How to turn complaints to compliments – and boost performance
A recent HouseMark report on satisfaction found customer complaints rising from 27.6 in every 1,000 social homes in 2013/14, to 33 per every 1,000 homes in 2015/16 . This coincides with a period when many social landlords have been cutting back in an effort to become more efficient.
You may think a more efficient service unavoidably means customer service takes a hit – but you’d better think again.
In this session, Osborne joined by the Institute of Customer Service, will outline how it has successfully worked with its clients to generate savings, while improving the housing service.
For instance, while other landlords have seen their level of complaints rise, the London Borough of Waltham Forest – working in partnership with Osborne – has seen its complaints fall. In 2015/16, there were 22 complaints per 1,000 homes – down a third on the previous year.
What’s more, this increase in customer satisfaction has not come at a cost. In fact, separate HouseMark research has shown that Waltham Forest’s housing repairs service is one of the best among its London peers, due to the low cost per property of repairs.
This result is not a one-off. Osborne has seen similar performance with other clients, such as Dacorum Borough Council. Here, more effective property investment analysis has allowed more targeted planned maintenance. Void periods are shorter and this is part of the reason why the council has realised £1.1 million in efficiency savings and additional income in the first 18 months of working with Osborne.
Jo Causon, CEO of ICS joining Osborne at Homes on 16th November comments ‘“With customer demands increasingly focused on behaviour and the service experience, organisations will need to work hard to continue to deliver on customer satisfaction and retain loyalty. The helpfulness of staff and ensuring employees react positively to complaints are critical areas with potential for improvement, especially as the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index suggests that staff competence is mentioned as an issue in 1 out of every 4 complaints.
Reducing the incidence of problems and complaints should be the priority, but the reality is we live in a world where things sometimes go wrong. How organisations respond to these situations are both critical to the development of long-term customer relationships and the reputation and economic well-being of UK organisations.”
Doing more with less is not just a cliché. It is a reality. Come to our session to find out more.
16th November, Theatre 3 @ 3.15pm
Speakers:
– Carol Bailey, managing director, Osborne Property Services
– Andrew Sharp, director, Osborne Property Services
– Jo Causon, chief executive, the Institute of Customer Service