Transcript Slide 1

Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
National
Standard
SVHS Local Offer
Hold regular local surgeries to give more
customers more choice in the way they
access services.
Tenant
Involvement &
Empowerment
Offer customers training and support to
become ‘Mystery Shoppers’ and work with
them to help us identify and tackle issues to
improve our front line services.
Support and encourage a dedicated
customer editorial panel to ensure all our
communications are relevant and easy for all
our customers to access and understand.
Manager
Responsibility
Feb 2012 Update (from Board report November
2011)
Kate/Claudia
Since the last update a rural walkabout was held in
Winchcombe to catch up with people from the rural areas
and 5 more in other areas. We now aim to cover 1 area
per month. The greatest successes have been getting
works done on paths by GCC highways department, we
have also carried out grounds maintenance work in
highlighted areas. Some excellent joint working has been
done with the police, councillors, and reassurance passed
onto customers.
Kate/Darren
Mystery shopping has been running
for the last 3 quarters of the year. Already 1 new mystery
shopper has been trained with a progress review planned
for the end of February 2012
Kate/Darren
Currently the Editorial Panel has 6 dedicated customer
members, with one under the age of 20. In January the
group reviewed and amended their terms of reference,
allowing members to take on specific responsibilities. In
partnership with SVHS the group has overseen the layout
and content of 3 editions of Chat and the 2010/11 Annual
Report. Over the next 12 months the group will also be
creating content for such publications therefore making
them more relevant to customer interests i.e. move from
approved by customers to created by customers
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Embrace on line communication tools
such as 'Facebook' and the SVHS website
to communicate and engage more widely
with customers who prefer to use these
methods.
Kate/Darren
Web-site project complete. Social Media project has
been started with the live date due for May 2012.
Various methods of social media are being
researched and customer involvement has also
been planned through a focus group and
questionnaires through the summer events. This
has been covered at the winter party. We have also
joined the Midlands Communications Group as well
as the social media best practice group. Research
has also been obtained from professional bodies
i.e. BDA. Customer Editorial Panel has a social
media champion. SVHS social media offer will go
live end of May 2012
Kate/Mike
Customer Inspectors have just completed the
training programme and are actively undertaking
the inspections. The team have been mainly
focussing on the external painting and some one
off contract works. An earlier recruitment drive has
resulted in a few customers contacting us to put
their names forward as involved customers and one
taster session has taken place to increase the
number of inspectors. The RI have now visited
three suppliers to date, this allows the RI’s to learn
about the products we are fitting in to their homes
and compliments the understanding of the quality
of products whilst carrying out the post inspections.
Tenant
Involvement &
Empowerment
Train and support ‘Customer Inspectors’
to give you the power to help us monitor
and manage the performance of any
contractors we use.
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Replace central heating boilers that are over
15 years old and heating systems that are
over 30 years old.
Install a hard wired smoke detector in
tenanted properties and a battery powered
carbon monoxide alarm in a room that has a
gas fire.
Home
Standard
Pay for and carry out minor adaptations
costing less than £500, such as lever taps
and grab rails for customers who have a
physical disability.
Replace existing windows to properties if
they are more than 25 years old and are in
need of replacing.
Mike
A programme is in place to replace the boilers and
heating systems when due according to this offer.
Recently we have carried out a feasibility study on
two sheltered schemes and since replaced large
inefficient water heaters with smaller modern
heaters.
Mike
Properties are subject to an annual service carried
out by the Gas servicing team, if properties are
found to have a battery smoke alarm installed this
is replaced with a hard wired alarm.
Mike
The Home Adaptation Leaflet developed with
customers offers all customers, who fit the criteria,
adaptations such as lever taps and grab rails. We
are continuing to offer the agreed service and
customers are continuing to access it. Service
generates 96% customer satisfaction.
Mike
Since the last update 23 properties have been
identified to have windows replaced due to the
condition. A contractor has been selected and the
replacements will take place in the coming months.
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Give new customers a welcome pack
containing useful information about Severn
Vale Housing services and the area they're
moving to.
Claudia
All new customers are receive information about a
wide range of services provided by Severn Vale and
some external agencies at the point of sign up. A
new welcome pack for the areas in which Severn
Vale has the largest amount of housing stock has
now been developed and will shortly be in the sign
up pack as well (awaiting CCG approval). This
addition includes more information about the local
area and other services not provided by Severn Vale
Visit all new customers 2 weeks after they
move in to ensure they are settling in well,
and give them more information about
Severn Vale Housing.
Claudia
All new customers are now visited two weeks after
moving in to deal with any queries.
Tenancy
Standard
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Mike/Claudia
The three year improvement programme will be
completed this financial year where we have
installed new entrance doors (where required),
upgraded door entry systems, decorated the
stairwells and installed low energy sensor lighting.
