The newly imposed tenant satisfaction measures are making waves in the housing sector, as the UK government embarks on its mission to increase landlord accountability. These measures, which focus on effective communication, enhanced safety and more, aim to set a new standard for the social tenant experience.
This, however, does not come without its challenges.
Landlords and associations must balance limited resource to comply with stringent requirements. By embracing tools like cloud contact centres, the housing sector can provide an enhanced level of tenant support and communication, without placing added pressure on both human and financial resources.
In this guide, we explore what the new tenant satisfaction measures mean for landlords and how cloud contact centres can support with compliance and success.
Understanding the new tenant satisfaction measures
In 2022, the UK government introduced a series of tenant satisfaction measures aimed at enhancing the quality and accountability of social housing across the country. After all, 80% of the social housing population consists of residents experiencing long-term illness, disability and other vulnerable circumstances.
As a result, these measures provide a framework for benchmarking the standards of homes and services provided, ensuring these tenants receive a high level of care and support. Social landlords are now required to meet specific criteria in key areas that directly impact tenant satisfaction, including:
1. Timely and effective communication
Social landlords must maintain open and effective communication channels with tenants. This includes providing timely responses to inquiries, updates on ongoing issues, and clear information about services and rights.
2. Prompt and appropriate handling of repairs and maintenance
Landlords are required to address repair and maintenance requests swiftly and efficiently. This involves having systems in place for tenants to report issues easily and ensuring that these issues are resolved within an appropriate timescale.
3. Ensuring tenant safety and security
Landlords must comply with all health and safety regulations, conduct regular safety checks, and promptly address any safety concerns raised by tenants. This includes fire safety, electrical safety, and general building security measures.
It is clear these changes are essential for providing appropriate care to social tenants. However, this does pose challenges for landlords and associations that must now review resource allocation and operations to fulfill measures effectively.
A seemingly unlikely piece of technology playing a pivotal role in achieving these goals is cloud contact centres.
How can cloud contact centres support landlords in complying with tenant satisfaction measures?
A cloud contact centre is a web-based platform that integrates with and consolidates business communication channels, from phone systems to live chat features, offering a suite of features to enhance the delivery of customer service.
These solutions have been successful in improving efficiencies and streamlining processes in the social housing sector through features that include:
Criteria-based routing
Criteria-based routing enables social landlords and housing associations to deliver priority care to tenants, which is crucial when dealing with vulnerable individuals. This customisable tool can identify important customer groups when they begin an interaction, ensuring they are prioritised in the queue and can even be routed to specific departments or contacts for specialised support.
By automating this process, landlords can enhance the level of care offered without adding to their workload or incurring the costs of hiring additional staff to manage tenant interactions.
Omnichannel communications
With numerous communication methods available, keeping tenants informed can be a costly and overwhelming task, especially for those managing multiple residences. Cloud contact centres offer omnichannel communications, streamlining all channels—from voice calls to email—into one cohesive and user-friendly platform. This means no more juggling multiple tabs and devices to manage different communications activity. With a cloud contact centre, everything can be managed from just one platform and device.
As well as saving time and minimising the impact of context switching, this solution provides landlords with increased visibility over tenant interactions and improved control over communications, making it easier to monitor progress on maintenance requests and provide timely updates. Additionally, by consolidating all channels in one space, social landlords can better accommodate the accessibility needs of their largely vulnerable population, making communication more convenient and inclusive for all.
Reporting & call recording
The latest tenant satisfaction measures require landlords to audit and report on their service standards annually, a task that is important yet costly. Cloud contact centres offer comprehensive reporting tools to help track and monitor service performance and export findings to support annual audits.
Moreover, call recording features allow landlords to document live interactions with tenants. These recordings can be used as evidence, inform training strategies, and ensure compliance with satisfaction measures, providing an added layer of accountability and transparency without straining limited resources.
It’s clear, with a robust solution like a cloud contact centre, social landlords and housing associations can fulfill tenant satisfaction measures with ease. With a suite of intelligent tools, delivering a higher standard of care and ensuring compliance can be both efficient and cost-effective.
Meet DHV Contact, the home for total tenant satisfaction
DHV Contact, our trusted cloud contact centre, equips social landlords and housing associations across the UK with the tools needed to achieve more with less.
Our smart features, including VIP Routing, have been expertly designed to save time and money while ensuring compliance with data and regulatory standards.
Simplify tenant satisfaction measures, speak to a specialist about DHV Contact today.
Make the right call for the student experience, choose DHV Contact.
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