1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
This report provides an update on customer feedback received during the third
quarter of 2013/14.
2
COMPLIMENTS
2.1
Stockport Homes received 178 compliments during the quarter1. A total of 106
unsolicited2 compliments were received, with the highest number relating to the
repairs team3. A significant number were also received for the resettlement
team4. Compliments tend to relate to the quality of the service provided by an
individual or team – particularly where support and care has been shown by
staff when customers have been having a difficult time in their lives.
2.2
Information recording systems are being developed that will give more detailed
analysis of compliments received. This will allow areas of good practice to be
identified and shared within the next financial year.
3
COMPLAINTS
3.1
Stockport Homes received 123 complaints in the third quarter5. Detailed
information is available in appendix two. The number received is very similar to
the same quarter in the previous year where 129 complaints were received.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
Stockport Homes received 1.5 compliments for every complaint in quarter three. This is
better than the Housemark average where landlords receive 0.7 compliments for every
complaint received.
2 Those submitted using the customer feedback process, rather than as part of satisfaction
surveys. An additional 72 compliments were received as a result of the repairs and investment
teams’ satisfaction surveys
3 The repairs team received 37
4 The resettlement team received 28
5 Of which 116 were at stage one, six were at stage two and one was at stage three
3.2
The average time for responding to complaints was 5.91 days6. This figure
includes any time period when a ‘stop the clock’ (STC)7 has been applied to a
complaint. If STC actions are excluded then the actual average response time,
as experienced by the customer, is 6.87 days8. The full response time is
considerably better than the figure reported in the annual Housemark
complaints benchmarking report which recorded the median response time9 for
participating landlords as 11.7 days10.
3.3
A total of 98.4 per cent of complaints were responded to within the ten day
target, meaning all but two complaints were responded to within timescales.
3.4
In one of these cases11 a complaint was treated as an enquiry and therefore
not logged. The case was subsequently dealt with as a complaint but outside
of the normal procedure12. The complaint has been discussed with the service
lead and the importance of dealing with complaints in line with the procedure
has been made clear.
3.5
In the second case13 the investigating officer was unable to speak to the
member of staff that was the subject of the complaint because they were on
leave. Although the circumstances are reasonable, the investigating officer
should have informed the customer of the potential delay as soon as he
became aware of it.
4
NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS
4.1
Customer confidence in the process remains high, with 100 per cent of those
surveyed stating they would use the service again. There were still six
complaints escalated to stage two, however, which is a slightly lower proportion
than in the same quarter in the previous two years 14.
4.2
Although it is difficult to identify the direct cause of this, a number of positive
activities have been undertaken to improve the complaint handling process.
Training sessions have been held for staff on how to deal with complaints and
there has been an increase in the proportion of stage one complaints upheld15,
indicating that staff are better able to resolve complaints earlier.
4.3
It is worth noting, however, that the fluctuations could also be attributed to the
small numbers involved. Monitoring of the factors that affect the complaints
process will continue on an ongoing basis, in order to establish whether this is
6
All complaints also receive an acknowledgement within three working days
This is applied in certain circumstances when further investigation is required and the delay is
outside of Stockport Homes’ control.
8 This includes stage one and stage two complaint response times
9 The full response time regardless of how long was spent actually investigating and
responding to the issue.
10 The benchmarking report covers the period 2012/13 and is for stage one responses only
11 Relating to customer finance
12 The customer received a full response but outside of the normal target response time
13 The case was responded to in 11 working days rather than the target of 10 working days
14 Five per cent escalated in quarter three of 2013/14, and eight per cent in quarter three of
2011/12 and 2012/13
15 35 per cent (40 cases) were upheld this quarter compared with 29 per cent (32 cases) in the
previous quarter and 27 per cent (31 cases) were partially upheld this quarter compared with
26 per cent (28 cases) in the previous quarter. 38 per cent (44 cases) were not upheld this
quarter compared with 45 per cent (49 cases) in the previous quarter
7
part of a trend. Further detail on complaints at each stage is shown at
appendix one.
