We offer lots of different ways to get involved and use your voice.
From responding to an online survey, to joining one of our customer groups, there is something for everyone. Some customers get involved from time to time; others like to join our regular meetings. However much time you want to give, and however you’d like to use your voice, your contribution can make a big difference.
We want it to be a beneficial experience for you too. By getting involved, you can gain experience and develop new skills. It’s also a great way to meet new people. We will support you in various ways and can cover transport costs to meetings and pay for childcare if you need it. Just let us know how we can help.
Every year customers provide us with valuable feedback and insight which influences the decisions we make and the homes and services we provide. Thank you to everyone who answers a survey, attends a meeting or focus group, or shares their experience of being a customer with us in some other way.
Here’s how you can use your voice and get involved
Join our Resident Scrutiny Panel
The opportunity: Our Resident Scrutiny Panel is a team of customers who review our services and make recommendations for how we can improve. Each year, the Panel decides what services they want to review and agree this with our Board of Management. They do a thorough review into the service, speaking to colleagues and customers about it, and reviewing performance information.
Their recommendations are reviewed by our board members. By joining the panel, you will give feedback directly to the highest level of our organisation.
Duties: Attending evening meetings once a month to share your thoughts; reading and inputting on policies; job shadowing; monitoring performance metrics and more.
Commitment level: One meeting a month plus review activities in between.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each session.
Review how we are performing
The opportunity: Our Customer Standards Group reviews our performance against the Consumer Standards and the Tenant Satisfaction Measures. They hold us to account on our performance and gather and share insight into how we can improve.
Duties: Attending meetings; reading reports; providing insight into how we can learn from mistakes.
Commitment level: Two meetings every three months (1 online and 1 person)
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
Rate My Cleaner and Rate My Gardener feedback surveys
The opportunity: Complete our Rate My Cleaner and/or Rate My Gardener surveys and help us hold our contractors to account on the service they deliver.
We know how important the gardening and cleaning services are to our customers and these surveys are a great way to let us know how they're performing where you live.
It only takes a few minutes to complete – letting us know if any areas have been missed or aren’t completed to the standard we expect or providing feedback on a job well done to help keep them on the right track.
Commitment level: Surveys can be completed as often as you’d like – perhaps once a month while you walk the dog; each week that the cleaners are due or just when you spot issues with the service.
Incentive: Every three months, everyone who has completed a survey is entered into a prize draw to win £50 in shopping vouchers.
Click here to complete the Rate My Cleaner survey.
Click here to complete the Rate My Gardener survey.
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Rate My Gardener - guide for participants
pdf | 226Kb
Influence and review policies and services
The opportunity: We have a group of customers who provide feedback about services or policies which we are developing. They ensure customers have a voice in shaping and reviewing how we do things. We know people can face challenges in accessing housing, support and employment. Part of the review involves ensuring any policies or services we are developing are accessible and fair to everyone.
Duties: Online - information is shared via email and feedback provided online.
Commitment level: Flexible. We'll share any policies we're working on and you can comment on the ones that interest you. It will take about a hour to read and provide comment on each.
Incentive: £10 in shopping vouchers for each policy reviewed.
Decide how we invest in communities
The opportunity: The Irwell Valley Foundation is a £2 million-pound charitable investment. Every year we invest around £100,000 from this to support customers' personal development, plus community projects and initiatives that benefit the communities we serve. How we spend this funding is overseen by a group of customers. The group is led by our customer board member and meets every other month (online) to review funding applications.
Duties: Attending meetings; reviewing applications, agreeing funding.
Commitment level: One online meeting every other month.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
Respond to a survey
The opportunity: We send out online surveys to help us understand customers' views on how we’re doing in certain areas and where we need to improve.
Duties: Providing feedback through ad-hoc surveys.
Commitment level: Flexible – we send various surveys throughout the year, you can choose which you want to get involved with based on what you're interested in.
Incentive: Everyone who completes a survey is entered into a free prize draw to win shopping vouchers.
Help us improve our communications to customers
The opportunity: We want our communications to be professional, friendly and easy to understand – containing the information customers want and need to know. We want our annual report, leaflets, newsletters and e-bulletins to be easy to follow, representative of the people we serve and accessible for everyone. You, as our audience, can offer us vital feedback on all this and more!
Duties: Online and ad-hoc - information is shared via email and feedback provided online.
Commitment level: Flexible. We'll share the communications we're working on and you can comment on the ones that interest you / you have time for.
Share your experiences through our Building Safety Forum
The opportunity: The Building Safety Forum is made up of customers living in our high-rise buildings.
The group work with our fire safety team to provide feedback and input on fire safety works, advice and communication.
Duties: Attending meetings; reading reports; providing insight into how we improve our communication around building safety matters.
Commitment level: An evening meeting in-person, twice a year.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
Become a Board Member
The opportunity: Our work is overseen by a Board of Management. They agree set our priorities and monitor our performance, finances, and risks to ensure we meet our regulatory requirements and operate effectively. Our resident board members use their voice at the highest level of our organisation.
When vacancies on the board arise, we will advertise these here and directly with our customers.
We don't currently have any vacancies on our board.
Duties: Reading and commenting on reports; attending meetings; making key decisions over the future of the organisation.
Commitment level: High – meetings once a quarter and reviewing documents and reports ahead of meetings.
Incentive: £5,500 a year.
We’d love to have you on board!
If you are interested in getting involved and sharing your experiences to help us improve, please let us know. Fill in the form and we’ll get back to you to discuss the next steps – thank you.