The new, much-anticipated consumer regulations are with us. So, how’s the sector preparing itself? We invited four chief executives to share their plans.
Victor Da Cunha, Chief Executive, Curo Group
I warmly welcome the re-emergence of consumer regulation. Customers in every service sector should know there are protections in place to ensure standards are met. Social housing, with such a wide range of need and customer diversity, is no exception – quite the opposite – because we all know things do, and will, go wrong. When that happens, good organisations work quickly, with purpose, to put things right. Excellent ones learn and improve from those moments. Where this doesn’t happen, a regulatory regime should, without doubt, step in.
Of course, minimum standards should not drive any organisation. As leaders, we must ensure that our ambitions are set higher and I hope the regulatory regime will resist returning to the overly-prescribing, detailed methodology which existed in the past; one size doesn’t fit all. Regulation should never be a replacement for clearly agreed local service standards, based on the needs and expectations of customers and communities.
At Curo, we’ll never be complacent about this. There’s always more work to do to become a truly outstanding service provider. That said, I believe we’re as ready as we can be for the new regime. Our approach has been straightforward – to ensure we know the full implications, put in place the additional necessary reporting requirements, and ensure that our PI data definitions are correct for the purposes of TSM reporting. More profoundly, and quite coincidentally, we’ve just completed a review of our strategic plan for the next five years, and this has served as a far bigger change agent. Yes, we’ve ensured we recognise and work within the expectations of new consumer regulations, but we’ve also paid attention to other important operating realities. Using the recommendations of the Better Social Housing Review, we’ve reviewed our vision with customers and colleagues and refreshed our strategic objectives, so they fit with the world we live in, reinforce our social purpose and the needs of those we serve.
We’ve refreshed our performance management framework, our decision-making and accountability model and committed to further strengthening our approach to inclusion, people, tech and strategic partnerships. It’s this wider strategic reset, with our customers and our future in mind, that will drive our ambitions, resource allocation and service ethos. It should always be the ambition for excellence, and not regulation, that drives your approach to customer experience and social purpose.
Nick Atkin, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Housing
Yes, like most others after quite a bit of time spent preparing, we’re ready! We’re already using the new standards to help us continuously improve how we deliver our services. Yorkshire Housing’s vision is to be the UK’s best housing provider, something that we can only achieve if everyone who works for us adopts a customer-obsessed approach. That’s why this is our focus for the year ahead and the standards really help drive this cultural shift.
The new standards have given us a springboard that enables us to evidence all the great work we’re doing as well as highlight those areas where further work is still needed to improve our customer experience.
We’ve created a framework that makes sure everyone understands their role in delivering a great customer experience and that enables us to continuously fine tune and improve. We’ve gone back to basics to make sure we can evidence our compliance in practice, policy and assurance.
There’s always room for improvement, so we’ll continue to give our customers a voice and ensure they’re listened too, and we act on this. We’re also improving how we record data and insight to enhance the quality of our services. True customer obsession is a journey not a destination and we’re relishing the prospect of the ride ahead.
Bruce Moore, Chief Executive, Housing 21
At Housing 21, many of the principles required to fulfil the requirements of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act were already in place, as our focus has always been on delivering the best experience for residents. As such, preparing to be compliant has been less about introducing new policies, and more about reviewing, analysing and improving current procedures to ensure consistency in meeting consumer standards across the whole organisation.
To achieve this, we’ve undertaken a rigorous mock audit against the standards, taking into consideration key factors such as performance, data, reporting and engagement, which has helped to identify gaps and areas where we need to be better. We’ve also engaged – and continue to engage – with colleagues and residents to ensure the new legislation is promoted, understood and embraced.
By identifying where we’re falling short in advance of the legislation going live, it’s enabled us to take proactive steps early and hopefully this will ensure we start off on the right trajectory. For us, the key to compliance is embedded in the act and everything it stands for into the culture of Housing 21, not just now at the height of the changes, but forever going forward.
Gavin Cansfield, Chief Executive, settle
settle has taken significant steps to enhance compliance and strengthen data and processes in anticipation of the regulator’s new consumer standards, and also the Complaint Handling Code from the Housing Ombudsman Service. Our work isn’t merely about compliance but is an opportunity to continuously improve and review services for residents – this is the reason settle exists.
Preparations have been underway for years, with investments in digital services and data to support these efforts. Notable improvements include an enhanced repairs booking system, the launch of our engagement platform, settle connect, and ongoing stock condition surveys, all designed to tailor services to the unique needs and preferences of each resident.
An engagement framework aimed at scrutinising performance and amplifying the resident voice in settle’s decisions has been established. This includes reviewing complaint handling with residents to ensure processes are effective and align with the new code. Ongoing projects like the Big Door Knock and the ‘Voice of the Resident’ panel continue, contributing to the development of a resident-informed 2030 corporate plan.
We’ve also created a new team dedicated to resident experience and engagement. This emphasises further training for colleagues to meet diverse needs and professionalise the workforce, and ensures colleagues are equipped with the skills and passion to deliver the best outcomes for residents.
