We held two customer focus groups in April and May 2024, which enabled us to explore the consumer standards with customers and get a first-hand, critical understanding of how they think we are performing against the standards. The sessions provided us with feedback on where customers have noticed an improvement in our services; notably around repairs but they also identified areas for improvement, such as communication about repairs.
Customers review our Lettable Standard
To ensure our residents’ voices are being heard, we’ve been working closely with our Task and Finish group. Part of their focus has been reviewing our lettable standard, as well as visiting some of our empty properties in the local area.
During an outing in October, the group spent some time completing in-depth inspection forms about the properties they visited. This was a good chance to learn about the hard work that goes in to getting our properties ready to re-let.
The group also created survey’s for both staff and customers so that they could hear everyone’s views on the current Lettable standard.
They have now finished writing their report, which along with their recommendations for change, will go to the Customer Experience Committee in February.
Our next Task and Finish group will begin in April and they will be scrutinising and reporting their findings on our esate services. If you are interested in getting involved, please click here.
Customers take a closer look at complaints
We want customers to feel that they can tell us when something has gone wrong, knowing that we will respond respectfully and fairly. Communicating well with customers throughout the process is an important part of that. To make sure we are up-to-scratch, we asked our task and finish group to take a closer look.
Six enthusiastic customers and an independent chairperson met regularly from last November to the end of May 24 to take a close look at our complaints-related communications. Group members Jacqui and Jill explain:
Jill “The first thing we did was think about what a good response might look like from a customer point of view. We checked what the official requirements were, but then also thought about the emotional impact, and how a letter might make a customer feel. We came up with nine elements we thought a good response should have. We then used this checklist to review examples of complaint letters and emails that Saxon Weald had sent.”
Jacqui: “The main thing we found was inconsistency in the quality of the responses. Some were spot on, but some lacked any empathy or weren’t clear enough. We also found that some didn’t give enough detail of how they had reached their decision or what would happen next.”
Jill: “In total, we came up with 27 recommendations which we think would improve things. Some of us presented these to Saxon Weald’s customer experience committee. It was a bit daunting at first, but we felt they really listened and appreciated our work.”
Jacqui: “It’s been a great experience for me personally. You get to meet new people, help improve things for others and have a bit of fun along the way. We all want to carry on and be involved in the next group.”
Here’s a sample of the group’s recommendations:
We have been reviewing the recommendations to see which ones we can put in place. The majority are achievable, with just two or three less likely to be adopted. We’ll invite the task and finish group to come back and check in six months’ time to see the progress we are making. We’re confident they will see the difference their hard work has made.
You can find out more about Task and Finish and getting involved here.
Grounds maintenance
Our Green Team is a volunteer customer group who monitor and report the quality of the grounds maintenance service in their areas each month. They have an important role to play in letting us know what is going well and what needs to be improved. Their feedback is shared with the our grounds maintenance contractors and has been instrumental in identifying areas for improvement. We then carry out inspections alongside customers to assess the issues and together develop action plans to improve standards. This usually results in swift and noticeable progress. Positive feedback from the Green Team is shared with the grounds maintenance teams, boosting positivity and helping set standards for other areas.
We currently have about 20 members of the group, but it would be great to have more. If you live in a general needs block and receive grounds maintenance services, we would love to hear from you!
Please register your interest here, and we will get back to you.
Community days
We held a community day at St Cuthmans in Steyning in July. We provided skips so that customers could get rid of unwanted bulky items, litter picked, did some weeding and completed a few general repairs. We received some lovely thank you messages and it was great to have a chat with residents and identify any further support required. The next event will take place in Pulborough in April.
Policy Review Group
Our policy review group currently consists of 155 customers who review any new policy or a policy that is due for renewal. Since April, they have reviewed the following policies:
You can find out more about the Policy Review Group and how to get involved here.
