Board focused on delivering for customers

The needs of customers are at the forefront of everything 54North Homes does – and discussed at every board meeting.

Senior staff get together every two months to assess how the housing association is progressing towards achieving various targets.

And the most important issue is ensuring customers are getting the best service and value for the money they pay.

The board at 54North Homes, led by Chair Steve Secker, includes Managing Director Mark Pearson and eight non-executive directors. The executive team comprises Director of Customer Experience Gavin Fisk, Director of Assets and Growth Jo Chambers, and Director of Resources Adam Hutchinson.

All are devoted to listening to what customers are saying and ensuring that everyone is heard.

To that end, at their meeting in September, the board heard about steps to gain accreditation from the National Centre for Diversity.

Achieving this standard will mean 54North Homes has a kite mark for enabling all customers to get involved no matter what their background or circumstances might be.

Director of resources Adam (pictured above) said: “Customers are very much at the heart of what the leadership team considers.

“A question to ask is are we hearing from all our customers, a diversity of voices, not just ‘the customer’, but specifically our diverse communities?

“What we’ve not heard is as important as what we are hearing, so we considered carefully how we want to hear from and speak directly to customers.”

Adding to that was consultancy from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (Tpas) around ensuring the board hear from people in ways that are not filtered by other sources.

Adam said: “There was a strong preference from the Board that they should get out and about to meet customers face-to-face more.

“We also reflected on the fact that that might lead to meeting only a narrow range of customers, so digital channels could be a way to reach a wider range of people.”

One of many other topics raised at the meeting was recruiting a single contractor to do home safety visits covering electrical safety, carbon monoxide, smoke detection, and potentially electrical heating.

“We’re mindful that these are customers’ homes,” Adam said.

“We’ve an obligation to keep people safe. But we also want to minimise the intrusion customers might feel from somebody coming to check the electrical circuits and then another to check the gas supply.

“All of this, if we’re not smart about things, can be onerous, even an inconvenience for our customers.

“So we were really pleased to hear that in our new procurement, we’re seeking a single contractor to undertake a home safety visit.

“This would try to do all the inspections that are required in a home at once.

“But what that means is that it’ll be really important when we make an arrangement to visit a customer’s home, that they meet that appointment – so there’s both an offer and an ask there.”

Recent surveys have shown an overall customer satisfaction level of 77%, while 77% were also satisfied with the repairs service.

Adam added: “We’re all very mindful that providing a home to someone isn’t the same relationship with a customer that, for example, a supermarket has.

“If you go to a supermarket and decide that some things aren’t very good, then you can easily shop elsewhere.

“But if we’re not very good, customers can’t just move house. That give us different responsibilities.

“So understanding from a customer’s perspective how we’re performing, what the experience is like from their side and what we can do better is really important.”