Published: 01 December 2023

An update on what we’ve heard and what we’ve done so far.

Back in August, we held the first of our face-to-face Tenant Voice Forum meetings for tenants in Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton, and Pennines. These were followed by an online session covering all four townships for those who were unable to attend in person.

The Tenant Voice Forums were set up to provide an opportunity for tenants and residents to work alongside RBH colleagues to look at the issues that matter most in their neighbourhood. During the first sessions in August, we looked at what was good and bad about each area and discussed opportunities to make improvements to the way in which RBH deliver services.

Following the initial meetings, Engagement colleagues worked closely with teams across the organisation to bring awareness of the issues raised and discuss ways in which suggested improvements could be implemented. They also gathered information about existing improvement plans, to feed those back to the groups.

Our second round of Tenant Voice Meetings took place in November. At these meetings, we fed back on what we heard initially, what work had taken place between August and November, and any further plans. There was also an opportunity for tenants to highlight any new concerns or priorities.

Please see below for an outline of the work that has taken place so far.

  • Contact Centre

    What we heard

    It takes too long to get through to speak to somebody by phone.

    What we are doing

    We have a new telephone system which now offers callbacks, so people don’t have to wait in a queue. We have recruited 17 new Contact Centre Advisors since the beginning of the year and we are in the process of recruiting more In October we answered 92% of calls with 69% of those answered within 60 seconds.

  • Repairs

    What we heard

    We don’t know when Repairs Operatives are coming.

    What we are doing

    We currently offer appointments at the following times - all day, AM, PM or avoid school run. Text message reminders are sent - as soon as the appointment is booked, on the day before/the morning of the appointment, when the operative is on their way and immediately after the repair has been carried out to check tenant satisfaction.

    What we heard

    Poor quality of work - especially when using agency workers or contractors.

    What we are doing

    As of November, all operatives are now required to take at least 2 images of every repair they complete - one before they carry out the work and then one after. They must upload these on their handheld devices and won’t be able to mark the job as completed until they have done so. All work undertaken by sub-contractors is post inspected by Operational Managers, who also attach pictures to inspection forms. We are currently recruiting more operatives to reduce the need to use agency workers.

  • Asset Management

    What we heard

    There seems to be a lack of improvement work taking place in some areas.

    What we are doing

    We are in the process of carrying out stock condition surveys on all RBH properties. The results of the surveys will be used to determine future programmes of work. We are exploring different ways to share information regarding programmes of work with tenants and residents. We hope to make use of the website and portal in the future.

  • Neighbourhoods

    What we heard

    We don’t know who our Housing Officer is.

    What we are doing

    We run weekly Community Drop-In sessions across the Borough, moving from one township to another each week. The drop-ins are an opportunity for tenants and residents to meet with members of their local neighbourhood’s team in person. The sessions are typically attended by Housing Officers, Income Officers, and Money Advisors.

    There is also help on hand to report repairs. For more information about the drop-ins, please see HERE. As part of plans to improve our website, we will look to include details of local Housing Officers. Details can also be provided by contacting the contact centre on freephone number 0800 027 7769.

    What we heard

    We would like estate walkabouts

    What we are doing

    We are looking to plan walkabouts in areas linked with other activities such as community drop-ins, clean up days etc. We can organise targeted walkabouts where we know there is a need and where tenants would like to join us. If this is something you and your neighbours would like to see, please give us a call on 0800 027 7769.

    What we heard

    Other neighbourhood issues including anti-social behaviour, dog fouling, fly tipping, drug dealing etc.

    What we are doing

    Our Neighbourhoods team work closely with other agencies in order to tackle some of these issues, including Rochdale Council, GMP, Social Care, Turning Point, Stepping Stones etc. In areas where there are known issues, we can work with a grouped of tenants to try to resolve these issues. For more information about how we deal with anti-social behaviour, please see HERE.

  • Neighbourhood Environment Team (NET)

    What we heard

    Grass cuttings aren’t taken away.

    What we are doing

    We do not currently take grass cuttings away. We did consult with tenants and residents about this a while back and it was agreed that we wouldn’t take away the cuttings as it would lead to an increase in service charge. In the new year, we are going to undertake a review of our NET service standards, in collaboration with tenants and residents. We can revisit this matter then.

    What we heard

    Poor quality of service.

    What we are doing

    We have recently launched a QR code that links directly to a feedback form. When we are working in an area, we will make the QR code available, on posters and notes through letter boxes. All feedback received will be used to improve services going forward.

    What we heard

    It would be good to know when the teams are coming to our area.

    What we are doing

    We are exploring the use of text messages to inform tenants when we will be working in their area.

  • Communication

    What we heard

    The website is difficult to use and it is hard to find local information.

    What we are doing

    We are in the process of reviewing our website, layout, and content. We are looking for Tenant Communication Champions to work with us to make these improvements. If you are interested in becoming a communication champion, you can find out more HERE.

    What we heard

    We don’t know how our feedback makes any difference.

    What we are doing

    We will be looking to share more details of how, when and where tenant and resident feedback influences change across RBH. Sharing 'what we heard' and 'what we are doing' we hope to make improvements to this. We will also share details of this on our website, social media channels and in a new newsletter which we hope to launch soon. You can find out a bit more about our performance and service standards HERE.