We offer loads 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 to get involved and can cover transport costs to meetings and pay for childcare if you need it. Just let us know how we can help.
Last year 7,299 customers gave us feedback last year which has influenced the decisions we make and the homes and services we provide. Thank you to everyone who answered a survey, came to a meeting, or shared their experience of being a customer with us.
Here’s how you can use your voice and get involved
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. By becoming a board member, you will use your voice at the highest level of our organisation.
Duties: Reading and commenting on reports; attending meetings; making key decisions over the future of the organisation.
Commitment level: High – at least 1 day a month
Incentive: £5,500 a year.
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 regular evening meetings to share your thoughts; reading and inputting on policies; job shadowing; monitoring performance metrics.
Commitment level: High – half a day a month.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each session.
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: Medium – one online meeting every other month.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
Become a Neighbourhood Champion
The opportunity: Neighbourhood Champions are our ears and eyes on the ground. They work with the Neighbourhood Officers to let us know how well services are being provided in their neighbourhood. This includes services such as grass cutting or cleaning. We then use this feedback to improve.
Duties: Carrying out neighbourhood inspections and completing surveys.
Commitment level: High – one inspection each month.
Incentive: Quarterly prize draw to win £10 in shopping vouchers for each inspection carried out.
Become a Building Champion
The opportunity: Building Champions are our ears and eyes on the ground. They work with the Neighbourhood Officers to assess cleanliness and communal areas in our neighbourhoods. This includes services such as grass cutting or cleaning. We then use this feedback to improve.
Duties: Carrying out neighbourhood inspections and completing surveys.
Commitment level: High – one inspection each month.
Incentive: Quarterly prize draw to win £10 in shopping vouchers for each inspection carried out.
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 relating to accessing housing, support, and employment. Part of the review involves ensuring any policies or services we are developing are accessible and fair to everyone. Information is shared via email and feedback provided online.
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.
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: Medium – half a day, four times a year.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
Respond to a survey
The opportunity: We send out on-line 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.
Communications group
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 - 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.
Building Safety Forum
The opportunity:We have created a new Building Safety Forum made up of customers living in our high-rise buildings.
The group will 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 can work on our communication.
Commitment level: Medium – an evening meeting, four times a year.
Incentive: £20 in shopping vouchers for each meeting attended.
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.