4.4
There were three requests from customers to have their complaints escalated
to stage three16 in the third quarter. However, there was only one stage three
hearing held in the quarter. This complaint was ‘not upheld’ and he has
indicated that he has approached the Housing Ombudsman. The Customer
Feedback Officer is awaiting further information.
4.5
Of the remaining stage three complaints, one is due to be held in February.
The remaining two customers decided to withdraw their complaints; the first
after getting external advice and the second because the customer achieved
the outcome she wanted through other means17.
5
LEARNING FROM COMPLAINTS
5.1
Stockport Homes reviews complaints where responses take significantly longer
than expected. This analysis is undertaken by removing ‘STC’ actions so that
the full customer response time can be assessed. As can be seen in the graph
below, there were three complaints with exceptionally long response times
between April and December 2013.
16
i.e. an appeal panel
The customer complained that they wanted to move properties due to damp. However, they
successfully bid on a property and have since moved.
17
5.2
These ‘outliers’ have been investigated to ensure that the complaints were
resolved in the most effective, appropriate way and in line with the Customer
Feedback Procedure.
5.3
Two of the cases related to the Sustainability team.

One complaint18 involved a vulnerable customer who was given
additional time to consider the options available before the complaint
was resolved. There were two learning points identified in the case
review. Firstly, stop-the-clock action wasn’t applied as the case
developed, which created subsequent work for the lead
officer. Secondly, the case highlighted that the lead officer required
support and training to deal with complaints and the customer feedback
system.

A second complaint was delayed because the customer was required to
provide an invoice before being given a refund on works done. This
delay was caused by the customer and could not have been resolved
earlier.
5.4
The third case has already been detailed at paragraph 3.4.
5.5
Complaints by policy
5.6
Work has continued to explore the effects that Stockport Homes’ policies have
on complaints. In the third quarter, 22 complaints19 related to policy issues. The
most common being anti-social behaviour followed by recharges and tree
issues20. These have been supplied to the relevant lead officers so that they
can be considered when policies are reviewed. If complaints indicate that there
is an ongoing adverse policy impact on customers then the review of that policy
can be brought forward but this has not proved necessary during the third
quarter.
5.7
In order to ensure that complaints about policy are fully considered during the
policy review cycle an analysis of complaints will provided to the policy lead
officer. This will draw out themes and make it easier for lead officers to assess
the impact that the policy has had on the customer. The service will then invite
customers to attend any consultation sessions that are undertaken as part of
the policy review.
5.8
Of those complaints relating to policy issues at either Stockport Homes or
Stockport Council, three were upheld at stage one21, six were partially upheld
and 13 were not upheld. It is perhaps unsurprising the vast majority of
complaints were not upheld because staff have not felt they had the scope,
within the policy, to make a different decision.
18
Total response time 113 days
complaints represent 18 per cent of all complaints received in quarter three
20 There were 11 relating to anti-social behaviour, three relating to recharges and three relating
to trees
21 In one case a recharge was waived as a goodwill gesture. In the second case a tree was reassessed for removal and it was subsequently removed as per the customer’s original request.
In the third case it was agreed that further CCTV equipment would be provided to a customer
where it had previously been decided that this wouldn’t be the case.
20 Policy
5.9
Preventing the need to complain
Analysis has begun into what might have prevented a customer from making a
complaint. This identifies where services can be improved, rather than how the
process of dealing with the complaint can be improved.
5.10 A review of the complaints received in quarter three identified that ‘lack of
communication’ with the customer was the largest driver for making a
complaint. The second largest was lack of communication between internal
service areas and/or contractors and the third was a perceived inability on
Stockport Homes’ part to deliver a service’ right first time’ for the customer.
5.11 Work has been undertaken to advise staff on how better to deliver on some of
the themes identified. For example, an article has been included in the staff
Insight newsletter and case studies have been shared with managers to
highlight the issues. Plans are also in place to discuss complaints at a future
meeting of the People Managers’ Forum.
5.12 Analysis of how complaints could have been prevented will continue in future
and a more robust picture will be established over time. Activity and actions will
continue to be developed alongside the analysis to improve in any areas that
are identified.
