2023-2024 marked the first year of the newly instituted tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs). At the beginning of October, we invited our housing clients to discuss their thoughts on the data that’s been collected to form a basis for better supporting tenants in the future.
Representatives from 19 housing providers, including the likes of Incommunities, L&Q and the Flagship Group, listened to and asked questions about our analysis of the latest findings, before splitting into smaller breakout sessions for more in-depth discussion on their specific experiences with the process.
Here’s what we found out:
Balancing function vs emotion
There were interesting points raised about the balance between functional and emotive service elements, highlighting the importance of both aspects in delivering a comprehensive service experience.
Customers often understate the significance of the more emotive service elements in their feedback. However, our findings showed that these elements are key drivers of overall satisfaction and truly matter to the customer experience. This insight has direct implications for low-cost home ownership (LCHO) customers, where the emphasis on functional service provision and commitment is less prominent.
Thought-provoking ideas were suggested on integrating perception data with operational data, such as property age and compliance age, to gain a deeper understanding of how these factors interact.
Bridging the complaints gap
It’s clear that there is a discrepancy between tenants believing they had raised a complaint and official complaint figures collected by housing providers. Our attendees quoted that approximately one-third of customers who spoke about their complaint handling experience had raised a formal complaint in the last 12 months.
The consensus was internal processes needed better coordination to improve the complaints process. Staff require more training on recognising complaints as expressions of dissatisfaction. Tenants need to have clearer guidance on flagging mechanisms and processes. In general, more frequent engagement would mean issues are picked up more accurately and promptly.
However, there was an acknowledgement of the challenges for smaller-sized organisations, which may lack the resources needed to operate an organised, well-structured system.
Opportunities to feedback on TSMs are valuable
Coming together to discuss the first year of tenant satisfaction measures was highly productive and beneficial. It can be useful to listen to findings and comment on processes in a group setting.
The sessions fostered healthy conversations around sharing ideas and best practice, meaning housing providers could learn from each other’s experience. Plus, it gave researchers and housing providers a chance to connect and understand a different perspective.
It was also encouraging to see how the discussion reinforced the shared commitment to enhancing the quality of housing services – the overarching aim for both researchers and social housing organisations.
Learn more about how we work to measure tenant satisfaction.