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Reducing Costs, Improving Services
As with any business, Housing Associations need to make sure that they are running efficiently and making the best use of their resources. Since 2005 we have been required by the Housing Corporation to produce an Annual Efficiency Statement (AES). This must include a self assessment of efficiency for the previous year and estimated efficiency gains for the coming year.
Gains can be made by reducing costs whilst maintaining services at the same level, by maintaining costs whilst improving the quality of services or where an improvement to a service far outweighs the cost involved.
In 2005 we achieved 128,000 worth of savings. We are a not for profit organisation, so any money we save by using our resources efficiently can be spent in areas where it is needed.
Over the last year we have been reviewing our services in detail and looking for areas where we can make improvements. Some of the improvements are to internal processes, which help the business to run more effectively. Here are a few of the improvements we have made to the actual services you receive as a tenant:
Repairs
- We now offer appointments for 7 day priority repairs (previously only for priorities 1 and 3).
- Our contractors have received diversity training to make them aware of the needs of different types of people and the law regarding discrimination.
Customer Service
- We are in the process of collecting information about your individual needs for when we contact you, for example if you require large print, audio cassette or translations.
- All of our standard documents are now written in the font recommended by RNIB as being the easiest to read.
- We have trained our front line staff to use the minicom system (a text phone which enables people with a hearing impairment to telephone the office) and the loop system (assists people with a hearing aid to hear more clearly, both in reception and in interview rooms).
- We now have access to language line, a service which allows us to contact an interpreter on the phone when we need one.
Sheltered Services
- Our Needs and Risk Assessment process has been developed to ensure that sheltered applicants are allocated a suitable property.
- All prospective tenants are greeted by the Scheme Manager, shown around the property and receive information about the scheme and its facilities.
- Our Scheme Managers now offer carers, relatives and advocates the opportunity to be involved in planning the support the tenant will receive.
- Our Sheltered team have now completed support plans for all their tenants, which detail individual needs.
Your Neighbourhood
- We have set up a programme of Neighbourhood Inspections, which enable us to meet with tenants to ensure that our estates remain clean and tidy. Details of forthcoming inspections can be found on this website - see the home page.
- We now have a caretaking service in place in some areas. Our caretakers are responsible for arranging clearance of large items of rubbish, keeping areas free from litter and sweeping & clearing of communal areas. They will also inform the office of any issues reported to them by tenants. This service has made a big difference - the caretakers presence has helped to reduce anti social behaviour and areas are kept tidy, making them safer and more pleasant places to live.
Anti Social Behaviour Problems
- We produced an information leaflet detailing how to report anti social behaviour and the steps we will take to deal with it, which has been sent to all tenants and leaseholders.
Energy efficiency for your home
- We have obtained 4 energy efficient light bulbs per tenant, which we are in the process of distributed.
Collecting Rent
- We now include details of local Citizens Advice Bureaux / Shelter and contact details for Housing Advice services with our rent arrears letters.
- We re-wrote our rent arrears letters, in partnership with the CAB, to ensure that they are factual and written in plain English.
Contract Services
- We have published our stock reinvestment programme on our website, so that tenants can check what year work on their property has been scheduled for (please note that the programme may be subject to change). You can find it in the news section of this site.
We know that there is always room for improvement and would be happy to hear your suggestions. If you have an idea of an improvement that would benefit tenants, which is also cost effective, please click here to let us know. If we use your idea, we will let you know when it has been put into place and keep you up to date with how it's going.
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