At Red Kite Community Housing, our aim is to put tenants first. And thanks to our Resident Representative Team (RRT) we’ve been doing just that when it comes to getting in touch with us. RRT are a team of tenant volunteers that collaborate with us as an essential partnership group. They’re involved in key service changes and help to influence decisions. They ensure that the opinions of tenants are communicated with staff and the board so that they can really shape what the organisation does and continue to be truly tenant-led.
Back in July 2022, we, alongside Tpas, started a new initiative - our first Scrutiny bootcamp. This project was a call to action, asking, "How can we improve the tenant experience when contacting Red Kite?" We welcomed 25 tenants to share their views in a mix of in-person and online sessions, with our staff providing immediate responses to service-related inquiries.
The bootcamp was a resounding success, leading to 10 practical recommendations. A standout change was the streamlining of our phone menu options from six to three, alongside the introduction of a 'request call back' feature for our tenants' convenience. Our RRT members had also shadowed our contact centre colleagues before the bootcamp, and their positive feedback about our staff was a highlight of the project.
In September 2022, we took a significant step forward when two RRT members presented these recommendations to the Operational Performance And Tenant Services group. This led to the development of an action plan, and over the past two years, our customer service team has been diligently working to bring these changes to life, ensuring that RRT members are updated on key progress and challenges.
Most recently, in March 2024, we reached a new milestone. Sam Goodwin from Tpas, our RRT Chair Candida, and RRT member Jane conducted verification sessions to review the effectiveness of the action plan. This was a novel approach for both Red Kite and Tpas, providing a platform for our tenants to engage with staff and review all the action plan material. The result was a detailed report, celebrating our achievements and pinpointing key learnings for future reviews.
RRT Chair, Candida said:
"Jane and I found the independent review very useful. Given all the lessons learnt, we are excited to move forward with all things discussed and feel confident RRT will achieve great Scrutiny reviews in future."
This month, members of staff met with RRT to discuss the Contact Centre scrutiny review and to ask for the group to consider closing the review. RRT were unanimous in signing off the review as concluded, bringing to a close almost two years of work!
