At Co-op Homes we constantly review and monitor our progress to ensure we improve our customer service and value for money. In connection with this and in line with the Government's directive for all registered providers to collect Tenant Satisfaction Measures we are happy to share a summary of responses received from Co-op Homes' own tenants.
Why did we carry out this research?
We value our tenants' opinions. We used a specialist independent market research agency, IFF, Research to carry out this research. A key aim of the research was to gain a clearer understanding of our customers so we could better understand their needs and improve our services.
What were residents asked?
IFF Research asked questions about a number of services we deliver to our customers. This might include repairs, antisocial behaviour and communal cleaning.
Our tenants' comments and experiences help us to shape our services for the benefit of everyone. The results will also be combined with those of RHP and submitted to the Government. The Group performance will be published annually on the website of RHP.
Please see our scorecard as at November 2023:
What types of complaints did we get?
Consumer complaints from people who have a tenancy with Co-op Homes
When we receive complaints from residents of Co-op Homes we use Co-op Homes’ complaints policy. In 23/24 we received 11 complaints from residents living in the 315 homes owned by Co-op Homes.
Consumer Complaints from people who receive managing agent services from Co-op Homes
When we receive a complaint from a resident of a Housing Cooperative that we provide managing agent services to, we use the Housing Co-operative’s complaints policy. We report our complaints performance annually to the Management Committee of the Housing Cooperative. In 23/24 we received 49 complaints from residents living in the 1,100 or so homes of the Housing Co-ops we work with. The complaints covered rent, repairs and tenancy management issue.
Business to business complaints from Co-ops we provide a managing agent service to
When we receive complaints from the commercial clients that we have a contractual relationship, we use our business-to-business complaints policy. We worked with 30 client co-ops during 23/24. We put the policy in place during the year to ensure that complaints are taken seriously and used positively to improve how we operate. In 23/24 we received 4 complaints. All four complaints included complaints about our finance service - including late information to Management Committees, and overdue invoice payments. Two of the complaints were are contract management of planned maintenance works.
What did we learn and what did we do?
We publish a detailed annual complaints performance report [hyperlink] about the consumer complaints received from our own tenants. We also provide an annual complaints performance report to each Housing Co-operative we work with.
Across all types of complaint, we received most complaints about our finance service. We started new processes for payments and approvals to help us process invoice payments and rent posting more quickly and accurately. We designed a whole new approach to communication with Management Committees that includes introducing squads to work on issues with Management Committees between meetings and overhauling our approach to reporting. We are piloting this with some co-ops.
Across all types of complaint, the common themes of dissatisfaction were:
We made changes to the phone system, team structures, processes and how we use technology. We divert calls to the contact team so customers can always speak to someone and make an appointment, rather than having to chase. We also introduced service principles that will result in better communication and a more consistent service.
