Strategic Objective 1
Resident standards
We will have a service which is shaped by our residents for our residents
Resident standards
This is about putting residents at the heart of our business – listening to them and taking action to deliver the type of service they want from us.
How we will do it – our five-year objectives
- Create an excellent customer service culture throughout ccha (Year 1 priority)
- Design a new customer service delivery model
- Ensure that all major contracts meet residents needs and expectations
- Enhance the Decent Homes standard in consultation with residents
What we are doing now
A key element of our five-year plan is to create a more customer-focused organisation. The consultation carried out last year gave us some valuable insight into what residents think about us. Overall, residents are satisfied with our service, but they want us to be more consistent in the way we deliver our services, and they want more clarity on what to expect from us.
To address this feedback, our Year 1 priority is to create an excellent customer service culture across the organisation – and work on this has already begun.
Customer service training
We have introduced a customer service training programme to give all our employees the skills and confidence to respond to residents in a positive way. The programme covers a wide range of topics and skills including the importance of behaviour, language and expectations. This training will be an ongoing process with staff working in their own teams to reinforce what they have learned on the programme.
Customer standards
To improve customer satisfaction, we also need to be clear on the level of service we can deliver to residents. During this Year 1 phase we will be working with residents and staff to create a new set of customer service standards. These standards will set service level expectations for both residents and staff in areas such as speed of response, how different enquiries will be handled, how residents can access our services and more. The standards will be the foundation for delivering an excellent customer experience.
Engaging with residents
Involving residents in the way we deliver our services is a priority for us. We believe that good engagement can lead to increased customer satisfaction, better value for money and services that residents want and need. We know that many residents keen to get involved with us are interested in particular areas of our business. So, rather than having one customer panel looking across the whole organisation, during the year we will move towards a focus group model. This approach has worked well recently with residents actively engaged in the procurement of our repairs and estate management contractors.
How we will measure our success
Customer satisfaction: As we move through our five-year plan, we will monitor customer satisfaction levels and get regular feedback from resident surveys and focus groups. We acknowledge that it will take time to create an excellent customer service culture here at ccha but we hope to see customer satisfaction levels rise after the first year.