Theme 3

Resident voice

ESG Criteria 9-10

How customers hold the Group to account and how we capture and listen to customer feedback

We have a Customer Forum and local scrutiny. The Customer Forum meets monthly to support our Group Board by providing customer-based assurance that the consumer standards of the ‘Regulatory Regime for Social Housing in England’ are being met; that value for money is being achieved in service delivery to all Longhurst Group customers; and is in line with our vision of ‘improving lives’. Our Customer Forum ensures service delivery standards we’ve agreed for our customers are being achieved and that we meet the expectations and outcomes of the:

  • Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard
  • Tenancy Standard
  • Home Standard
  • Neighbourhood and Community Standard.

Ensuring that the customer involvement structure delivers on the consultation and review of landlord services, the Customer Forum monitors Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from our Performance Management Framework along with other information identified through customer feedback and insight. Identifying areas of customer assurance and escalating areas of customer non-assurance with the consumer standards to the Group Board. In conjunction with our colleagues the Customer Forum agrees a programme of service improvement scrutiny reviews that are linked to business objectives and customer priorities. The Forum produces an annual report: this is provided to the Longhurst Group Board and to all Longhurst Group customers and staff, detailing the impact of its activities. The Customer Forum can ‘call to scrutiny’ service areas they have concerns about which aren’t subject to an agreed review process. We adopt a task and finish scrutiny approach.

Customer satisfaction

We collect customer satisfaction across 15 key service areas. These are:

  • Annual heating servicing
  • Heating repairs
  • Responsive repairs
  • Planned works
  • Aids and adaptions
  • Defect repairs
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints outcome
  • Income call handling
  • Money advice service
  • Sales process
  • Lettings process
  • Condition of your home
  • ASB handling
  • ASB outcome.

The Improving Lives Panel

In partnership with the Group Board and Customer Forum a new co-regulatory platform has been implemented (known as the Improving Lives Panel). The panel is a co-creation body that explores and defines how we can be best assured that we’re hearing the widest possible range of customer voices and that they’re understood and considered in all matters relating to the consumer regulatory standards, at the most senior level. The panel ensures the voice of the customer is represented and informs decisions the Board makes. The panel also supports the work of the Customer Forum to ensure agreed service delivery standards for all customers. They also have oversight of the delivery of the Group’s 2025 Improving Lives strategy. The panel looks to:

  • Develop a clear pathway for the customer voice to influence key strategic decision making in key areas of customer impact; in line with (but not limited to) the new Consumer Standards.
  • Support us in meeting our commitment to the Together with Tenants Charter
  • Support the delivery of our Improving Lives 2025 strategy.

The Customer Forum monitors the implementation and outcomes of scrutiny reviews. Internal targets are set against transactional surveys and results are reported to the Group Board, Customer Forum, our colleagues and contractors. Actions to improve service are tracked, monitored and shared with key colleagues. We’ve seen improvement in some areas of the business and implemented change as a result of poor performance in others. The results of the Customer Perception Survey are shared alongside satisfaction scores and progress made through a ‘you said, we did’ format on our website and in the Our Voice customer newsletter.