Masterclass – Customer Insight

Samantha McGrady

Deputy Chief Executive, HouseMark

Session outline

• A bit about HouseMark

• Profiling and insight – definitions

• Why insight is important – drivers and benefits

• HouseMark’s approach

• TSA toolkit on Tenant Insight

• Hand over to Claire…..

Committed to working for, and with, the social housing sector to improve

performance and efficiency.

Jointly owned by two not for profit organisations –

trade body and professional body

What is HouseMark?

• Benchmarking – compare cost and performance with others

• Good practice – thousands of online case studies and other good practice materials; newsletter; interactive forum

• Consultancy – value for money, tenant insight, performance management, workshops, tenant powered performance etc.

• Accreditation – ASB and Complaints

• Collective procurement – via our subsidiary Procurement for Housing

HouseMark is a membership-based organisation

helping the social housing sector to improve

performance and achieve value for money

We provide:

Why HouseMark?

• Data experts

• Housing experts

• Worked with more than 20 landlords in last 2

years on tenant insight

• One of very few insight services providers to the

sector

• Partnerships with external data providers

• Joint authors of TSA good practice publication

“Tenant Insight – a toolkit for landlords”

Profiling and insight – definitions (1)

• This is new territory for much of our sector

• Terms are easily confused – so what’s the difference?

Profiling:

• Collecting, analysing and segmenting information about customers; includes demographics, needs & behaviours, attitudes, lifestyles and aspirations

• On its own it won’t give you insight!

Profiling and insight – definitions (2)

Insight:

• Subsequent use of this information to

understand how to communicate with

customers, design services to meet their needs

and expectations, mount early intervention

campaigns around problem issues etc

• Not an end in itself but a trigger for action

• Helps you achieve your outcomes

Drivers for profiling and insight • Cultural shift in society - rules/rights culture to a

service culture (private sector lead)

• Adding value - rising customer expectations

• Value for money - targeting and maximising

resources

• Regulation –“customers at the heart of service

design and delivery” (regulatory standards)

• Tenant scrutiny – what do your tenants want

and need?

• Good business sense – provide services which

are wanted

Benefits of insight Better customer experience

• Get to know your customers - focus on things that really matter to people

• Develop appropriate new products and services for particular groups

• What customers experience is relevant to them

• Services are delivered in the right way at the right time

Greater efficiency

• Limited resources can be targeted more effectively

• Identify where to save money with minimal impact on the customer

• Target research/communications at the groups you really need to understand

HouseMark’s approach - strategy

• Start with a strategy – systematic and embedded approach

• Leadership

• Desired outcomes

• Link to corporate objectives

• Cross organisation or service focused?

• One-off or ongoing?

• Resources (but remember VFM)

• An action plan

• Communications – internal

• Communications – tenants

• Influencing

HouseMark’s approach – data (1)

What data?

• basic tenant information

• survey/satisfaction information

• targeted focus group feedback

• customer journey maps

• rent arrears, repairs, ASB information, etc.

• other information (communication needs,

vulnerability, diversity)

HouseMark’s approach – data (2)

Capturing data: • have you a co-ordinated approach to this?

• what info have you already got?

• what is it you need – consult?

• are there any performance targets on the quantity and quality of the information you are collecting?

• using customer relationship management (CRM) software

Storing data: • is the data stored in one place?

• is it easily accessible? Can it be manipulated?

HouseMark’s approach – data (3)

Updating data: • is there a systematic approach to this?

• are staff and customers incentivised to collect and provide information

• is the information you are collecting still relevant?

Using data: • do staff understand how to use data to achieve your outcomes

and objectives?

• are there sufficient analytical skills to do this?

• can reports be easily accessed and tailored for the needs of staff?

• are you monitoring whether you are achieving your outcomes?

HouseMark’s approach – data (4)

External data:

• Use alone or with your own data

• External data, linked to individual property, is used to

infer certain characteristics

• Gives us a much broader understanding of customers

• Data already in the public domain eg. national crime

stats, hospital admissions stats, educational attainment

stats, census, etc

• No Data Protection issues as none of it is ‘personal data’

• Accuracy ranges, but generally at least 90% accurate

HouseMark’s approach - evaluation

• Continuous improvement cycle – plan, act,

check

• Did activity on profiling and insight help achieve

desired outcomes?

• If not, why not? Blockages, what didn’t work

• If yes, what can be learnt and applied

elsewhere? What’s the next project?

• Learn from others!

TSA Toolkit

• HouseMark and CIH commissioned in March

2010 to produce toolkit on tenant insight in the

sector

• Considerable research and sector consultation

• Toolkit published electronically on TSA,

HouseMark and CIH websites

• Worth a good look! Covers all today’s issues

and more, in detail

• Loads of good practice examples

What’s in the toolkit? • Designed to help all types of provider

• Written to offer a ‘menu’ approach – pick & mix

• Includes: checklists, ideas for action and self assessment

questions

• Incorporates the following building blocks:

1. Create the right culture 6. Understand the information

2. Set your objectives 7. Use insight to take action

3. Consider what information you

need to collect

8. Assess the impact

4. Review what information you

already have

9. Embed your approach

5. Collect additional information

Case studies

• Data collection – One Vision, Blackpool,

Stonewall

• Using data for rent collection improvement –

Nottingham City Homes, Barnet Homes, Golden

Gates Housing

• Segmentation – Bromsgrove

• Local offers – Town & Country Housing, Great

Places

• TSA toolkit has many, many more!

Further information

samantha.mcgrady@housemark.co.uk

Tel. 024 7646 0500

www.housemark.co.uk

Interactive discussion • What type and how much data do you hold?

How do you collect and keep it up to date? What

do you actually DO with it?

• Have you undertaken any insight or profiling

work? Was it for a specific project? Did you

achieve your aims/objectives?

• How do you think insight can help with the

following (working in groups):

• Customer communications

• Managing rent arrears and maximising rental income

• Improving repairs efficiency