Tenant & Residential Engagement; Structural Elements


FINDING A MIDDLE GROUND If the end goal is to ensure tenants are safe and satisfied, there is a strong argument for engaging with them before access – not just aſter. While better communication with residents may increase the chances


of gaining access to their property, it’s not always possible when the volume of appointments outweighs the resources available to different housing associations. As such, many social landlords adopt a more prescriptive approach to


housing maintenance, informing tenants of a specified date and time for appointments, usually communicated through letters or text messages. Te onus is then placed on the resident to make themselves available accordingly. Tis carries with it both pros and cons, but what is the alternative? Te consultative approach – a collaborative one, where housing associations


‘consult’ with tenants to find a date and time that is convenient for them. Tis is a two-way interaction rather than the one-way communication associated with the prescriptive approach, but it too has pluses and negatives – the latter being that it requires more staff and can be more cost intensive. Finding the middle ground between the two approaches is the ideal.


By combining the approaches through the implementation of automation technology, data analytics, and behavioural science principles, it simplifies a previously manual, complex, and laborious process of engaging at scale. Not only does it support a more efficient, resident-focused appointment-booking approach, but it can also help to align with new consumer standards, which call for the use of data to design services around customer needs.


THE IMPORTANCE OF TENANT SATISFACTION Central to any approach is tenant engagement. Providing individuals with a choice is a more effective method of engagement than offering no choice, especially in situations where it could lead to inconvenience. Offering tenants a choice around maintenance visits demonstrates that they are valued and have a voice. Resolving appointment conflicts becomes easier, leading to increased efficiency for both providers and customers. By consulting with tenants through the use of technology, maintenance visits


Tenant & Residential Engagement Feature


By giving customers a voice and allowing automation to drive process efficiencies, social housing providers will be better positioned to meet compliance obligations and focus on more meaningful interactions with customers


become a negotiation should the tenant need them to be. Instead of taking ‘shots in the dark’, social landlords can send engineers to properties with a greater likelihood of access. In turn, this reduces excessive cost (an average of £75 per missed visit as well as the added postage and other ancillary costs), together with the waste of resources that is associated with booking, confirming, and rescheduling missed appointments. By giving tenants a choice and putting more power in their hands when it


comes to appointment booking, it provides tenants with newfound flexibility and control. It also empowers providers with increased first time access rates, better tenant engagement, and greater cost-efficiency. What’s more, the quality of the landlord-tenant relationship has a potential


knock-on effect when it comes to tenant behaviours and service demand – not just for compliance, but for rent payment, ASB, and overall engagement too. As regulatory pressures and penalties heighten around non-compliance, it’s


clear that improving tenant safety through engagement has become ever-more critical for the social housing sector. By giving customers a voice and allowing automation to drive process efficiencies, social housing providers will be better positioned to meet compliance obligations and focus on more meaningful interactions with customers – all the while providing sustainable, safe, and well- maintained living environments for communities.


Gary Haynes is Managing Director at Voicescape – the UK’s leading soſtware provider of engagement solutions to the social housing and local authority sectors


Metsec underlines commitment to accurate product information


V


oestalpine Metsec has become one of the earliest adopters of the Code for Construction Products Information


(CCPI), introduced by the Construction Products Association in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, set up following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. CCPI assessments are undertaken by


Assessors from Construction Products Information Ltd. and are carried out on a manufacturer’s specific products and systems, not the company as a whole. As such, an organisation or brand cannot, in itself, gain assessment or make any claims of conformance beyond a specific product set. To date, voestalpine Metsec has successfully


achieved assessment for four of its key construction systems; SFS light gauge galvanized steel structural framing systems and Metframe pre-panelised framing system from its Framing Division, dry lining metal framed components for gypsum plasterboard systems from its Dry Lining Division and roof, side rail and mezzanine floor systems from its Purlins Division. Alan Harris, Quality and BIM Compliance


Director at voestalpine Metsec, states, “Continuous investment in independent performance testing and quality assurance is


50 | HMM August/September 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk HMM08_Metsec_Structural Elements_HPAdv.indd 1


what keeps our construction solutions at the forefront of the industry. “Ensuring that the data and information


derived from these tests is conveyed in a clear, unambiguous fashion is key to providing specifiers, installers and users with more confidence in the systems’ capabilities and suitability for their projects. Successful assessment to the CCPI confirms we are doing things right and underlines our commitment to the industry’s needs.” CCPI aims to address the stipulation from


Dame Hackitt’s review that construction product information needs to be communicated in a clear and accurate way. Its aim is to help organisations drive for higher standards in the presentation of construction product information, with a priority on building safety. voestalpine Metsec has set up a rigorous


information review process to ensure that messaging from all divisions is based on accurate, verifiable data and that this information is presented in a clear and accessible manner, which can be easily found and assimilated by its intended target audience.


metsec.plc@voestalpine.com www.metsec.com


03/07/2024 09:18


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52