Scrutiny review - Communication

Please be aware that this project was completed before Longhurst Group merged with Grand Union Housing Group to become Amplius.

We’re pleased that our customer-led Scrutiny Team has now completed its latest review of our services.

The focus of this review was communication. As this is a large topic, our Customer Forum requested that the team focus on ‘a lack of return contact from Longhurst Group and its contractors.’

Introduction to the service

To start the review process, the Scrutiny Team was introduced to our systems by Becky Budge, Customer Engagement Officer. The team was shown:

  • The different ways customers can contact us, and which teams each type of contact goes to.

  • The Customer Charter and Customer Service policy.

  • How cases are logged on our system for incoming contact.

  • Dashboards where all open cases are held for each team.

  • How Team Leaders and Managers can monitor cases on our system.

  • Who responds to open cases.

  • What key performance indicators (KPIs) we have relating to customer service.

  • Useful information relating to communication and performance.

Reviewing our data

Following this, the team planned out its review and requested the following information from us so they could learn more about our current communication:

  • Complaints data relating to communication.

  • Process maps relating to Longhurst Group and contractors’ communication.

  • Snapshot report of all current open cases on our system.

  • Report on recent calls to advise how many calls the Customer Services Team resolved in an average week.

Interviewing a colleague

After analysing this information, the team requested to interview Jackie Harris, Head of Customer Service. The team met with Jackie and asked her questions about the following:

  • Customer Services Team staffing levels and recruitment.

  • What’s working well and what needs to be improved.

  • Responsibility for cases and customer service throughout the organisation.

Listening to other customers

The team decided that it wanted to hear more directly from other customers. They designed a survey and sent it to 5,250 customers that had recently been in contact with Longhurst Group. They asked questions about:

  • Their experience of contacting by phone or contact form.

  • How long it took for their query to be responded to.

  • If they were kept informed on the progress of their query.

  • Generally, how they felt about communication from Longhurst Group and contractors.

Improving the service

The Scrutiny Team used all this information to write recommendations for the service and completed a report, which was presented to relevant colleagues including Directors and Heads of Service.

We’re pleased to be able to share the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Team. You can find these in the below news story. Our Customer Forum is now monitoring the implementation of these recommendations, and we’ll update this page with the progress being made.

We take our customer-led Scrutiny Team’s feedback very seriously and are continuously striving to improve our services to better meet our customers’ needs. We thank all members of the Scrutiny Team for their valuable insights, and we’re committed to implementing the recommendations as quickly as possible.

Please be aware that this project was completed before Longhurst Group merged with Grand Union Housing Group to become Amplius.

We’re pleased that our customer-led Scrutiny Team has now completed its latest review of our services.

The focus of this review was communication. As this is a large topic, our Customer Forum requested that the team focus on ‘a lack of return contact from Longhurst Group and its contractors.’

Introduction to the service

To start the review process, the Scrutiny Team was introduced to our systems by Becky Budge, Customer Engagement Officer. The team was shown:

  • The different ways customers can contact us, and which teams each type of contact goes to.

  • The Customer Charter and Customer Service policy.

  • How cases are logged on our system for incoming contact.

  • Dashboards where all open cases are held for each team.

  • How Team Leaders and Managers can monitor cases on our system.

  • Who responds to open cases.

  • What key performance indicators (KPIs) we have relating to customer service.

  • Useful information relating to communication and performance.

Reviewing our data

Following this, the team planned out its review and requested the following information from us so they could learn more about our current communication:

  • Complaints data relating to communication.

  • Process maps relating to Longhurst Group and contractors’ communication.

  • Snapshot report of all current open cases on our system.

  • Report on recent calls to advise how many calls the Customer Services Team resolved in an average week.

Interviewing a colleague

After analysing this information, the team requested to interview Jackie Harris, Head of Customer Service. The team met with Jackie and asked her questions about the following:

  • Customer Services Team staffing levels and recruitment.

  • What’s working well and what needs to be improved.

  • Responsibility for cases and customer service throughout the organisation.

Listening to other customers

The team decided that it wanted to hear more directly from other customers. They designed a survey and sent it to 5,250 customers that had recently been in contact with Longhurst Group. They asked questions about:

  • Their experience of contacting by phone or contact form.

  • How long it took for their query to be responded to.

  • If they were kept informed on the progress of their query.

  • Generally, how they felt about communication from Longhurst Group and contractors.

Improving the service

The Scrutiny Team used all this information to write recommendations for the service and completed a report, which was presented to relevant colleagues including Directors and Heads of Service.

We’re pleased to be able to share the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Team. You can find these in the below news story. Our Customer Forum is now monitoring the implementation of these recommendations, and we’ll update this page with the progress being made.

We take our customer-led Scrutiny Team’s feedback very seriously and are continuously striving to improve our services to better meet our customers’ needs. We thank all members of the Scrutiny Team for their valuable insights, and we’re committed to implementing the recommendations as quickly as possible.

  • Recommendations and actions

    Glossary of terms used within the recommendations.

    Cases: These are created when a customer contacts us. A ‘case’ is logged on our system, Dynamics. This’ll have all useful information about the issue reported and the customer in a timeline so that colleagues can work on the case.

