An independent survey commissioned by Kana Software of IT executives from housing providers managing a combined portfolio of more than 1.5 million properties in the UK has found that while most recognise the importance of new technology in delivering efficiencies and better services to tenants, fewer than 20 per cent have a full understanding of their existing systems.
During the next 2-3 years, only 3 per cent of organisations thought that all of their services would be available online, almost half (47 per cent) believed that the majority of their services will remain offline and 10 per cent had no plans to implement mobile access for tenants.
However, those statistics belie the objectives of most housing providers, with 92 per cent of them wanting a 360-degree view of their tenants, but only 25 per cent had an IT system capable of actually doing so, 93 per cent already have or are considering the implementation of web-based self-service platforms, and 81 per cent claim that the use of social media is important to enhancing service delivery to tenants.
David Moody, head of worldwide product development, Kana Software, said, “Our research shows a disparity between the positive intentions of housing providers to improve services and the actual strategies in place to do so. The majority of housing providers see social media and self-service as valuable elements, yet many have no plans to integrate such platforms with digital channels.
“Most surprisingly, this research would suggest that housing providers’ IT executives are not fully embracing the tools they already have, with 82 per cent not up to date with their CRM functionality; by re-purposing existing technologies, moving services online need not be a costly exercise, with significant benefits to all tenant.”