Mike
As part of the rewiring of homes we install security
lights for older persons. There have been instances
where residents have requested for security lights
to be upgraded which have been carried out.
Redecorate the internal communal area
every 7 years.
Mike
We are in the final year on completing the internal
redecoration programme. All blocks will be
completed by 31 march 2012. A programme has
been developed to continue with the works for
future years.
Ensure that all of properties have at
least 200mm of loft insulation
irrespective of the heating system.
Mike
Where we locate properties that have under 200mm
we upgrade the loft insulation to 250mm which
exceeds the promise
Where possible install cavity wall
insulation.
Mike
We have carried out a programme of External Wall
insulation to properties without a cavity providing
increased thermal capacity to the properties.
Kate/Claudia
Estate Walkabouts in partnership with local
agencies have continued. The Community
Development Officer is also working closely with
neighbourhood projects and Tewkesbury Council to
deliver joint projects. On March 5th SVHS is hosting
a Money Matters event with the support of 8+ local
agencies including CAB, CCP, Credit Union and
others.
Improve the security of our estates
through various improvement
programmes and will consult customers
on our plans.
Install security lighting to all older
person designated housing to the front
and back of each property.
Neighbourhood
& Community
Standard
Maintain strong links with outside
agencies (such as Village Agents)
through sign posting and partnership
working to ensure that customer needs
are met.
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Give all customers clear information about
which repairs are our responsibility and
which are theirs, including clear
descriptions about any flexibilities to the
policy and the reasons for these.
Value for
Money
Standard
Demonstrate the value SVHS achieves with
your money by publishing information
about how our costs compare to that of
other local landlords.
Promote affordable warmth by providing
information and guidance to all customers
to help them to make the most efficient use
of their heating systems.
Natalie
Customers have access to repairs responsibility information
created in 2011 on the new SVHS website. A project will be
taking place to further improve the way this information is
decided and promoted through the review of the repairs
priorities, responsibilities and handbook. The new
appointments system is now bedding in well and customers
have shared some positive views on this at Repairs Focus
Groups in February 2012.
Tim K
The Society benchmarks its “Front-line” services with
HouseMark. Their annual report (February 2012) is published
on our website; this enables customers to compare our
performance against other Southern-based housing
associations. The Society has also introduced and published a
new Procurement Manual; its own Terms and Conditions of
business; and new tendering guidelines; approved by CCG,
these will improve the way the Society purchases its goods
and services and help drive running costs down. Budgets for
2012/13 have been reviewed to identify potential efficiencies
– these include such things as – liaising with a preferred
supplier (British Gas) and combining Retirement Scheme gas
supply contracts saved £4,000: Similarly, new PV panels
installed at our Atherton Retirement scheme have saved
£7,000 p.a. (a 50% saving): Service improvements made in
our Response Repairs service (new Appointment/Job
Scheduling system; DSO team expanded therefore more work
completed in-house reducing contractor costs/VAT has meant
a targeted efficiency saving circa £150k for 2011/12 is on
target to be achieved: The introduction of a “Quotation
Register” has ensured contractor prices, for such things as
rewiring and heating have been contained at last year’s
prices.
The Society is also starting to benchmark its “Back-office”
services with other housing associations, the results of which
will be published shortly.
Mike/Claudia
We have continued to offer home visits in partnership with
the Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA) to help customers
use their energy most efficiently. Affordable warmth leaflets
are available in reception and a new Affordable Warmth
Strategy has been approved by Board, although this will updated again in 2012/13. SWEA are joining SVHS at our
money matters event on March 5th to help customers think
about their energy use and an Affordable Warmth action plan
will be create in 2012/13 to develop further new initiatives.
Local Offers 2011/12 – progress at February 2012
Be open and accountable to all customers
through the regular publication of SVHS
performance information.
Darren
Governance
Standard
Ensure all serious complaints are handled
consistently and impartially by maintaining
a 'Customer complaints panel' to review
such causes.
Darren
Each quarter we publish in either our Chat
Magazine or Annual report the most up to date
statistics we have on our performance whether
they are good, bad or indifferent.
We will use our publications to communicate the
difference customers make i.e. you said we did
As part of our new complaints policy customers are
brought in to review all complaints that reach a
stage 3. Since April 2011 they have reviewed 6
stage 3 complaints to ensure fairness and
consistency of approach. Customers have also
reviewed complaint response letters to check for
quality and comments have been fed back to
managers. This has evolved into the ‘Customer
Complaint Audit Panel’ which now independently
reviews closed Stage 1 and 2 complaints.
We have recorded more complaints in 1 year than
we have in 12 years. Some examples of learning
has been identified. To gather more a new
‘learning from complaint’ form has been developed
which managers must use after a case is closed.