RCT INNOVATION REDUCES WAITING LISTS
Properties were filled in days when RCT started to use Deeplake’sCommunication Manager to promote vacant housing to people on waitinglists in nearby regions. The forward thinking housing association isusing the technology in a number of innovative ways, and has a range offuture plans to further utilise the system.Introduction
RCT Homes is Wales’s largest social landlord, owning and managing nearly 11,000 homes which were transferred from Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council in December 2007. The organisation is responsible for homes on more than 60 housing estates and in 27 sheltered housing schemes.RCT Homes is a Community Mutual scheme, which means that tenants have a right to become members after two years residency. Five tenant members sit on the board and all can vote at the AGM. RCT Homes is a progressive organisation and aims to engage tenants and offer financial and other support as well as housing.
Customer Service
The organisation operates a contact centre for tenants to report repairs or make enquiries. Deeplake’s Communication Management system has been implemented to enable tenants to send enquiries via SMS and be assured that they will be dealt with.“Tenants can text ‘CUST’ + their query to the contact centre and it will be added to our email queue,” explains Alun Dowling, Head of ICT at RCT Homes. “Our customer service staff can deal with the enquiry and send a response to the tenant via SMS or email, or if the query requires discussion or a more complex explanation, they will call them with the information.”
Housing availability
RCT Homes manages properties on more than 60 estates, and the popularity of different areas varies. It occasionally occurs that a property will become available in an area with no waiting list for housing.“We don’t want properties standing empty, especially when people are waiting for homes in other areas,” says Alun. “We have started sending out SMS alerts about available homes to people who are on waiting lists in other nearby areas. This has been incredibly successful and the properties have been filled within days.”
Tenant engagement
“As a Community Mutual, we want our tenants to become members and become involved in the running of the association,” says Alun. “Although we have around 1200 members and are growing all the time, these people tend to be in the older demographic. We wanted a way to engage younger tenants and get them involved.“Using Deeplake’s Communication Manager we have been running a campaign called ‘Word on the Street’, to get our younger tenants to connect and become part of the community. We are encouraging them to make a 20-second video on their phone telling us about their neighbourhood, and then text ‘WORD’ to our team to receive instructions on how to send their film to us. We will judge the videos on 31 August, and give the three best entries the opportunity to make a professional short film about their area.”
Future plans – lone working and rent enquiries
As well as providing easy communications for tenants, Deeplake’s Communication Manager system also has advantages for RCT Homes’ staff. A lone working solution is being rolled out shortly which will give peace of mind to staff members visiting properties unaccompanied.“The lone worker can text ‘LONE’ + the address that they’re visiting and the time of the appointment, and this notifies their line manager to their movements,” explains Alun. “The system then automatically contacts the worker every 15 minutes and requires a coded response. If there is no response, or an incorrect response, the system alerts the line manager and escalates the message through the relevant parties.”
A rent balance enquiry system is also planned. “Tenants will be able to text ‘RENT’ + their tenant reference number. The system will check that the reference number and mobile phone number belong to the same person and then send a message showing their rent account balance,” explains Alun.
“Deeplake’s system is great for us as we are driving improvements across the board and it provides a simple way to empower our staff and offer new services to tenants, all in one package.”
Case Studies
RCT Homes
Properties were filled in days when RCT started to use Deeplake’sCommunication Manager to promote vacant housing to people on waitinglists in nearby regions. The forward thinking housing
Newlon Housing Trust
QUICK RESPONSE WINS PRAISE FROM AUDITORS Deeplake’s Communication Manager has enabled Newlon Housing Trust to ‘make the first move’ and pre-empt issues, preventing their
Worcester Community Homes
WORCESTER PASSES AUDIT WITH ITS CUSTOMER SERVICE Worcester Community Homes gained an excellent result in their Audit Commission Inspection following adoption of Deeplake’s Communications
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
