During Community Impact Week, which runs until 12 November, Thirteen is celebrating the positive difference it has made on the communities it works in, people’s lives and the place that they live.
Last year through consultation, customers were asked what could be done to improve the service provided for them at Thirteen.
Customers said they would like an improved repairs service, with better response times. Thirteen has invested in a new repairs system to benefit its customers. This will enable more effective scheduling, reduced waiting times for appointments, keep customers updated on the progress of their appointment and ensure time is used productively. Every week we will contact a random sample of 100 customers to see how satisfied they are with our services, to help us find out what is going well and allow us to identify anything we need to improve.
Improvements have been made in neighbourhoods, after customers said they wanted to see people taking more pride in their area. In the last year, Thirteen’s neighbourhood team have completed 517 estate walkabouts, enabling them to work alongside our customers and residents to identify and rectify issues. The team regularly carry out litter picking, days of action and environmental events such as ‘flash your trash’ that targets a certain area to remove items of waste and reduce incidents of fly tipping.
Customers also said that ensuring people have the best start to their tenancy, including quicker sign-up was important to them, leading to higher satisfaction and more people staying in their homes. In response to this, Thirteen has created a new homes team who help new tenants receive the extra support they may need during the first 12 weeks of their tenancy with Thirteen. A new homes team advisor is the tenant’s first point of contact, dealing with all their enquiries, ensuring they have the best start to their tenancy.
Thirteen’s chief executive Ian Wardle said: “We are committed to investing in neighbourhoods and our staff work tirelessly to support communities and improve the area which they live. We have listened to our customers and over the last year we’ve made a number of improvements which have made a real difference to the service they receive.
“Thirteen is much more than a landlord. We provide a range of housing support services for more than 70,000 customers including advice with money, skills and employment, extra care schemes to help people live independently for longer and help for vulnerable people, who face a range of challenges.”