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Broxbourne Case Study
Self service contact centre technology helps Broxbourne Housing Association save money and reduce rent arrears
Broxbourne Housing Association (BHA) is the largest provider of social housing within the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, owning and managing over 3,400 houses and flats for rent as well as 12 schemes for older and more vulnerable people. They also own over 750 leasehold and shared ownership properties. BHA is run by a Management Board consisting of tenants, community members and 2 Borough Council representatives. Their purpose is to provide high quality affordable homes and effective services that meet its residents' aspirations.
As part of BHA's commitment to involve tenants in all aspects of housing management and maintenance that directly concern them, they carries out regular surveys to find out what residents think of the service they receive and how it could be improved. Like many housing associations, BHA used a manual paper-based survey system that was time consuming and costly, with no guarantee of feedback.
COLLABORATING ON SURVEYS
Using the Customer Service contact centre and self-service technology from Telephonetics VIP, ONI designed a solution that would cut costs and improve survey feedback. The adoption of self-service is growing in acceptance as more organisations see the potential benefits it can deliver. However its success is dependent on users being comfortable with the technology. ONI addressed this potential hurdle by inviting tenants to a live trial to test it and see what they thought of it. The trial was a resounding success and BHA approved its full introduction.
The service has been a huge success and is saving BHA over £8,000 per year giving tenants more freedom to express their concerns anonymously, while at the same time reducing repetitive tasks for the Customer Service Centre agents. The solution can be adapted to provide general surveys as well as measuring satisfaction with repairs which amount to over 17,000 per year. Call agents can now either pass the caller onto the survey after answering their specific queries or it can be automated to contact the tenant directly to gain response. The solution has built-in intelligence to route responses according to pre-defined, closed or open questions, and collates and stores the information for future access and reporting.
REDUCING RENT ARREARS
The introduction of a Self-service capability has given BHA additional benefits, none more so than in collecting rent. The overhead of chasing payments and dealing with account queries was historically a big issue. ONI delivered an automated solution that allows tenants to make payments quickly, accurately and securely, at whatever time suits them, 24 hours a day. Tenants can call in and check balances in real time and make either full or part payment. They are given the choice and convenience of making payments via their preferred method – by phone or website. As a result, BHA has improved cash flow and reduced rent arrears. The solution also meets with PCI compliance to secure personal information and provide payment protection.
"We have worked closely with ONI and Telephonetics VIP on these projects and have been very impressed with the solutions they have provided. The results have given greater choice and improved services for our tenants, less repetitive tasks for our contact centre staff and improved cash flow for the Association. We now have a good platform for Customer service."
