Here are the notes and the agenda for the last meeting online on 14th October 2020:
This was our agenda:
10am Introductions
10.10 -10.50 Building Safety – what does it mean for resident engagement, followed by a 5 minute break
10.55 -11.30 RSH Consumer Regulation Review – what does it mean for resident engagement, followed by a 5 minute break
11.35 – 11.45 On the Couch: Chat facility
- How do you engage residents in choosing your customer services standard offers, esp. prioritising this for residents?
- What are your Resident Engagement KPIs
- Can people share their method to recruit with any accompanying documents, such as an expression of interest?
- Also, if scrutiny members are involved how does this happen on a practical basis.
- How do you review this process to establish people’s drivers without making it too onerous or off putting – any ideas, what works well /not so well?
- Supporting residents with the provision of IT etc to get involved – see D below
(Some ideas were shared but we decided the items were too meaty and would be returned to at the next meeting as more major agenda items)
11.45 – 12.25 NHF Code of Governance Review – what does it mean for resident engagement
12.25 – 12.30 AOB (none) and agenda for the next meeting: Wed 25th November 2020 (10-12.30)
A: Building Regulations – changes, ideas and discussions:
This is the pre circulated article:
Building Safety Bill TA article
These were the headline slides which supported the discussion:
S.Net Building Safety 14.10.20
These are the notes from the discussions on the 4 questions in the presentation considered by our breakout rooms on Zoom:
1.The content of a Resident Engagement Strategy to show residents how they can get involved, and the benefits they gain from engaging in Building Safety Regulation
A separate strategy or do we change the involvement strategy
There is no guidance on whether this requires changes to the existing strategy for engagement, or whether a separate engagement strategy might be required by the BSR.
We debated the merits of having a separate engagement promise per improvement scheme, with overarching promises to engage, added to the existing resident involvement strategy/policy.
We felt a number of promises in different strategies would not be helpful, but if this was the case, then we would need to be clear with the affected residents of the combined promises.
Your Housing Group
Are developing a 2-year building safety engagement strategy with the first year focused on building over 18m.
- Residents will shape the action plan for the strategy which will lead to the creation of resident forums for their high-rise stock.
- The forums will link to the Customer Operations Committee that in turn report to the Board.
- Quarterly newsletters
- Residents will be able to be involved as “Safety Angels”.
- A separate route for complaint and repairs relating to building safety.
- A focus on putting residents first reflected in changes to some of the roles in their organisation for more resident focus.
- Neighbourhood officers will deliver resident engagement and manage the high-rise forums and be the eyes and ears of the organisations
- Newsletters detailing planned works and a resident portal that allows residents to see the progress of works are being considered.
- The challenge of maintaining residents’ interest in being involved was discussed.
Learning from Grenfell
How do we capture the informal feedback from residents so we pick up safety concerns early?
- Suggestion box?
- Strengthening the role of the caretaker/site managers’ officer
Judith Hackitt enquiry stated that her remit was buildings 18 metres and above. However, Dame Hackitt had stated in her report that the recommendations equally apply to shorter buildings.
We debated the need for buildings 17 metres and below – which were flatted to have the same engagement strategy for planned major works.
We considered the merits of a strategy that covers all flats.
Sarah Carpenter MHCLG, High Rise Best Practice Group
This is made up of supported housing, high rise housing and involved tenants.
- They are advising MHCLG on emerging regulations from the tenant perspective.
- The HSE will determine the outcomes.
- Resident involvement here has added value and comments have been well received.
2.Consulting residents on the information they need to help them understand the layers of protection and how landlords keep resident’s safe
There is a challenge in making the information relevant to residents.
Safety is not just about the risk of fire.
Accessing properties is an important element of keeping residents safe.
It was acknowledged that more could be done to involve residents in works to their building and some works will need to be carried out regardless of resident’s view but it is important to understand resident’s concerns.
3.How do we get residents to co-operate in keeping the building safe, to understand their rights and responsibilities?
The group debated:
- whether the landlord was consulting, telling or asking – in an engagement strategy – the decision is made by boards and councillors – the risk of consultation outcomes being agreed?
- the importance of gaining residents trust in the messages they receive was discussed.
- Scrutiny Groups can be an effective way to engage residents by sharing risk assessments and having an annual health and safety review.
- there are still difficulties – even where stay put advice has bene given at length, with residents acting on instinct and leaving the building when fire alarms go off
- STAR Surveys and Home visits to explain policies on building safety to residents
- many landlords are retrofitting sprinklers
The group felt that some simple headings in communication for consultation might be helpful like:
- What are we doing?
- What do residents want from us?
- How do they want to engage?
4.Include residents within decision making on improvement schemes
The group discussed:
- the Health and Safety review undertaken by the Scrutiny Group at Warrington HA.
- Trafford HT sharing of full risk assessments on the website for transparency – but these are lengthy and complex documents
- The benefits of estate officers and residents’ walkabouts to gather views during major works, with residents
It was felt that:
- landlords needed to be clear on the roles and responsibilities of the various officers and parties engaged in the building contracts
- landlords might make information available in full and summary form -plain English
- fire safety advice should be reiterated in the resident engagement strategy for major works in blocks of flats.
B: Consumer Regulation review – changes, ideas and discussions:
This is the pre circulated article:
RSH con reg review report TA article
Here is the headline presentation to aid our discussion:
RSH LessonsTo Learn Oct2020
These are the notes from the discussions on the 4 questions in the presentation considered by our breakout rooms on Zoom:
1. Compliance with Consumer Standards to all tenants
This can be a bit of a “tick-box” exercise.
Evidence of real influence might be hard to prove.
This is similar to engagement on Policy when it comes at the end of an officer review and does not first ask residents who have received the service what they would like to see improved and what they liked about their service.
