Making sure we have the information we need to improve

To make sure that we're making the right decisions for you, we need to better understand the needs, wants, and aspirations of all our customers.

That's why last year we undertook our customer census. We want to say thank you to all of the 2,094 customers who took the time to answer our questions.

We want to continue to keep our information up-to-date, and we're doing this through our ongoing customer conversations. These involve our teams visiting you at your home to talk about anything we can do to help support you. You might also hear these calls referred to as "tenancy audits".

Over the coming weeks we'll be speaking to as many customers as we can - all we ask is that you let us in and have some form of ID available to make sure we are talking to the person whose name is on the tenancy agreement.

• Our Neighbourhood teams have now returned to “patch working”, meaning that each neighbourhood will have a dedicated officer working in the area. We’re using some of the information you shared with us to help us to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for your area. A list of Neighbourhood Housing Officers is available on our website.
• You told us that it was important that we were able to resolve queries at first time of asking and first point of contact more effectively. You told us that you wanted us to make it easier to get in touch with us, and that we needed to make sure that we continue to learn from any complaints and feedback. We are working hard to improve our contact centre and complaints services; putting new processes in place so we can respond more rapidly and effectively.
• You told us it was usually straightforward to raise a repair with us, but that we could do better on how we communicate with you about our repairs and planned maintenance. Our Representative Body is currently looking at this as one of their ongoing scrutiny projects. We're committed to continuing to invest in our homes to ensure they are safe and warm. Last year we invested £27 million in our existing homes. This included 792 new kitchens, 531 new boilers, and 331 new bathrooms. You can read more about this in our annual report.
• You told us that tackling anti-social behaviour was a huge priority for you. We have a zero-tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour, and we're working hard with our partners and communities, as well as with Greater Manchester Police, to make things better. Our award-winning partnership on Freehold, Operation Affect, has made a real difference for our customers. You also told us how important it was for us to improve the look and feel of your local areas - whether that is through reducing litter or improving facilities. We’re using our colleague volunteering scheme to help make our neighbourhood spaces greener and brighter.
• We also asked you what you thought about our membership and mutuality. We know we have more to do to share with you how our mutual society makes a real difference. Through their action plan, you'll be hearing more from our Representative Body members over the coming months about the difference they are making for our colleagues and customers. If you're not yet a member, why not join up today?