations based on feedback that will improve the process for customers.
How do our Tenant Satisfaction Measures scores compare to other local authorities
We have published our full results on our website. Later this year the Regulator of Social Housing will publish the results of all social landlords on their website. You will then be able to compare our scores.
Do you publish the number of satisfaction surveys completed?
Yes. We have updated our website to show the sample size that we were required to survey, and the actual number of responses. We have also published information about how the survey was undertaken.
Are housing complaints reviewed by senior managers?
Complaints are received from customers in a variety of ways, sometimes direct to senior managers. Our Complaints Policy makes sure we maintain a consistent approach to responding that complies with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling code. Complaints are investigated and responded to by the relevant service. We provide regular updates on complaints and common themes to senior managers and elected members, as well as publishing updates on our website.
Communications with customers has been mentioned a lot in today's session. We need to ensure that customers are involved, as they are the ones this is directed at. They should have a say on how it looks and the language that is used. You need to remember that not everyone is online and or has access to systems that can do this this.
As not all customers have digital access. How do you make sure we're communicating effectively with everyone?
How effectively we communicate with customers is really important. It must be accessible and easily understood by all. To check and test our approach the Resident Influence Panel has recently commissioned a scrutiny review of customer communications, and this is underway now. Tenants and leaseholders will look at how effective communications are across all channels including online, as well as physical material such as leaflets and newsletters. They will write a report that sets out their findings and recommendations. The report will be discussed with the Resident Influence Panel and officers, and we will then agree the recommendations that will be implemented. We will keep you updated via our regular customer newsletter and on our website.
In addition, one of the aims of our customer Equality Diversity and Inclusion Group is to ensure the way we deliver services is accessible to all. This includes how we communicate important information to customers. For example, they recently scrutinised a draft rent setting policy to ensure it was clear and understandable for customers before it was approved.
Key questions asked of the Director of Neighbourhoods and Communities
Is there any help or assistance for vulnerable people especially for those with invisible disabilities, such as autism, when they report anti-social behaviour?
Yes, support can be tailored to the individual which would be discussed with the person as part of the action plan to address the ASB. We also use a customer assessment tool to help identify any risks and support required. Each ASB case is assigned a named officer as a point of contact who takes responsibility for managing the case and providing any feedback.
Could we have more information for residents on how to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour?
We publish information on our website about how to report anti-social behaviour, but we acknowledge that this could be enhanced. We are currently working on a review of our anti-social behaviour policy, and this will include looking at the information we make available to customers.
Are you going to include tenants in the review of the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy?
Yes, we will include tenant's views in the review of this policy. We will use a number of methods to capture views, such as a tenant focus group, feedback from complaints and feedback from the anti-social behaviour survey responses
Do you provide any help for tenants with maintaining their gardens?
Yes, we do offer a Garden Tidy Service. Between April and October, you get a visit approximately every four weeks, weather dependent. You also get two more visits between November and March. Although its not a full gardening service, but does helps to keep gardens tidy. The cost is added to your rent account but you may be eligible for help.
I live in a multi storey flat and we have problems with rubbish being left under windows. How should deal with that?
Every block receives a caretaking service, and if there are any items of rubbish identified during their daily inspections or are reported to them, the caretaker along with the wider multi-storey team will take the necessary action to remove the rubbish and take appropriate action.
Do multi storey blocks have designated fire escape areas?
Our Building Safety team have confirmed we don't have a designated fire escape area for high rise blocks, as we have a stay put policy. We provide a range of fire safety information to residents who live in multi storey blocks.
Who is responsible for TV aerials? Is it tenants or the council?
Tenants and leaseholders are responsible for their own TV aerials and broadband connections. The exception is buildings such as multi storey blocks where the TV oriels are communal.
Can garages be rented if you don't have a car, but want to use it for storage?
A decision may be taken to demolish a garage site if the cost of maintaining it is too much. We are currently surveying all of our garage sites, so we have a clear picture that allows us to make informed decisions. Where a site is not earmarked for demolition, repairs will be undertaken to enable the garage to be rented out to residents who can benefit. It is our approach to allocate garages for use in storing private motor vehicles. This helps to provide sufficient parking space on our estates and to try and limit impact on residents from pavement parking.