6
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
6.1
Customers are surveyed at the end of the complaints process using an in-depth
telephone discussion. This helps staff plot the customer’s journey through the
process and identify how it can be improved. The questions asked cover areas
of the process such as the quality of communication. The survey is not
statistically robust22 but it allows qualitative information to be gathered, which
can then be used to improve the process. Details of satisfaction are included in
Appendix One.
6.2
In the third quarter, every customer surveyed in this way said he or she would
use the service again. If performance is viewed over a rolling 12 month period,
this figure stands at 97 per cent, which is an encouraging result.
6.3
Dissatisfaction is linked to the outcome of complaints. Of those people
dissatisfied with outcomes23, none had had their cases upheld.
7
ANALYSIS OF COMPLAINANTS
7.1
Overall analysis shows that newer tenants make proportionally more
complaints than longer-standing tenants and that those newer tenants are also
more likely to be younger customers24. The only age group where complaint
levels proportionately match the size of the customer population is 40-54. More
younger and fewer older customers complain than would normally be expected,
in view of the size of the population.
22
The questionnaire has a confidence interval of +/- x per cent. A recommended confidence
interval is +/- five per cent and this would require over 90 surveys to be completed out of 120
complainants
23 15 out of 24 complainants surveyed
24 See appendix two for further information on age/tenancy length
7.2
There may be a number of reasons why proportionally younger and newer
customers make complaints although it is difficult to identify the exact cause.
Complaints from younger customers are more likely to be repair related25.
There are a range of issues in this category and although damp and mould
complaints account for the highest proportion this still only represents a small
number26 of overall complaints. The technical services team work with
customers to provide advice and guidance on how they can ventilate their
property to prevent the occurrence of damp related issues.
8
MP AND COUNCILLOR ENQUIRIES
8.1
There were 117 enquiries received from MPs and Councillors during the third
quarter. The largest proportions were about the work of the area housing
teams27. There were also a significant number relating to repairs,28 the antisocial behaviour team29 and the Homechoice service30.
8.2
The largest number of enquiries was received for the Brinnington & Central
ward31, which is the largest ward in the Borough. The second largest number of
enquiries was received for the Davenport & Cale Green ward32. When cases
are considered as a proportion of properties managed in each ward, Manor had
the largest33.
8.3
All enquiries except one were responded to within timescale. This related to the
anti-social behaviour team. The response was one day over the ten day target,
due to human error. The member of staff has been reminded about the
importance of responding to enquiries on time.
9
OMBUDSMAN ENQUIRIES
9.1
There was one enquiry received from the Housing Ombudsman during the third
quarter. It related to the West Area housing office. The customer had
exhausted Stockport Homes’ complaints process. The complaint was then
heard by the Designated Tenant Panel34. The panel referred the complaint to
the Ombudsman at the customer’s request after it had found no fault on
Stockport Homes’ part. The matter was then reviewed by the Ombudsman,
with a judgement of ‘no fault’ on the part of Stockport Homes.
9.2
There were no enquiries received from the Local Government Ombudsman,
which occasionally deals with non-housing services that Stockport Homes
delivers.
25
61 per cent of complaints from customers that are aged between 16-39 are about repairs
Seven out of 27 complaints in the repairs category were classed as ‘damp and mould’
27 The west area housing office received 17 and the east area housing office received 27
28 The repairs team received 25
29 The anti-social behaviour team received 13
30 The Homechoice team received 12
31 28
32 15
33 2.54 enquiries per 100 properties managed.
34 The Designated Tenant Panel is an independent panel of customers that review complaints
after Stockport Homes’ complaints process has been exhausted and before a complaint
proceeds to the Ombudsman
26
10
TRAINING
10.1 Stockport Homes regularly updates staff on how to deal with complaints
effectively. Training sessions have been held with over 50 staff members in
2013/14 to reinforce how to manage and respond to complaints and
MP/Councillor enquiries. The sessions were attended by staff from across
Stockport Homes. Feedback indicates that the sessions have been useful in
clarifying how complaints should be handled.
11
CONCLUSION
11.1 Stockport Homes’ customer feedback service continues to be well used and the
number of complaints received has increased.
