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Tom Knox is the founder of One Future Consultants
What can we learn from the Dutch on customer engagement and tenant satisfaction?
Tom Knox calls for a revolution in customer engagement and looks beyond the UK borders for inspiration
In recent times, tragic events have propelled the tenant voice to the forefront of sweeping regulatory changes. These changes were ushered in not only by the introduction of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard, but also by the imminent amendments to the consumer standards that are currently under consultation.
A decade ago, the Dutch social housing sector faced its own crisis when its largest housing association incurred significant financial losses in a scandalous deal. This event led to stricter governance and regulation, with changes that made housing associations more accountable to their tenants.
At the heart of this transformation were the so-called “performance agreements”.
Today, customer engagement in the English social housing sector stands at a pivotal crossroads. It is not merely a choice but an obligation and commitment that registered providers must wholeheartedly embrace.
Providers should be asking themselves three crucial questions: what does effective engagement look like? To what extent are they willing to empower their customers with a genuine voice to influence and scrutinise? And what unique opportunities does this renewed focus on customer engagement present to the sector?
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Part of the answer may lie in the Dutch performance agreements. These agreements are compulsory tripartite collaborations established under the Housing Act 2015. They involve a housing association, the local government and the tenant association(s).
These agreements often span multiple years and outline the ambitions, priorities and shared objectives of the three stakeholders, covering topics including sustainability, affordability, housing targets and neighbourhood enhancements. Annual performance agreements provide even greater detail.
Most importantly, tenant associations sit as equals at the negotiation table and have the right, like the other parties, to bring a dispute that hinders agreement conclusion to the housing minister.
“Performance agreements become more than a list of activities by separate parties. They instead serve to reinforce the implied social contract”
While the performance agreements were born out of scandal, their legally mandated tenant involvement has profoundly affected how housing associations engage with their tenants and how tenants perceive themselves in the landlord-tenant dynamic. But you don’t have to take just our word for it.
Stefan van Schaik, chief executive of Wooncompagnie, one of the Netherland’s top three housing associations in 2022, highlights the advantage: “For me as the chief executive, having someone on behalf of tenants sitting next to me as part of negotiations is a real advantage because they are really my partner.
“I am in a stronger position at the table when speaking to the local government when I have a tenant sitting next to me; this makes the story different because the people we are talking about are actually in the room. This is one of the biggest advantages of the performance agreements.”
From the tenant’s perspective, Henk van Gameren, a tenant of Wooncompagnie and chair of Huurderskoepel Schagen, the umbrella group of tenant associations, adds: “Performance agreements significantly strengthen the link between tenant associations and housing associations… Tenant associations also hold the power to influence the process.
“If we feel we haven’t been adequately involved throughout the year, we can refuse to sign the performance agreement. In such cases, central government steps in to investigate the situation, ensuring that tenants’ concerns are heard. Tenant associations act as watchdogs, monitoring housing associations and local authorities, ensuring that promises are kept.”
Ton van Nieuwkerk, the elected councillor for Waterland, the local authority area where Wooncompagnie is active, sheds light on the role of tenants: “They are actively involved in the process. They can make a real difference and have a real voice because the tenant association can say that they will not sign the performance agreement, and this has happened.”
“While the performance agreements were born out of scandal, their legally mandated tenant involvement has profoundly affected how housing associations engage with their tenants”
While the Dutch model isn’t without its flaws, its strength lies in the concept of reciprocity. This means that the three parties ask themselves: “What do I need to do so that you can perform better?” Or vice versa: “What do I need from you to deliver my performance?” By focusing on these questions, performance agreements become more than a list of activities by separate parties. They instead serve to reinforce the implied social contract and the expectation that tenants actively contribute to achieving shared objectives.
And here lies the opportunity. As England navigates evolving customer engagement expectations, a critical question arises: is there a registered provider bold enough to adopt a variation of the Dutch performance agreement? Such an approach would offer a structured framework to engage customers, exceeding the impending expectations of the forthcoming transparency, influence and accountability standard.
By positioning customers as equal partners, it fosters self-respect, empowers them as active contributors to their communities, and provides a platform to strengthen the social contract. This is especially vital as we confront the challenges of an ageing population and increased community care needs.
It’s time to challenge the norm, push boundaries and consider how a version of performance agreements could revolutionise customer engagement in our sector.
Tom Knox, founder, One Future Consultants
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