Customer Voice Review
It is important that all customers feel they have a voice and can give feedback on the services that they receive and their home and community. It is equally important that Cornerstone takes customer views into account.
The panel we asked to review whether customers from all sections of our communities are able to be heard and that their views are being taken into account in decision making. The panel were asked to consider – ‘are customer voices being listened to and taken into account?’
The review took place between March 2022 and March 2023.
For more information on our performance panel and how to join click here.
The aims of the review
The aims of this review were for the panel to:
- connect with a wide variety of tenant groups and individuals to check that they are able to access feedback methods and get their voices heard;
- make recommendations for improvements on improving our ability to hear from all sections of the community and individuals within it; and
- make recommendations for improvements on the way we take account of customers views when making decisions.
Who else was involved with the review?
Involvement included:
- the panel engaging directly with residents in a variety of ways;
- support and engagement from Cornerstone staff from a range of teams
- panel meetings were attended by members of the Executive Team and the Board,
- the panel were invited to attend board meetings but were happy to have their chair, who is a Cornerstone board member, to represent them in this area.
Support and information provided to the panel
The panel was provided with the following:
- information on and an explanation of the different ways customers can give feedback and get their views across;
- a presentation on the results of our 2021 customer census, showing diversity information and satisfaction data, this included detail on customers that have not engaged with the census or survey or who are dissatisfied;
- a presentation on the results of our 2022 customer satisfaction survey including all individual comments submitted by residents (anonymised);
- our customer service standards;
- equality, diversity and inclusion training from the Housing Diversity Network
- analysis on the diversity of the panel and how representative it is of our customer group,
- support to engage with individual customers.
Work undertaken by the panel
During this review the panel has:
- attended several community events to engage directly with customers;
- held an open panel meeting in Whipton, an area identified as having a higher number of dissatisfied customers and invited customers to come along;
- contacted over 300 customers identified as less satisfied or less engaged offering direct contact in the form of phone calls, focus groups or visits;
- reviewed Cornerstones customer service standards;
- reviewed the results of annual customer surveys including individual feedback from residents;
- engaged with frontline staff and managers;
- engaged with the board members at their away day.
The Performance Panel’s findings
Overall the panel feels that Cornerstone does listen and take into account the views of residents but there are areas that can be improved upon. The panel has made the following findings;
- in 2022 customer satisfaction that Cornerstone is listening and acting upon views improved from 71% to 75%, this is good when compared with other landlords but can be improved
- individual interactions with customers and the annual tenant survey feedback suggests that Cornerstone could be better at responding to customers when they contact them (e.g. repairs reported but nothing done or no follow up communication, not keeping touch with people when problems in the neighbourhood are reported)
- customer service standards are in place but the panel was not able to see if Cornerstone was responding to customers in line with these
- feedback has suggested that customers may not know how to complain and escalate issues, and also whether staff are raising complaints or escalating them at the appropriate time
- the panel has been told that customers who provided individual comments in the annual survey are getting follow up contact but this hasn’t been verified by the panel yet
- Cornerstone is actively trying to engage more with residents through community events and partnerships, for example with the community builders
- the move from whole house improvements to the component scheme is an example of where Cornerstone has listened to customers about their homes and more customers are now getting some form of improvement to their home. The panel is aware of an example where improvements have been brought forward in the programme following feedback from customers, there has been an improvement in satisfaction with quality of home
- the panel is asked for their views on services, policies, procedures and strategies but the panel is under-represented by certain groups of customer (e.g. women, younger customers, different ethnicities). This could be addressed in the recruitment of new members and in finding new ways to engage with residents and seek feedback
- members of the Cornerstone board and Executive Team regularly attend and engage with the panel, Board papers make reference to the impacts of decision on customers
The Performance Panel’s recommendations
Throughout the review over the last year the panel has discussed and made recommendations, the panel has noted that some of these have already been completed or are in progress.
The recommendations are to:
- support the panel to increase membership, improve its diversity and ensure it is representative of the customer group, this could include;
- introducing a youth panel;
- reviewing the name of panel to include the word ‘customer’
- reviewing how the panel is promoted and ‘sold’ to customers to include that they can gain transferrable skills, improve their CV and employability, demonstrate a ‘work activity’ for benefit purposes, that it is an opportunity to be involved and give back;
- writing standalone articles in the tenant newsletter on the ways that customers can get their voices heard and explaining why it is important that Cornerstone hears them (to know what customers want);
- introducing a new ‘customer voices’ leaflet;
- ‘meet and greet’ fairs, which could be held in different areas, where customers can meet with Panel members and speak with the members about issues in areas in which customers live.
- follow up with customers that have provided feedback in surveys to see if Cornerstone has acted, the panel could help with verifying this and feeding back;
- provide more information to the panel on how Cornerstone resolves issues in neighbourhoods, through case studies and time with housing officers, this could also include a review on this specific area in 2023/24;
- promote more to customers the work that is taking place for example where Cornerstone has taken action on an anti-social behaviour case and actions from the annual tenant survey, this could increase further engagement;
- train staff on the customer standards;
- monitor better how they are performing against the customer service standards to ensure timely responses and follow up to customers, and the panel to be provided information on this;
- provide more communication to customers regarding the complaints process, what is and isn’t a complaint and provide regular training to staff.
