This review concluded in October 2024, with five commendations and 22 recommendations.

Areas highlighted for praise included the range of contact options provided – covering both digital and traditional contact methods, making it inclusive for those who are digitally excluded – and the use of digital noticeboards at high-rise buildings, as a way of sharing ‘live’ messages with targeted groups of customers.

Recommendations, which colleagues across Irwell Valley Homes are now working to deliver, included:

• Introducing consistent service level agreements – i.e. the time period in which we commit to responding – across all contact channels. This will ensure that customers receive the same standard of service whichever contact method they choose and may also lead to more customers contacting us digitally, freeing up the phone lines for those who need it.
  
  
• Reviewing the opening hours of the Customer Service Team. This has now been completed – with more call centre staff now available between 8am and 5pm. Although the centre now shuts an hour earlier, the allocation of resources better reflects the time of day customers call us. We expect customers to see a reduction in the time they have to wait when they contact us on the phone over the coming weeks.
  
  
• Ongoing promotion of the customer online portal, as a way for customers to manage their home and tenancy at a time to suit them – enhancing convenience and reducing call volumes into the contact centre.
  
  
• Ensuring appointment text messages are issued when an emergency repair is logged. This helps to build a customer’s confidence that the situation is being dealt with, while they wait for an operative to attend.
  
  
• Providing the Customer Service Team with access to the repairs cancellations log. This means they are able to quickly and easily look up this information and provide customers with the reason why the appointment hasn’t been able to go ahead. This provides greater transparency and we hope will help to reduce frustrations with the service.
  
  
• Increase the number of community drop-in and neighbourhood events and communicate these with customers. Increasing our visibility in the areas where we have homes will help to provide a more personal and consistent service, and provides a convenient and accessible way for customers to get in touch.

You can read the full action plan here.

This review concluded in April 2024 with two commendations and 10 recommendations.

These include:

• Setting up a triage system with a duty officer to ensure reports are reviewed and categorised appropriately. This ensures the most severe and urgent cases are prioritised more quickly and should lead to customers feeling more supported.
• Allocating named colleagues to a case and ensuring timescales about what customers can expect and when are shared from the outset. These measures help to provide a more personalised and accountable service for customers.
• Providing further information and access to tools such as noise apps and ‘dear neighbour’ cards to empower customers in reporting and dealing with anti-social behaviour.
• Completing a review of allocations polices and introducing local lettings policies to help create sustainable communities where both new and existing tenants can thrive, with clear expectations and responsibilities outlined.

You can read the full action plan here.

This review concluded in December 2023 with 14 recommendations.

These include:

• Developing the process to diagnose and understand issues of damp, mould and condensation more effectively and consistently at the point they are reported – leading to quicker response times and more efficient prioritisation for colleagues and customers. This has also included adding an online reporting form, making it quicker and easier for some customers to log their concerns.
• Providing further training for colleagues to ensure that customers’ personal circumstances and medical conditions (and those of their household) are taken into account when prioritising and planning works. This ensures that those most vulnerable to the effects of damp and mould are prioritised and the impact on their health and wellbeing is reduced.
• Introducing follow-on checks after a damp or mould job to check on the situation at different stages in the future. This provides reassurance that the problem has been effectively dealt with or provides another opportunity to investigate what is going wrong and how it can resolved. This results in increased satisfaction from customers that they will be supported if the problem reoccurs.
• Empowering customers with further information and guidance about how to manage condensation and moisture in the home, including through engaging materials like videos and graphics which are easier to digest and implement. We have also reviewed the damp and mould policy to ensure it is accessible and free of any ambiguous words or terms to ensure customers can effectively hold us to account.

You can read the full action plan here.