Improving First Time Fix Rates

First time fix rates have always been a crucial performance indicator for social housing property services. But does a high (or low) first time fix rate say something deeper about the effectiveness of property services?

In any given year the repairs and maintenance service could be a resident’s main or only interaction with their housing provider. The experience could colour their entire judgement.

Proactive consumer regulation brings this metric into sharper focus. First time fix rates have always mattered – now they matter even more.

Asking the Right Questions

Analysing the root causes of a low first time fix rate will help identify precise symptoms – but sustained improvement means dealing with the underlying causes. Current first time fix performance says a lot about overall service effectiveness.

When operatives turn up to carry out a repair, in all probability the outcome is already determined. And here are the basics of what needs to happen to ensure every interaction is a positive one:

• The customer contact centre needs the tools to carry out an accurate initial diagnosis.
• The work scheduling system needs to be capable of ensuring that operatives with the right skills, tools and spare parts are sent to every job.
• Resident liaison processes must book convenient appointments and send timely reminders via residents’ preferred channels to avoid access problems.

This is all the result of methodical investments in systems and processes. The paybacks from this investment are considerable. By increasing efficiency and eliminating duplication you can deliver more repairs for the same budget. Response times become faster, which gives resident satisfaction a further boost.

Proactive Maintenance

Proactive consumer regulation and a reliance on reactive repairs may not be the ideal combination. It’s better to deal with problems before they occur. Osborne has successfully implemented a Total Asset Management (TAM) approach that supports planned proactive maintenance. This reduces the workload for responsive repairs so that teams don’t feel like they’re always struggling to keep up with demand.

First time fix rates are an excellent indicator of the overall strength of the property services operation. The way to improve them is to streamline the systems and processes that help property services run more efficiently.

If you’d like to understand more about TAM and our approach to maintaining stock condition data contact Jo Fletcher ([email protected]) or access our resource centre.