Flagship Housing - Dave Seaton
COST SAVINGS AND IMPROVED TENANT SATISFACTION
Tenant participation in customer surveys increased by around 55% when Flagship Housing Group adopted Deeplake’s Communication Manager to improve the way in which it communicated and engaged with tenants. The system has also facilitated a huge cost saving on administration of home repairs and improved tenant satisfaction with the service.
Introduction
Flagship Housing Group is the largest provider of affordable homes in the Eastern Region, owning and managing around 22,000 homes. The group comprises Kings' Forest Housing, Peddars Way Housing Association and Suffolk Heritage Housing Association.Flagship Housing Group was one of the first organisations to trial the Deeplake Communication Manager software, undertaking a pilot project at the Peddars Way Housing Association in 2004. Since then, Flagship has gradually increased the use of the system throughout the Group, engaging with staff and customers across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Lincolnshire.
Repair service – cost savings
Arranging for maintenance calls to a tenant’s home can be extremely time-consuming. To automate this process, Flagship has introduced the Communication Manager system, as Dave Seaton, Managing Director of the Peddars Way Housing Association, explains:“Before we had this system, if a tenant called in a repair, we would have to raise a job ticket, print off endless sheets of paper… there was a lot of effort involved. We estimated that each transaction cost us around £30-45 in terms of staff time, IT and so on. When we redesigned the system for repairs we decided that Deeplake’s SMS system would become a key component, and it has now reduced repair demand costs to a few pence per transaction. It’s a huge cost saving and represents real value for money.
“If a resident calls to report a problem, a leaking tap for instance, their details are logged and the Deeplake system sends a text message to the operative with the tenant’s name, address and telephone number plus an outline of the problem. They will then contact the tenant to arrange a convenient time to call and undertake the repair.
“The system knows who has requested a repair, so it can then send out another text automatically a few days later, asking if the tenant was satisfied with the service they received. They can answer yes or no with just a couple of button clicks.”
By collating this data automatically Communications Manager makes it easy to track the performance of service providers and to be alert to any issues, again improving the tenant’s experience.
Improved response rate
Flagship Housing has seen an excellent response from tenants to surveys conducted via the Deeplake SMS system. A recent customer survey recorded a 61% participation rate, as opposed to around 5% participation in paper based surveys. In addition the survey was cheaper to run and results were easier to evaluate.Dave also values knowing that a message has reached its intended target. “We can monitor when a text message has been opened, so we know if someone has received the message,” he says. “The system flags up a notice if the message hasn’t been read, so if necessary we can follow up using a different form of communication.”
Rent reminders
Flagship Housing is currently trialling Deeplake’s Communication Manager system for rent reminders, and has had a good initial reaction. “Most of the tenants like it, but some people find it a bit impersonal – which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person,” says Dave.“So we use it alongside other modes of communication and tailor for different people’s needs. Not everyone has a mobile phone, but for those that do, this is a hugely beneficial system.
“We had one gentleman in the trial for the rent reminder messages, who had refused to respond to other forms of communication. Suddenly, after we sent the SMS messages, he started paying his rent arrears!
“The SMS system is quick, cheap and efficient,” he adds. “It is a very useful system!”
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Flagship Housing - Dave Seaton
COST SAVINGS AND IMPROVED TENANT SATISFACTION Tenant participation in customer surveys increased by around 55% when Flagship Housing Group adopted Deeplake’s Communication Manager