The scrutiny groups or high-level engagement panels or committees were felt to be the best place to get real challenge on compliance.
Residents need to be more involved, the annual review is co-produced with residents but generally this can be a rubber stamping of a Q&A session, where this happens.
It was felt that residents could lead on letting landlords know where they think they haven’t met the standards.
A rolling review rather than an annual review could be a better way of keeping residents involved.
Focus Groups that look at particular standards could be set up.
Some new Customer Boards have a specific remit for resident assurance to boards of compliance, for example: Salix and Yorkshire Housing
The issue of customer standards being in the same place, signposted, easy to find, easy to read and easy to understand style including websites or newsletters is a challenge.
2.Transparency in engaging residents to shape services
Some landlords have worked with resident to identify KPIs which are important to residents – e.g. Cobalt
There is a need to understand what residents would like to see and what area are important to them. Focus groups could help with this.
There are a finite group of residents who want to engage for compliance.
Asking residents to shape services, based on data is a far reach.
Officers can identify poor performance, and engage residents in solutions for implementation, where no commentary is made on KPIs
3. Tenants understand the requirements & responsibilities providers are subject to and their own requirements
Managing residents’ expectations is important.
Videos that address roles and responsibilities are a good way to get the messages across.
Many landlords are reviewing service standards and intending a relaunch post CV19
Generally, focus groups and surveys are seen to be the best way to see if residents understand messages sent – with existing and new residents
4. Demonstrating that we treat tenants with fairness and respect- including taking account of their diverse needs – building trust
This challenging as it means different things to different residents, ideas included:
- a survey to assess residents needs
- being aware of communication preferences
- looking at the complaints processes to ascertain if residents are being treated fairly.
It was agreed this is difficult to measure and evidence transparency/outcomes in this action
Most landlords have struggled to achieve a diverse group of residents commenting. Suggestions include the ability of residents to explain in detail what they think of each part of the NHF Charter and how they feel the landlord could measure this. this might require landlords to go to community groups, who might not otherwise see the benefit of engagement specifically for landlord compliance.
We need to be clear – what is in this for residents?
Together HG have shared their annual report to Board on involvement:
THG Customer Insight Report
C: NHF Draft Code of Conduct – changes, ideas and discussions:
This is the pre circulated article:
NHF code article_
Here is the headline presentation to aid our discussion:
NHF code article_
These are the notes from the discussions on the 4 questions in the presentation considered by our breakout rooms on Zoom:
1.Access to systematic information for scrutiny by all residents to hold us to account, including for diverse groups
The group acknowledged the need to strengthen this.
The challenges of making information available and comprehensible to all residents was discussed.
Obstacles include:
- access to digital
- language
Most see scrutiny panels as a way of feeding in “lived experience” to the Board.
Residents on a board are not representative of residents – they offer their own views and perspectives.
We need to ask residents what data they are interested in reviewing and seeing.
2.Views of a wide range of residents in influencing strategic decision making – their views reaching the Board
Customer voice groups that feed into the Board are the usual ways of achieving this, or high-level standing groups who influence strategy and have their skills and capacity built over time to engage.
Some landlords do a resident awayday on the Corporate Plan, prior to Board – Soha
Others update their standing groups on progress on the corporate plan.
ALMOs tend to put board papers on the website, including minutes and actions plans
3.Residents on the Board on Committees (direct lived in experience)
Plus Dane is considering opening up the Board on Facebook Live.
It already holds Board Member Q&A sessions with residents.
The need to strengthen the link between residents and governance was acknowledged.
Most landlords have moved to having customer experience from a resident(s) on the Committee or Boards of HAs, but they are ordinary members and not separately identified as tenant BMs.
Tenants can roundup the skills of the Board during decision making.
Resident contributions need to be supported in this, including confidence to speak and capacity building. Yvonne shared information on the course run by HDN which is for new BMs, existing BMs who wish to become Committee Chairs or Committee Chairs who wish to become Chairs of the Board.
It enables mixing, sharing and learning from others BMs:
https://www.housingdiversitynetwork.co.uk/mentoring/board-excellence
Some have paid to go on the course and have secured Board positions after the event. The HDN (Housing Diversity Network) course has been made a prerequisite of volunteering for some boards – Thrive Homes and Leeds and Yorkshire HA.
Some HAs have sponsored residents – Together and Progress HGs, who are diverse and under represented to join another HDN Course, to improve their diversity on boards and committees:
HDN Board Diversity Programme
The current link to board, as well as the Tenants BM and CMs and Council, is generally through reporting up from Scrutiny Groups – either quarterly or when reports are concluded and presented.
4.Reporting back to residents on how you have acted on their views and to keep them informed
Engagement HQ is a useful tool for organisations to consider. Leeds Homes, Catalyst HA and Community Gateway have just purchased this to try out a friendly digital platform
A variety of methods are used to make resident aware of organisational activity:
- Infographics
- You Said We Did
- Social media
- Customer magazines.
D: On the Couch – Supporting residents with the provision of IT etc to get involved
Here is the agreement provided from Weaver Vale, agreed with residents for the provision of a laptop.
Residents have been able to get initial training, with follow up training provided through the staff IT helpdesk:
Loan Equipment Agreement for Trust Volunteers
ICT Security Policy Receipt
IT-SECURITY-POLICY-PROCEDURAL-GUIDANCE-NOTES
Date and time of next meeting:
On line on 25th November 2020 – 10- 12.30pm
Agenda to include:
- Latest on involvement and building safety
- Developing techniques on engagement – story telling and similar
- Engaging residents in customer service standards – resident priorities
- Resident Engagement KPIs
- Recruitment to Resident Panels
- techniques
- expressions of interest and documentation
- people’s drivers
