In 2024, Teign Housing needs to be working predictively by using AI, rather than focusing solely on what has already happened. That’s exactly what Housing Insight is doing, which is one of the reasons we chose to work with the software provider.
Teign Housing brought in Housing Insight because we needed better engagement with our tenants. Before we started using Housing Insight’s self-service app, which sits in its PanConnect solution, tenants had to call the office each time they wanted to find out basic information, such as about their rent statements. Now, tenants can log into the app and see not only their current rent statement but also previous statements and any arrears information; this is valuable data. Digital delivery also means that tenants aren’t stuck in long telephone queues and our staff have freedom to manage their working time more efficiently.
Importantly for us, Housing Insight’s self-service app is AI-driven. It uses big data to predict future behaviours, such as analysing a tenant’s previous financial behaviour to assess the probability of that tenant defaulting on a future rent payment. This approach not only helps us to minimise future arrears but it also enables early-stage interventions and timely support for our tenants, such as if it looks likely that a tenant will end up in arrears within six months if they continue their current financial behaviour.
Boosting functionality
We appreciate the ‘push notifications’ functionality within the self-service app. We can send three types of push notification: the first is an individual message, such as informing a tenant that they have gone into arrears or to let them know that they have set up an account but forgotten to add their mobile number; the second is a reminder seven days later if they still haven’t logged into their account to address the issue; thirdly, we can also send a broadcast to all of our tenants if we have a general message that everyone needs to hear.
We can see when tenants are most active within the app and use this to send communications at a time that will maximise engagement. Within the first six months, we received 237 updates from tenants, which has been invaluable in helping us to keep our database current.
Our tenants can also use various tools within the app, such as the debt repayment plan that enables people to set up their own repayments towards arrears. This option has been very popular, with 42 repayment plans set up within the first six months.
Processing repairs
We’re currently working with Housing Insight to add a repairs scheduling function to the app. At the moment, there’s a two-day turnaround to raise a repair request manually and then a further 12-18 days to schedule a repair. This waiting time will virtually disappear because Housing Insight’s app will let our tenants upload a photo of the fault and, for those basic faults that don’t require authorisation, they’ll immediately be invited to select an appointment date and time to suit them. In addition, they will receive push notifications to keep them up-to-date on the progress of their repair request.
Growing users
Within a few months of launching the app, over 20 per cent of our 4,000 tenants had registered to become users, and we are now running a mini-project to increase that figure. We also want to develop a strategy to draw out the data from the portal so we can improve our business services. For example, we know from Housing Insight that registration rates of over 60 per cent are possible over time, and we’re keen to find out from other housing providers what does and doesn’t work when it comes to growing users.
Working with Housing Insight
In my view, Housing Insight should be building the entire platform! We’ve found the systems from other software providers to be very silo-based; there may be, say, four department heads who share topline information in a meeting once a month but the rest of the data remains compartmentalised. Working with Housing Insight has been refreshingly different.
I joined Teign Housing four months into its initial project with Housing Insight, and have been working with them since October 2023 and it’s been a really positive experience. What has particularly impressed me is Housing Insight’s flexibility; they will listen to what we need and try to find an answer for us quickly.
Grab a developer
As an example, I can be on a call with one of Housing Insight’s account managers and if I have a question they can’t immediately answer, they will pause the conversation, immediately grab a developer and bring them onto the call so that we can move forwards and get traction again.
In my experience, most other companies have their own agendas and much longer timescales for solving problems. Conversations tend to include a ‘sales-y’ component, with reps trying to book me in for a data consultation. And if I want to raise a specific question, I have to go through the helpdesk, which can involve a multi-day delay before I get connected to a developer. If it then takes a further week for the developer to respond, I can easily end up losing a month and a half just to get to the bottom of one question. I appreciate the fact that Housing Insight removes all of this red tape.
Finally, Housing Insight’s products are on the money; in my view, they are well-priced and offer great value.
Kaiser Mace is the software applications team leader at Teign Housing.
