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Our new research uncovers how we should improve our communication with residents, writes Jane Mathews, communications business partner at L&Q
We’ve all received an email or letter from an organisation where the tone didn’t feel quite right to us. Usually, it’s no big deal. You might think a bit less of whoever sent it and then get on with your day. But how would you feel if it came from the people who manage your home?
The relationship between housing associations and residents is built on trust and transparency. Communication is a key part of this. When it goes wrong, the consequences can be serious. Residents can feel dismissed and misunderstood, when we want them to feel respected and heard.
Over the past few months, I’ve started delivering training to colleagues which sets clear guidelines about the right tone of voice to use when writing or speaking to residents. This was developed after consistent feedback from residents telling us that the way we communicated with them was one of the things they most wanted us to improve.
When we reviewed this feedback, clear themes emerged. Residents told us they didn’t like it when we used a corporate, remote tone. We also received complaints about occasions when our communication lacked empathy.
We know that our colleagues care deeply about residents and want to do their best for them; people don’t generally pursue careers in social housing if they don’t. So, we decided to look at the reasons this disconnect was happening and do something about it.
The priority, of course, is still improving our homes and the service residents receive. We know that no amount of well-written letters will make someone feel better if we haven’t fixed their leaking roof. But good communication, which keeps residents updated and reassures them the problem is being dealt with, is a vital part of good service.
Unfortunately, we know that we aren’t always getting the tone of this right.
“The majority of people across all tenures want to be called residents. But not ‘our’ residents”
To improve things, we decided to start with the basics. How do the people who live in our homes want us to refer to them? A longstanding internal debate at L&Q has been whether to call them residents or customers.
We carried out some research and found the majority of people across all tenures want to be called residents. But not “our” residents. We don’t own the people who live in our homes and they don’t like it when we talk as if we do.
Customer, meanwhile, was the least popular term across the board. People don’t see the places they live as products, which is also why we call them homes rather than properties.
We then spoke to colleagues to discover what might be causing them to write in ways that came across as lacking in empathy. We uncovered several issues. The first was that some people felt cautious about apologising. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they weren’t sure if they could, particularly if they didn’t have all the facts. This is actually counter-productive, as often what residents need most is reassurance that someone is taking responsibility for both the problem and the effect it’s had on them.
Another common mistake is a tendency to slip into formal language – the equivalent of using the best telephone voice in writing. People pepper letters with phrases like “in regards to” or “delighted to advise you” when residents have told us they prefer clear terms that get straight to the point.
Referring to ourselves in the third person (“L&Q would like to”) also contributes to the corporate tone that residents don’t like, as does using technical jargon such as “voids” and “decant”.
“Often what residents need most is reassurance that someone is taking responsibility for both the problem and the effect it’s had on them”
We’ve used these findings, and more, to put together a training programme which gives colleagues the guidance and tools to communicate with residents the way they want us to. We’ve seen a real appetite across L&Q for this training. Colleagues have been very open about the challenges they face when communicating with residents, which they are keen to overcome.
It’s also important to acknowledge that good writing is a skill that needs to be developed and honed. It’s not realistic or fair to expect colleagues who don’t have a communications background to be able to meet the standards we’re setting without giving them the right support. That’s why we’ve put together a programme that includes in-person training sessions, an online hub full of guides and online refresher training for those who need it.
We are a large organisation with a lot of people to upskill and we’re still in the very early stages of rolling this out. We are trying to make a cultural shift by putting a new emphasis on using the right tone of voice, and changing the culture takes time. That’s why we created a dedicated internal resource for this that provides ongoing support, rather than investing in short-term external training.
We know there’s a gap between where we want things to be and where they are. But I’m hopeful that we’ve now got the information and tools we need to start closing that gap.
Jane Mathews, communications business partner, L&Q
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