Housing Associations
September 2001
Snap Survey Software boxOpinions count when it comes to providing good service or setting out to better it. The provision of social housing in the United Kingdom is benefiting from a wave of interest by more enlightened providers in using surveys to ensure the voices of all of their customers are heard. These surveys are used, not only to bring real improvements to the services offered, such as repairs or refurbishment's, but to identify major cost savings.
Snap brings the rigor and transparency to the ‘Best Value’ review
A number of housing associations in Britain social landlords with properties to rent, registered with the government have voluntarily adopted the UK Government’s ‘Best Value’ framework
A number of housing associations in Britain social landlords with properties to rent, registered with the government have voluntarily adopted the UK Government’s ‘Best Value’ framework as a means to ensure they achieve the initiative’s twin objectives of improving services, while controlling costs in a rigorous and transparent way.
Here, we highlight two such organizations that have chosen Snap as a means to provide the rigor and the transparency in their Best Value review processes, but in the process are finding that Snap’s capabilities make it an ideal tool across the entire range of feedback and consultation activities. These include:
- carrying out periodic consultation exercises of all service users
- performing continuous customer satisfaction surveys, such as event-driven surveys to monitor performance and service delivery
- flexible, issue-led surveys on hot topics, as the occasion demands
- surveying the public on matters of widespread concern, such as the development of new sites
- providing specific feedback and praise, where due, to employees and subcontractors
Snap passes the usability test at Sarsen Housing Association
Faced with the prospect of keying in the answers from an ever-growing number of consultation exercises, Richard Wright, Best Value Manager at Sarsen Housing Association, knew there had to be a better way to manage his surveys.
Sarsen Housing Association, based in Devizes, Wiltshire, provides social housing to around 5000 tenants and their families
Sarsen Housing Association, based in Devizes, Wiltshire, provides social housing to around 5000 tenants and their families mainly in South West England’s predominantly rural Kennet District. It has put consultation at the heart of its decision-making processes, underpinning a rolling five-year Best Value review programme to provide improvements to its housing services. Richard explained: "Under the terms of ‘Best Value’, the objective is to provide a better service for the same or less cost. For us, a big part of this is talking to tenants to determine what they like about the services; is it efficient, is it what they want?"
Before joining Sarsen, Richard had experience of some basic survey packages including one that offered the capability to scan questionnaires. "Sadly, I found them fairly clumsy," he said. "I wanted something that was not going to take a long time to set up: something where you could set up a standard questionnaire as a template."
The time required to enter data was also critical. A recent postal survey to a 10% sample of Sarsen’s tenants saw a commendable 40% response. Keying in the 200 forms from this represents a major task, yet it is only one of the many consultation activities Sarsen is doing or plans to do. In addition Sarsen undertakes a thorough consultation of all its tenants once every three years a task that has been contracted out in the past, at significant cost.
Richard quickly narrowed down his choices of software to Snap, with its integrated questionnaire design, scanning and analysis capabilities
Richard quickly narrowed down his choices of software to Snap, with its integrated questionnaire design, scanning and analysis capabilities. He was able to cost-justify purchasing the new system simply on the strength of the potential savings achieved by bringing this one three-yearly study in house.
"In contrast to the other packages, I found Snap logical and simple to set up," Richard reported. "I was very impressed with the demonstration we had. The scanning was important, but another factor was the ability to expand the system to work with handheld computers, so we can take questionnaires out to housing estates and village halls. It means we will have the data immediately, as soon as we get back to the office."
Now in the midst of his second Snap survey, Richard believes not only that the software is fulfilling its promise, but also that the service from Snap Surveys has been good, including the one-day ‘Fast Track’ course delivered at Sarsen’s offices.
"We got a very good flavour in the training as to what the system could do. It was effectively bespoke training which did not cost us any more than a standard course would. We gained a lot from that day’s training we weren’t experts, but we knew everything we needed to in order to make a start."
Eastleigh Housing Association set to trim costs by £0.25m, thanks to Snap surveys
A bold and innovative service measurement programme at Eastleigh Housing Association, cantered around Snap, has not only boosted satisfaction among its 4,300 social housing and private tenants by 22%, but has also shaved a projected £0.25 million off the association’s annual repairs bill.
Eastleigh Housing Association (EHA) instigated a service review under the government’s ‘Best Value’ framework, which places an emphasis on improvement and measurable outcome. Sharon Mitchell, EHA’s Business Review Manager, decided the best way to understand the whole picture was to use a range of surveys administered in Snap.
EHA designed the questionnaire in Snap, but used Snap SurveyShop to key in the data and process the results due to the volumes involved
First, a benchmark was established with a detailed postal survey in which customers were asked to rate what was important to them in a repairs service. EHA designed the questionnaire in Snap, but used Snap SurveyShop to key in the data and process the results due to the volumes involved. The survey was repeated after 12 months, to give two years of baseline data. Drawing on the results, focus groups with tenants were used to develop a set of customer-focused performance indicators.
Next, two continuous research activities were established to measure performance against the indicators from the focus groups. Simple mail-in satisfaction cards are left after each repair job in anyone’s home, which are keyed into Snap in the office on return. A phone survey, also in Snap, is used to follow up a random sample with a flexible issues-based survey that changes over time.
"Before this, our service measurement was by a postal survey, but it was not targeted at the things that mattered." Sharon Mitchell commented. "Now we are asking far more finely tuned things that are important to the customer. We view this as a continuous improvement tool: it is an excellent way to measure and flag hot issues, such as if something is going wrong with a particular trade, e.g. electrical or plumbing."
In one case, a drop in satisfaction ratings was quickly related to an influx of new employees. Satisfaction rose again once some additional training had been provided.
EHA also introduced a full appointments system for its customers after identifying this as a ‘hot issue’ from the phone survey. A wide range of issues has been tackled in the review, such as the accuracy of work and the need for repeat visits to homes. It also provides valuable positive feedback to employees. For an exercise costing in the region of £80,000, EHA has succeeded in identifying savings that should amount to some £250,000 over the next year or so.
"For me, it is in facilitating a process that has given us a complete benchmark and allowed us to achieve a measurable outcome. Before, we would have struggled to get the measurable outcome, which is a requirement of the Best Value review."
Sharon explained the advantages of using Snap: "For me, it is in facilitating a process that has given us a complete benchmark and allowed us to achieve a measurable outcome. Before, we would have struggled to get the measurable outcome, which is a requirement of the Best Value review."
"The investment has meant a 22% increase in satisfaction among customers; we now have a rolling program of improvements; we report to tenants on a monthly basis and have regular, highly focussed reporting to management. It means you are always that vital step ahead."
Conclusions
There are real service improvements to be made, and real cost savings to be gained through efficiency improvements, simply by making consultation and review programmes effective in allowing the customer’s voice to be heard. Snap allows you to do this in a systematic and unbiased way that will stand up to scrutiny and deliver actionable results.
Both of the organizations featured here have chosen surveys, designed and administered on a daily basis using in-house resources, to open up that vital channel of communication. They have both chosen to use Snap to facilitate this process, because it simplifies and streamlines the process without imposing any restrictions. As Sarsen Housing Association have found, it takes very little time and effort to become competent, yet the system can continue to grow with your ambitions.
Snap’s flexibility in design stage and analysis, plus the ability to run surveys using the same tool across a variety of media, from paper, to web and handheld PDA devices, brings limitless flexibility. As Eastleigh Housing Association has found, Snap can quickly become a vital tool to your organization in allowing you to understand what is happening, and allow you both to move ahead and stay ahead!