To receive verbal updates on the new strategy for Housing Repairs Service from Dave Hodgson, Director of Asset Management and also on the contact centre for housing repairs from Ade Aderemi, Head of Customer Services.
Minutes:
The commission then heard from Dave Hodgson, Ade Aderemi and Marc Cook on the following topics
· Repairs Improvement Plan looking granularly at issues within the repairs process along with resident engagement and feedback to come up with a Repairs Action Plan
· Uniqueness of Southwark’s housing stock with 85% of homes in flats which is 50,000 homes; 70% of repair issues are water related such as floor ingress, roof leaks, heating leak, bath overspills etc. making it quite complex to diagnose
· Scope of plans have been broadened to include leaseholders who are affected by issues from resident homes and other communal repairs
· Housing Quality Network (HQN) independently selected organisation who are reviewing the repairs service in detail; implementing their findings in the HQN report into the wider repairs improvement plan.
· Repairs improvement workload grown substantially due to influx of the government led complaints service on damp and mould.
· Need for resources that are qualified to carry out repairs, Council funding issues.
· Resident Board meetings which includes tenant forums dealing with issues on the repairs agenda
· Recruitment of multi-trade operatives as 85% of operatives are single trade and residents are frustrated due to multiple visits require to repair a complex case; Dedicated teams for mould and damp.
· Update to Housing data and work management systems and IT Systems throughout the service; Leaflets with QR codes leading to the repairs website, reporting repairs by taking pictures through the website, text messaging for repair scheduling
· Using Power Business Intelligence (BI) for smart monitoring of asset management data through extrapolating data on homes, buildings and estates to identify common issues.
· Estate action days based on resident feedback, supplying residents with hydrometers for damp and mould measurements
· 200% rise in repairs cases from November 2022 onwards
· Repairs service working together with Asset Management in developing a pro-active and preventive approach to repairs by bringing the service, engagement and feedback mechanisms to residents, Tenants and Residents Association (TRAs).
· Covid backlog of repairs has been now completed
The commission then asked question on the following themes
· Multiple failures as a part of the repairs improvement plan
· Repairs improvement plan, first time fixes metrics, HQN report time lines
· Damp and mould team successes, supply change and liaison council contact for managing estate agents
· Issues with recruitment policies, pay scale and resourcing
· Working mechanism between Asset Management and Repairs, proactive maintenance or preventive maintenance
Dave informed the commission that multiple failures or calls are a result of single trade operatives having to visit the same home due to the complex nature of the repair and variety of skills required, such repairs often lead to frustration for the resident as repairs might only be half way through to completion in the first visit. Telematics on operative vehicles is due to be introduced to track operatives in real time and match operatives to repair jobs in the community based on their location. Operatives are being continuously trained in variety of issues faced such a as pest control issues during repairs, operatives have to contact their supervisors to report the reasons for not completing a job, residents are then notified by text and phone calls.
Dave explained to the commission that first time fixes are at 70-75% with a target of 90-95%, improvement expected when more multi trade operatives are employed. On HQN the commission learnt that the final report is expected in the next few days and will be made public including Southwark’s response to recommendations in the report with target dates for implementation.
On Damp and Mould team the commission heard from Marc Cook, Customer Journey Lead that inspection visits are carried out within 5 days and followed up within 30 days. There is a backup supply chain bringing in damp and mould surveyors from the market. Liaison council officers do contact estate agents in managing properties.
Dave explained to the commission that the corporate elements such as policies, resourcing and pay scales have to be discussed with HR and unions to protect existing staff force as well as hiring new staff, IT systems are a cause for frustration with the technological advancements planned in the repairs service. Asset management is working with repairs to analyse estates in a holistic way with regards to its needs and issues. There are also plan to have an Area Repairs Manager working with TRA’s and resident managers. Data led approach such as stock condition surveys of housing stock and appropriate funding measures which would be important steps in reaching a stage where proactive and preventive maintenance can be carried out.
Dave informed the commission that there is a need to lobby government to have greater access to grants and funding, considering Southwark’s unique position and the lack of a funding structure.
The commission then heard from Ade Aderemi on the contact centre and customer operations around the following points.
· 50% of all calls are repairs issues; repeat calling mainly due to Covid and subsequent avoidable contact, chasing existing jobs from backlogs
· Contact centre staff carry out a basic diagnosis, code it appropriately on the system and pass it on to the fulfilment team, they do not control the repair contractors or operatives
· Contact centre agents sometimes spend 40 minutes on a call with repeat callers to chase contractors on the second line to get an update on their repair work, majority of repeat calls are a result of the repair works that could not be carried out during Covid and have now resulted in multiple repairs
· Repair contractors are inundated with repair jobs over the winter months; from the third week of March a tenant liaison team has been setup in the contact centre to record details of repair issues and calling back customers with resolutions thus freeing up the lines for new repairs and other calls. This has brought the average waiting time down from 20mins to 2mins and 14s.
· Call Answer rate is at 89% and corporately target for Service Level Agreement (SLA) is 75%, however SLA Levels are at 77%; 94.5% of 2,269 calls for chasing repair works have been fulfilled by the repairs team.
· Call monitoring process has indicated that complaints are always unrelated to call handling. Currently repeat callers account for 42% and a potential target would be to reduce this further in the repairs improvement plan.
The commission then asked questions on the following themes
· IT System- Fit for purpose
· Clear communication and sign posting to residents from contact centre agents
· Omni channel
Ade explained to the commission there is much needed improvement to the IT service which is shared with two other Local Authorities and there is a need for the contact centre IT services and its issues to be prioritised.
Marc and Ade explained to the commission that in quarterly meetings clear procedures and signposting details are shared with contact centre agents for the benefit of customers and also that the Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) System informs the customer of quicker ways to report issues and queries online whilst waiting on a call.
Ade informed the commission that Omni channel is used to understand and customise the delivery of services for the customer, this is achieved by tracking the customer journey through different channels such as face to face, online, telephone and web chat. Omni channel is based on the fundamental of ‘digital by design and accessible by choice’ where customer is tracked through a unique identifier on the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Omni channel is part of the new repairs service strategy where it looks at all channels of resident communication including the elderly and disabled people who often use the voice channel.