11.2 A significant number of compliments has been received, demonstrating the
positive impact that Stockport Homes’ services have on customers’ lives.
There continue to be more compliments received than complaints.
11.3 The customer feedback service continues to use feedback received from
customers to improve the services delivered by Stockport Homes and work is
ongoing to explore how learning can better be captured.
12
RECOMMENDATIONS
12.1 That Leadership Forum:
•
Notes the contents of this report
13
APPENDIX ONE - SATISFACTION ANALYSIS
13.1 The two key questions asked of complainants as part of the satisfaction
survey concern their satisfaction with the outcome of their complaint
and how likely they are to use the complaints service again in the
future. These questions give an understanding of two different
elements of the process with one assessing the customer’s perception
of the complaint outcome and the other assessing confidence in using
the complaints process as a whole. The second element is of most
value as it assesses the customer experience regardless of the
outcome of the complaint.
13.2 One quarter’s satisfaction data provides limited information on which to
base any reliable conclusions about satisfaction patterns, therefore
results in the following section cover a rolling 12 month period35
13.3 Satisfaction and Diversity
13.4 Satisfaction with the outcome of a complaint is lowest in males. When
analysing the decisions reached one complaint was upheld, eight were
partially upheld and six were not upheld. The fact most complaints were
either not upheld or partially upheld goes some way to explaining the
low satisfaction rate. When analysing the reasons why male
complainants were dissatisfied with the outcome there is a broad range
of reasons with no common theme to be identified. The overall
satisfaction is 55.21 per cent which is below the target set of 58 per
cent.
13.5 For the question ‘would you be likely to use the complaint service
again’ the results are very high in all categories.
Male
Female
16-24
25-39
40-54
55-64
65-79
80+
Has disability
No disability
Overall
35
Satisfaction with
Likely to use
outcome
again
(no. satisfied)
(no. satisfied)
34.8% (8 out of 23) 95.7% (22 out of 23)
72.7% (32 out of 44) 97.7% (43 out of 44)
81.8% (9 out of 11) 100% (12 out of 12)
55.6% (10 out of 18) 100% (19 out of 19)
52.4% (11 out of 21) 95.2% (20 out of 21)
75% (6 out of 8)
87.5% (7 out of 8)
63.6% (7 out of 11) 100% (11 out of 11)
50% (1 out of 2)
100% (2 out of 2)
85.7% (6 out of 7)
100% (7 out of 7)
56.9% (29 out of 51) 98.1% (52 out of 53)
55.21 % (53 out of
96)
January 2013 to December 2013
97% (97 out of 100)
13.6 Satisfaction by Team / Service area
13.7 The target for satisfaction with the outcome of complaints for 2013/14 is
58 per cent. The target has not been achieved with a result of 55.7 per
cent for the year to date. Performance for the rolling 12 months stands
at 55.21 per cent which is below target.
13.8 A few areas have not achieved the target for the rolling 12 month
period. Areas of note are the west area and investments teams.
Analysis of the west area complaints has identified that almost half of
those dissatisfied with the outcome were unhappy with the way an antisocial behaviour case has been handled. It is sometimes difficult to
achieve the outcome customers are seeking and this affects
satisfaction results. Analysis of the investment complaints has identified
that half of the cases where a response of ‘dissatisfied’ was recorded
were about lack of communication. This has been the subject of a
recent scrutiny review and actions have been proposed to improve this
area.
