1. You were unhappy with our approach to handling ASB (Anti-Social Behaviour)
We did
- Set up two dedicated focus groups to engage with residents who had first-hand accounts of dissatisfaction, to see what learning could be taken from this
- Improve the information on our website so residents know how to contact us to report ASB, and what we will do when they report this to us
- Publicised some case studies to help residents understand the positive outcomes which can be achieved
- Introduced an after-care survey and support process, to gain more real-time feedback and to ensure residents are not left feeling dissatisfied
- Increased supervision and monitoring over ASB Casework, to ensure residents are always getting the best outcomes for their case
We will do
- We aim to increase the number of ASB reports being made to us, as they contain vital information and intelligence that we can act upon, and work with partners, to tackle more serious issues in our neighbourhoods
2. You were not satisfied that we keep communal areas clean and well maintained
We did
- Introduced a brand new ‘Clean and Green’ team within Housing Services, to focus on transforming spaces across our neighbourhoods. We’ve had some great ‘before’ and ‘after’ successes, and we’re developing a cyclical programme to keep on top of more than 90 hot-spot areas.
We will do
- We have put forward a number of Social Value projects to our main contractor, Equans, to see if they can help us to improve some of our communal areas, with their Social Value funding programme and their staff volunteering hours.
3. You were unhappy with our approach to handling Complaints
We did
- Cleared a backlog of overdue complaints, to ensure we were able to respond to new complaints in a timely manner. We have increased performance considerably as a result of this.
- We established a ‘Service Excellence Group’ which is a panel made up of residents who have recently had to complain. They meet to discuss how their case was handled and what was good, and what needed to improve. We use the learning from these sessions to make real-life changes to the way we work, and we feed this back to the group for their oversight and assurance.
- We created a dedicated complaints surveyor role and three complaints resolution officer roles, to ensure there is ownership and accountability for every single complaint. Residents told us they want to know who is managing their complaint, and this has really helped to reassure residents that they know who to contact if they have an issue.
- Residents who were waiting for compensation told us they had to wait too long, so we changed the payment process and this has cut wait times down by more than 75% on average. We now pay compensation within an average of 5-10 working days.
- We introduced an after-care survey, so we could capture resident feedback in real-time and ensure that the resident was satisfied with the way their complaint was handled.
We will do
- We are going to share more outcomes of this work with residents, to help them feel reassured that we are learning from complaints. We will be creating videos, social posts and newsletters which help to spread this message.
4. You felt the Repairs Service needed to improve
In particular there needed to be improvements to communication, timescales for repair, quality of work and knowing what service levels we were working to.
We did
- Introduce a dedicated Repairs Service Standard, which was co-created with residents, which sets out our repair types (e.g. emergency, urgent, routine) and the timescales we aim to complete those repair types within.
- Our repairs service has just launched it’s ‘Getting the basics right’ campaign – which is a joint way or working with Equans, that focuses on 7 key principles. These are:
- Launched a ‘Work in Progress’ tracker, so we could see clearly what jobs were outstanding and overdue, and work pro-actively with Equans to tackle the oldest jobs and clear the backlog. Part of this work involved Equans recruiting 18 additional Operatives, and we’ve nearly halved the number of outstanding repairs as a result.
We will do
- The ‘Your Voice Resident Scrutiny Group’ will be conducting a scrutiny exercise on the Repairs Service, to ensure it is working effectively, in line with the Service Standard residents co-designed. They will take around 6-months to review multiple aspects of the service and they will create a series of recommendations, which they will report back to all residents and our Housing Advisory Board.
5. Some residents didn’t feel that their home was safe
In some cases this was because of anti-social behaviour and in other instances this was linked to things like fire and building safety concerns
We did
- Established a Building Safety Team that includes two dedicated Building Safety Resident Engagement officers. They are running sessions across all our high-rise buildings to engage with residents about fire and building safety. They are part of a wider team looking at building safety strategies and communication with residents.
- We took action to address concerns with our ASB service, as outlined above.
We will do
- Continue to develop our Building Safety offer and engagement with residents about this. We will introduce building-specific engagement strategies, which address the diverse needs of residents, and we will continue to work with the Building Safety Regulator and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to ensure our buildings are as safe as possible.
6. Some respondents were not satisfied that we listen to their views and act upon them
We did
- The Your Voice Resident Scrutiny group conducted their first scrutiny exercise on Resident Engagement, and they have been instrumental in driving for a ‘Resident First’ culture, which is underpinned by an official strategy. This will ensure that residents are placed at the very centre of all decisions and involved in shaping services and that they are being listened to.
We will do
- Launch our Resident First Strategy in Autumn 2025, and we will set out really clearly how we have been embracing a new values-based culture across Housing Services, which will underpin our ‘Resident First’ approach.
7. Some respondents were not satisfied that their landlord keeps them informed about things that matter to them
We did
- We introduced an electronic Residents bulletin that goes out once a month and covers lots of useful information and we are working hard to get more people signed up to receive this. To ensure you receive a copy, please let our customer service centre know your email address on your next call!
We will do
- We commit to exploring the option to re-introduce a paper-based newsletter, which would go out twice per year to those residents who cannot receive it via e-mail. We intend to work with our active resident groups to discuss options and agree on a solution that is inclusive as possible.
8. Residents reported that they didn’t know how MCC was making a positive contribution to Neighbourhoods, more generally.
They weren’t sure what added-value services or support were available, or what positive outcomes were being achieved
We will do
- We will use our monthly e-bulletin, our social channels and any future newsletters to share information with residents about the ways MCC Housing Services is supporting the wider community and it’s neighbourhoods. This will include information on Hobins Fund activities, local events and summer fundays, Money Advice support, energy efficiency advice service, social value activities and much more…
