1st Touch has just launched a doorstep appointments module to simplify and speed up appointment scheduling by either mobile housing staff or by tenants through a self-service portal and self-service app.
Whilst visiting tenants at home, the new module enables mobile workers to book appointments through their handheld devices for services such as repairs, financial inclusion reviews or care assessments. This eliminates the need for staff to return to the office before attempting to schedule suitable times and dates or spend time getting hold of the appropriate members of staff to complete an appointment.
The software, which is integrated with 1st Touch’s 360-degree dashboard application, enables the operatives to request the best appointment times available, prioritise or rearrange any appointments already made, order text reminders, book follow-up actions and record related text and voice notes.
The new module also enables all operatives visiting a client to become multi-disciplinary, by offering appointments for a full range of services, not just those in their own area. So a repair operative can arrange a visit by a housing officer to discuss issues such as anti-social behaviour or estate issues. Alternatively, a care operative could arrange an appointment for a financial inclusion officer to discuss the prospects of a discretionary housing payment where, for example, a tenant has lost income through ill health.
The software can also be used as part of 1st Touch’s tenant self-service portal and app, enabling tenants to book appointments themselves online through their own devices.
Greg Johns, CEO, 1st Touch, said, “Many housing providers want to mobilise tenant-facing staff and need the tools to support this level of engagement with their tenants. The new module meets these requirements, significantly improving operational efficiency by ensuring that mobile staff can request a full range of appointments when visiting tenants at home.
“Similarly, by building this same technology into our tenancy self-service portal, tenants can take control of the appointment scheduling process at their own convenience and through their own devices.”