    Dashboard: Every individual and every team has a ‘dashboard’ where cases sit. On dashboards they can see how many cases they have and when they’re due to be resolved etc. All Team Leaders and Managers can see this information for their whole team.

    Service Level agreements (SLAs): This is the agreed timescales that an action should be completed in.

    RAG rating (red, amber, green rating): This is used in different ways. On cases it’s used to show if the case is within timescale (green), approaching its due date (amber) or overdue (red). On the below table we’ve used a RAG rating to show the progress of actions: complete (green), in progress (amber), action outstanding (red).

    You said: We did: Latest updates: Progress:
    1. Ensure all overdue, long-term open cases and cases that are held by people who no longer work for Longhurst Group are reviewed and resolved/relocated. Provide a monthly update on these cases including the number of overdue/outstanding cases, details of cases that have been closed to the Scrutiny Team/Customer Forum. This can be in meetings or an email update.
         		Review all cases as a matter of urgency.

    • All open cases were reviewed immediately.

    • Cases owned by any colleagues who no longer worked for the business were reallocated.

    • All overdue cases were reviewed, any necessary actions were taken, and any contact needed was made with customers.

    • Case numbers were reduced.

    • An update was provided to the Scrutiny Team on all of the above and clarity given on why some cases needed to be open for a long time.
    • Going forward, a quarterly update will be provided to the Customer Forum so they can monitor case management.

    		Complete.

    2. A process for all Team Leaders / Managers to review their team’s cases, volume of cases, case deadlines etc. regularly should be implemented. Share this information with the team so that they can see how they’re performing and what needs to be improved. Any findings such as barriers to why they can’t meet SLAs should be escalated.

    3. Ensure all staff have a monthly one-to-one with a set structure to ensure all staff are working to the Customer Charter and relevant policies, SLAs etc. Review cases etc. to make sure that this is being done with a process in place for when it isn’t being done to find out why not and create a plan for how it’ll be done in future.


    Regular one- to-ones will be completed with all colleagues and the open cases will be reviewed with their line manager as a part of this.

    Dashboards will be standardised across the business to ensure everyone has the same view, reducing the risk of missing cases or tasks.


    • A new app has been introduced for one-to-ones with colleagues.
    • There’s more monitoring to ensure that regular one-to-ones are being completed with all colleagues.
    • Dashboards that hold colleague’s workloads have been standardised so that team leaders and managers can easily see their team’s workloads.
    • Our People Services Team is going to create some guidelines for line managers to follow when they have a team member leave. This will ensure a smoother handover of work.

    		In progress.
    4. Write a process map for the journey of cases, showing different avenues, timescales etc. that customers should expect responses and resolutions. Include an escalation process for long term open cases to help look at ways they can be resolved. This’ll help with training and understanding of case management. Centralise the process for process maps.

    • Following discussion about this recommendation it was decided that process maps should be centralised.

    • This’ll ensure a set process for review, audit, and maintaining our process maps.

    • Currently they are each team’s responsibility meaning they’re maintained in different ways.

    • This work is already underway and will continue to be worked on and improved during our merger to keep processes aligned.


    		In progress.
    5. Customer Service Team operation times should be reviewed, with the possibility of extending these times to include earlier start / later finish (7am to 7pm perhaps?) and possibly a weekend service. Consultation with HR to ensure flexible working hours may be required and incorporated into new starter contracts.

    Our Customer Services Team is now taking emergency repair calls from 8.30am.

    There will be no further changes to opening hours at this time.


    • This was discussed and, to successfully operate extra hours during weekends and late evenings, you also need other teams as well as Customer Services to ensure we’re not becoming a messaging service. This comes with a large cost.
    • A project is currently ongoing to improve the ways customers can do things and report issues with various aspects of their tenancy digitally. The feeling is that once this has improved, many customers have the option to do this anytime, rather than try to call during working hours etc.
    • However, we have used the feedback and updated our hours. Our Customer Services Team is now taking emergency repair calls from 8.30am.
    		Complete.
    6. Introduce a new system on cases that highlights the need for a customer update (like the RAG rating) regularly so that colleagues don’t miss contacting a customer. We feel a maximum of 14 days for updates to customers on open cases where appointments haven’t been made. Improve and update RAG ratings on cases.

    • There are currently RAG ratings on cases, but these don’t cover reminders for contact.

    • Our Director of Housing and Customer Service is looking into how we can introduce a system to alert colleagues when a customer is due an update on their case.

    • Unfortunately, this’ll take time to get the requirements together and introduced, but we’ll continue to get updates and add them here.


    		In progress.
    7. Regularly review a sample of repairs where there have been delays, no access etc. and raise common issues with the contractors. Desktop quality assurance reviews are already being completed.
    • Work is already being done to highlight the issues with the service and so these reviews are naturally taking place.

      We’ll have more information on this action soon.
    		In progress.
    8. Record all departments’ calls, not just Customer Services, so that there’s a record of updates and conversations with customers. This won’t be introduced at this time.

    • The cost to introduce this would be approximately £80 per person per month. It’s a cost prohibitive recommendation.

    • We can confirm on Microsoft Teams if a call or attempt at a call has been made by a colleague if there’s a dispute about this.


    		N/A.
Page last updated: 13 Dec 2024, 08:26 AM