hounslow homes
Excellent Housing Services with Excellent Prospects for Improvement
Challenge
In 2000, the government made a commitment to bring all homes up to a decent standard by 2010, placing a responsibility on local authorities to set a timetable for eliminating backlogs of repairs, carrying out ongoing maintenance and taking the necessary actions to ensure targets were met.
In order to provide local authorities with sufficient funds to invest in their housing stock, as well as making the necessary improvements to achieve the required standard of decency, the government launched three structure options: arms length management organisations (ALMOs), private finance initiatives and transfer of stock to housing associations.
Following a successful consultation with council tenants, Hounslow Homes was formed in April 2002 as one of the first ALMOs in the country.
Although wholly owned by the London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow Homes is run as an entirely separate limited company managing the council’s 16,500 homes and delivering £100 million of refurbishment and improvement works to achieve the decent homes standard by 2006 - four years before the government’s 2010 deadline.
Solution
During the initial stage of the ALMO formation, NCC Group was commissioned to develop a strategy for the deployment and exploitation of ICT solutions which would support the business aspirations of the new organisation.
This ‘vision’ was developed following significant consultation with Hounslow Homes including the new Management Board, the management team, housing operatives and repairs staff. Consultation was also undertaken with customer representative groups which assisted the development of ‘a day in the life’ of a typical tenant to create an objective and accurate picture of the needs of Hounslow Homes' customers.
NCC Group then created a robust development plan incorporating recommendations for customer service and business process improvements and mapped these options to Hounslow Homes’ new vision. Once the plan for the future was agreed and adopted, NCC Group was retained by Hounslow Homes to manage the further development and deployment of the strategic ICT Programme.
The first phase of the ICT Programme involved a review of processes, the evaluation of existing systems and procurement and implementation of new systems. A primary deliverable from this stage was the rationalisation of system usage plus the enhancement of the core systems to deliver additional functionality.
Results
During the course of the ICT Programme, return on investment had been evident across the board, including the cost of materials for appointed repairs reduced by £400,000 per year, while at the same time customer satisfaction levels increased from 50% to 90%.
Another major achievement during the early phase of the project was the significant improvement to the repairs service, and following a Best Value Inspection in October 2002 Hounslow Homes achieved a two star “good” rating with “promising” prospects for improvement.
Hounslow Homes became the first ALMO to be awarded the highest possible ‘three star’ status with ‘excellent prospects for improvement’ under new government rules following its inspection and the ICT development programme is set to continue at pace.
Hounslow Homes also became the first ALMO to follow the government’s national projects initiatives by beginning the implementation of a customer relationship management (CRM) system to enable greater efficiency and improved customer services. This will further enhance the current call centre service and allow customers to interact with Hounslow Homes through the Internet and e-mail as well as face to face and by telephone.
Chris Langstaff, Managing Director, Hounslow Homes, commented: “The support and expert advice provided by NCC Group has proved invaluable during this period of change. We have always felt they fully understood our requirements and their extensive local authority experience has allowed them to drive the project without us having to explain ‘how and why’ at every turn.”
Subsequent phases of the Programme involved the continued exploitation of core business systems, delivering further improvements to the repairs service through the implementation of an appointments system, assessing and re-engineering business processes and conducting strategic staffing and ICT skills reviews. This has been largely achieved through the deployment of mobile solutions for stock condition surveys and repairs inspections, while further mobile solutions are being implemented to support the estate management function.
========================================================
NCC Group is a leading global provider of independent IT assurance, security and consultancy services. As a trusted advisor, we help over 15,000 public, private and not for profit sector organisations, including 92 of the FTSE 100, to make the most efficient use of information and technology and to manage the associated risks.
Quote
“The support and expert advice provided by NCC Group has proved invaluable during this period of change. We have always felt they fully understood our requirements and their extensive local authority experience has allowed them to drive the project without us having to explain ‘how and why’ at every turn.”
Chris Langstaff, Managing Director, Hounslow Homes
Challenge
In 2000, the government made a commitment to bring all homes up to a decent standard by 2010
Hounslow Homes set the target of achieving the decent homes standard by 2006 - four years before the government’s 2010 deadline
Solution
NCC Group was commissioned to develop a strategy for the deployment and exploitation of ICT solutions which would support the business aspirations of the new organisation
Results
Hounslow Homes became the first ALMO to be awarded the highest possible ‘three star’ status