Using your feedback
There are lots of ways we collect feedback from you to help us to improve our services. From resident involvement groups to the satisfaction surveys we send you via text, we use the information you share with us to make decisions about how we do things.
Last year, our Resident Board met four times to review our policies and have an input on any significant changes we are planning. Meetings moved online during lockdown and we used video calling to make sure that the Resident Board were fully up to date with how we were responding to the Covid crisis. We also held 25 other meetings and 15 training sessions with our involved residents, from our Area Panel to our Retirement Housing Forum, to make sure you have a say on how our services are delivered. Your Independent Scrutiny Panel completed an investigation into planned works and recommended more resident involvement in our re-investment panel and in the procurement of contractors. We’re also taking another look at our planned works policy to incorporate their feedback.
When we get it wrong
Whenever you tell us you aren’t happy with something, we make every effort to make it right. Sometimes we need to do a little more to fix the problem, so we record your feedback so we know where we need to improve. We group feedback into four categories:
- Service – how we did something this time
- Policy – the way we always do things at CKH
- Employee – the way an individual behaved
- Health and safety – our responsibility as your landlord to keep you safe
We knew we could do better, so last year, we started texting you to ask about your experiences. We also delivered extra training to our teams about how to capture and respond to feedback. An important part of this training focussed on contacting all customers who had negative experiences.
- 1,036 times we didn’t get it right: 7 health and safety, 142 employee, 198 policy, 689 service related.
- 87% responded to within 2 working days.
- 49% upheld – that means about half of the time we agreed with you and took action to reflect where we had gone wrong.
As well as working to make things right for individuals, our ‘Customer First’ team meet once a month to discuss your comments and recommend wider changes to improve things for everyone. As a direct result of your feedback, we’ve given our employees more training on having conversations about difficult subjects, changed several policies including how we deal with defects in new build homes, and found ways that our teams can work more closely together so you receive a better, more cohesive service.
When we can’t make it right, you have the option to make a formal complaint. During the year, we registered 25 complaints from all our customers, including homeowners, 21 were resolved at stage one, 2 at stage two and 2 at stage three of our complaints process. Two complaints were referred to the Housing Ombudsman. We issued £500 compensation in response to three complaints. Nine of you complained about policies, 14 about our service and two about our employees.
What’s next for customer feedback?
Coronavirus has changed the way we can use our office space for meetings, so we’ll be looking at how we can keep the same great opportunities for residents to get involved if we can’t meet face-to-face.
The feedback you give in response to our text messages is so valuable that we’re going to keep asking for your views after you get in touch. Over the coming year, we’ll be talking about whether there are more services we can get your views on in this way.
What you say about our customer service
"Very knowledgeable and prompt when we asked her questions. She was also very kind and approachable and I enjoyed our conversation."
"They took how I felt into consideration and gave me a call about my rent instead of sending a letter which affects my mental health. Having the call was easy to take in and I could ask questions straight away"
"Cross Keys Homes always delivers a first class service for their tenants. Always helpful, understanding and caring."
"Great communication and really helpful."