Satisfaction
with outcome
(no. satisfied)
Technical & Commercial
Services
Maintenance & Repairs
Investment
Assets & Development
Neighbourhoods & Support
East Area
West Area
Caretaking
ASB
Concierge
Resettlement
Carecall
Finance
Customer Finance
Corporate Services
Homechoice
Housing Options
Likely to use again
(no. satisfied)
63.8% (30 out
of 47)
33.3% (3 out
of 9)
100% (2 out of
2)
97.9% (47 out of 48)
57.1% (4 out
of 7)
43.8% (7 out
of 16)
0% (0 out of 1)
100% (1 out of
1)
57.1% (4 out
of 7)
0% (0 out of 7)
0% (0 out of 1)
100% (7 out of 7)
88.9% (8 out of 9)
100% (4 out of 4)
100% (16 out of 16)
100% (1 out of 1)
100% (1 out of 1)
100% (7 out of 7)
100% (1 out of 1)
100 (1 out of 1)
50% (1 out of
2)
100% (2 out of 2)
0% (0 out of 1)
100% (7 out of
7)
0% (0 out of 1)
100% (1 out of 1)
55.21% (53 out
of 96)
Overall
97% (97 out of 100)
13.9 Satisfaction by outcome
Satisfaction with the outcome of a complaint is lower where complaints
have not been agreed or are partly agreed. This is understandable
given the link between the outcome that the customer receives and
their subsequent view on whether they viewed that outcome as fair.
Customers at all stages would be highly likely to use the complaints
service again.
Satisfaction with
outcome
Likely to use
again
Agreed (Stage 1)
74.2% (23 out of 100% (33 out of 33)
31)
Partly agreed
(Stage 1)
48.4% (15 out of 100% (33 out of 33)
31)
Not agreed
(Stage 1)
42.9% (12 out of
28)
89.7% (26 out of
29)
100% (2 out of 2)
100% (2 out of 2)
0% (0 out of 1)
100% (1 out of 1)
50% (1 out of 2)
100% (2 out of 2)
Agreed (Stage 2)
Partly agreed
(Stage 2)
Not agreed
(Stage 2)
14
APPENDIX 2 – PROFILE OF USERS OF THE
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SERVICE36
14.1 Ethnicity
14.2 The ethnicity of complainants is very similar to that of Stockport Homes’
overall customer profile. This indicates there are no obvious barriers to
a range of customers accessing this service.
Ethnicity
Current
Complainants
Tenants (as at (Q3)
April 2013)
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
NonBME
93.8%
94%
7.5
BME
6.2%
6%
7.8
14.3 Age
14.4 Generally speaking, there are proportionally more young customers
who use the customer feedback service than in the wider customer
base. Among older and elderly tenants there are proportionally fewer
customers who use the service.
Age
Group
Complainants
(Q3)
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
16-24
6.1%
15%
1.9
25-39
22.2%
38%
3.8
40-54
29.3%
30%
7.4
55-64
15.1%
5%
10.9
65-79
18.4%
8%
12.9
8.9%
4%
29.9
80+
36
Current Tenants
(as at April 2013)
Figures provided in these tables are percentages for which demographic
information is available. As such, those instances for which age, gender etc. are not
given are excluded from the analysis.
14.5 Sexuality
14.6 The sexuality of complainants is similar to that of Stockport Homes’
overall customer profile. However, it must be noted there are small
numbers involved here.
Sexuality
Current
Tenants (as at
April 2013)
LGBT
Complainants
(Q3)
1.2%
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
4%
0.8
14.7 Gender
14.8 The gender of complainants is representative of Stockport Homes’
customer profile, with the service being used by more females than
males.
Gender
Current Tenants
(as at April
2013)
Complainants
(Q3)
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
Female
57%
61%
8.5
Male
43%
39%
6.7
14.9 Religion
14.10 The number of complainants who were of a denomination other than
Christian is representative of Stockport Homes’ customer profile.
However, it must again be noted there are small numbers involved here
and any slight variation in numbers has a large impact on percentages.
Religion
Denomination
other than
Christian
Current
Complainants
Tenants (as at (Q3)
April 2013)
5.6%
3%
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
6
14.11 Disability
14.12 There are proportionally less customers with a disability that use the
customer feedback service than in the wider customer base with almost
a 15 per cent difference. However, it must again be noted there are
small numbers involved here and any slight variation in numbers has a
large impact on percentages. As detailed in 15.5 customers with a
disability are likely to use the service again and to be satisfied with the
outcome of their complaint so this indicates there are no obvious
barriers in the process.
Disability Current Tenants Complainants
(as at April
(Q3)
2013)
Average
length of
tenancy
(years)
Yes
22.3%
8%
10.7
No
77.7%
92%
7.2