Friday Hill Tenant Management Organisation is using a text messaging service from SDM Housing to communicate better with its tenants, and in the process winning an award for innovative use of social media from the National Federation of TMOs.
Friday Hill implemented the SDM service in February 2012 at a cost of around £4,000. The TMO, which manages homes on behalf of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, is using text messaging to inform tenants about appointments for repairs, changes to welfare reform, local events and board meetings.
Jeremy Carson, director, Friday Hill TMO, said, “We have seen an increase in the response rate for the repairs satisfaction survey from 26 per cent to just under 40 per cent, while substantially reducing the cost of collecting this data. We previously spent £4,000 per year on mailing out repairs satisfaction questionnaires but the texting service has reduced this to just over £100 per year.”
Joe Robinson, chairman, Friday Hill TMO, said, “Many of our residents are elderly so it’s really helpful to be able to communicate with so many of them in this way, especially in an emergency. For example, when part of the area we look after suffered a major power cut, we used the text messaging service to advise residents about the problem and keep them informed about the repairs.”
