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Balancing digital tools and human contact to understand what residents need
Steve Tucker, chief executive of Sutton Housing Partnership, explains how the organisation is changing how it gathers insight and responds to the needs of residents
Steve Tucker is managing director of Sutton Housing Partnership
As the saying goes, most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. However, listening to understand is essential for any housing supplier focused on building mutual trust and on shaping services to meet the needs of a diverse community.
At Sutton Housing Partnership, we manage over 7,500 properties and serve both tenants and leaseholders, who have a range of different needs. We also provide comprehensive housing services to two other social landlords, including a for-profit provider, MTD Housing.
So, we have put measures in place to help us gain the insight we need to continually improve the services and support we provide.
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Making it as easy as possible for people to communicate with their social housing landlord encourages them to engage and share their views of the services being provided. This enables suppliers to understand what works and where improvements are needed to deliver a quality experience for tenants.
Many of the households we serve include working adults, who may be time poor and like to be able to check their rent account or report a repair to their property online, when it is most convenient for them to do so. Other residents may not be as comfortable navigating the digital world, or simply prefer to discuss their rent account with someone they trust, either by phone or face to face.
Giving people a choice in how they want to engage helps them to feel they are valued and listened to.
“Capturing and amending customer data in real time is invaluable to help us provide excellent service and our new customer relationship management model will enable this”
We are working to provide self-service digital channels our residents can use to report repairs, check rent accounts or make payments online if they want to. This reduces incoming calls and frees up time for our staff to chat to those residents who may be elderly or vulnerable and want to speak to us directly.
Having an online portal has enabled us to improve the customer experience and reduce costs. We are also reimplementing customer relationship management (CRM) systems, so we capture the full customer journey of interactions across our services to continually improve the overall customer experience. Capturing and amending customer data in real time are invaluable to help us provide excellent service, and our new CRM model will enable this.
With the cost of living continuing to put pressure on household budgets, people’s circumstances can change very quickly. Landlords that have a clear understanding of their housing stock and the shifting situations of residents are in a much stronger position to identify where additional investment or support is needed and what their priorities should be.
Good data is the bedrock of a good housing service. This is why we encourage all our staff to regard the accuracy of the information they enter onto our NEC Housing management system as a top priority. The ability to join up the latest details on residents and their homes means we can highlight issues that might not otherwise be apparent.
If we start to see damp and mould becoming a problem in a home occupied by a family who has recently experienced an unexpected job loss, for example, this could be an early indication that the residents are struggling to afford to heat their home. Knowing this means we can step in to offer additional help where it is needed, including debt management support or a rental payment plan if appropriate, to help the family to keep their home warm.
“Our staff members are encouraged to be professionally curious about what makes the households they are in contact with tick and what support people might need to thrive. To help them do this, we consciously limit the patch size that housing managers work”
Housing is about people, and landlords need to build meaningful relationships with their residents in order to meet their needs as efficiently as possible. The larger the area a housing officer is operating in, the more difficult this becomes.
Our staff members are encouraged to be professionally curious about what makes the households they are in contact with tick and what support people might need to thrive. To help them do this, we consciously limit the patch size that housing managers work to allow them the time and space to build valuable relationships with individuals and families. All residents have their mobile numbers and email details and are encouraged to contact them directly.
We want people to feel comfortable reaching out to our staff for help, including with issues not related to housing. It means that if someone is a victim of domestic abuse, or struggling with drug or alcohol dependency, they are much more likely to ask for help. Staff can then put them in touch with a local charity or signpost them to other organisations that can make a positive difference to their lives.
The homes individuals and families live in should offer a safe, warm place where they can succeed, whether that’s in education, employment or living independently.
As a supplier of social housing, we understand the important role we can play in helping our residents to feel understood and supported to live their best lives. This commitment goes far beyond the bricks and mortar.
Steve Tucker, managing director, Sutton Housing Partnership
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