Using data to deliver better services

Effective asset management

First, the survey asked the 88 respondents how effectively their organisations are using data to inform decisions about asset management. Almost one in six organisations – 16% – said all of their asset management decisions are informed by data, while just over half said it informs many of theirs. While those results add up to a sizeable majority, 31% said few – or none – of their asset management decisions are data-led.

We asked which data-gathering methods generated the most reliable and useful asset management information. Three in four respondents pointed to reports from repairs and maintenance staff. The next three most popular answers involved feedback from residents – 58% cited residents’ reports shared over the phone or in writing, and 51% specified reports submitted via electronic channels, such as web forms or email, and reports from housing officers, which were cited by 55%.

We also asked what respondents saw as the biggest barrier to making data-led decisions around asset management. By far the most popular response – selected by 38% of respondents – was the lack of a single, consolidated source of data. It is easy to see why; if the requisite information is held in different places or on different systems, it becomes a much more complex and time-consuming task to collate and compare it.

That response was doubly as popular as the next most commonly cited obstacle – a lack of high-quality data, chosen by 16% of respondents, while 9% pointed a finger at insufficient data analysis resources; in other words, the data is there, but they lack the capacity or skills to process it effectively.

“This survey provides key insights into the current landscape of data management within the housing sector,” says Kate Roberts, head of customer success at Switchee. “Housing associations report using a multi-source approach to data-gathering – and yet despite this diversity of data collection methods, significant challenges remain. Notably, almost one in six participants highlighted a lack of high-quality data, while more than a third pointed to the absence of a consolidated data source, underscoring the need for both accurate data collection and integrated systems.”

The shift towards more data-led decisions may also require a shift in organisational culture. One respondent, who works as a data officer at a housing association, commented that they felt their employer is still only paying lip service to data collection and management: “Asset management and use of data within the organisation appear at times to be buzzwords,” they wrote. “While within my own team, the use of data and how it is one of the drivers of our decision-making is well-known, within the company as a whole, it’s less understood and has required active measures and training for housing and customer-facing staff to recognise data collection opportunities.”

Resident need

The second half of the survey focused on how social landlords collect and deploy data to better meet residents’ needs. Almost one in five respondents – 18% – said their organisation does this ‘very well’, while 43% said they do this ‘fairly well’. The proportion who answered ‘poorly’ or ‘very poorly’ – where few or none of their decisions on resident need are data-led – were 28% and 10% respectively, meaning more than a third believe their organisations are not yet making the best use of data to support their residents.

The survey then asked which collection methods produced the most reliable and useful data on residents’ needs. The two most popular responses were resident reports shared over the phone or via letters, and reports from repairs and maintenance staff (59% and 57% respectively). Reports from housing officers were cited by 56%, and in fourth place were reports from residents shared electronically (44.3%).

16%
Respondents that said all their asset management decisions were informed by data

80%
Proportion that said reports from repairs staff were the most reliable data-gathering method

38%
Those that said a lack of one data source was the biggest barrier to making decisions

64%
Proportion that felt well-equipped to make decisions using the data

Respondents were able to choose more than one collection method, and the total number of responses – 232 – was around 14% lower than the responses to the equivalent question on asset management (265 responses). This could suggest individual organisations are basing service delivery decisions on data gathered via a more limited range of approaches.

Finally, we asked how well equipped respondents felt to make decisions grounded in data. More than 60% said they were either ‘very well’ or ‘well equipped’ to do so (11% and 52% respectively) – but more than one in three reported feeling either ‘poorly equipped’ (32%) or ‘very poorly equipped’ (5%) to do so, which suggests a need for dedicated training and education around making use of data to add value.

In the round, the survey results describe a data-led revolution that is well under way in the sector, and delivering real benefits – but it suggests, too, that there is still plenty of work to be done to maximise the value of this increasingly valuable resource.

“As an organisation committed to leveraging the power of data to optimise outcomes for housing associations and their residents, we welcome these findings,” says Ms Roberts. “They shed light on crucial areas for improvement and affirm the importance of building accurate data collection systems, enhancing data management and helping individuals feel empowered to make data-informed decisions.”

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