Orbit Group has reported that it’s the first UK housing provider to use real-time tenant feedback, based on software from Rant & Rave. Already used by the likes of Npower, Sky and EasyJet, the Rant & Rave platform is now the housing provider’s main channel for listening to what its tenants are saying.
Previously Orbit conducted telephone surveys with residents to monitor tenant satisfaction, but its research found that the process resulted in disengaged staff who felt removed from the feedback loop.
With real-time feedback, after a service request has been completed, tenants are invited to share a comment and score on their experience via text message, email, or via a voice recording. The scores and comments are then analysed in real time and presented back to staff using specially-designed ‘fast feedback’ dashboards.
Dean Ballard, head of performance excellence, Orbit Group, said, “Rant & Rave has allowed Orbit to bring the voice of the customer ‘front and centre’ within the business, change the way we think about service improvement and ensure that staff at all levels start to engage and own customer feedback.”
Real-time feedback has been rolled out across all of Orbit’s major service areas including its customer service centre, responsive repairs, planned maintenance, housing management and gas servicing.
More than 30,000 survey responses have been received so far and following the successful piloting of the platform, real-time feedback is now Orbit’s primary method for gathering regular service experience feedback.
The real-time feedback project has also helped change the way feedback is managed and acted on across the business. A ‘resolution team’ has been introduced to the customer service centre to proactively manage negative customer feedback. Customer service advisors can now identify an issue, contact the customer and put in steps to resolve any problems within 48 hours of receiving feedback.
Since implementing the feedback platform, Orbit is now working with a vastly improved volume of feedback, and with response rates up and tenants engaging well with the new method, service levels have also steadily improved, with an average satisfaction rating of 4.2 out of 5.
Real-time feedback has also had a positive impact on staff because it helps to identify when and where staff are going above and beyond their role on a daily basis; managers can use this information to reward and recognise good performance in real time too. In addition, the use of real-time feedback has helped to drive a decrease in sickness rates to less than five per cent and a 70 per cent reduction in the number of advisors on improvement plans.
