Taking a technical approach to collaboration

Rosebery’s mission statement is to make a positive difference and to provide good quality affordable homes and services by participating in wider initiatives and contributing to sustainable communities

The association, which owns and manages a diverse range of properties and services to over 2,400 properties across Epsom & Ewell and Surrey, has a history of close collaboration with residents which has helped to shape the organisation that we see today.

It continuously strives to provide excellent customer-focused services and to put its residents at the heart of everything it does. Its ‘Opportunity Store’ is an innovative way to involve residents in shaping their services, based on a ‘shopping basket’ approach where residents can choose the extent to which they become involved depending on their situation and their needs, by putting a couple of select items into their basket or filling up a trolley with goods. It has proved to be an extremely popular way of engaging with residents and has promoted strong relationships.

It is this culture of ‘listening and doing’ that has led to the award of a 10-year contract, worth around £1.3 million per annum, to Morrison to provide a range of repairs and maintenance services for residents.

When the time came to make sure the existing contract was good value, Rosebery held a ‘hearts and minds’ workshop with residents to talk about the service that they were receiving. The workshop highlighted that a greater use of technology could further improve the service and provide additional value for money.

Rosebery liked the way in which Morrison used technology to communicate with residents to keep them informed during works. “Optimising the use of technology contributes to an efficient quality service, which is really important to residents. These new communication tools will help us to ensure that we continue to be a landlord of choice,” said Deborah Pike, chief executive, Rosebery Housing Association.

In addition residents have the opportunity to provide instant feedback on the level of service that they received. Once they have completed the survey and provided their feedback, the operative does not have access to view their response, which means that there is no pressure on the resident to respond in a certain way. Comments can also be logged through postal surveys, text messages and Rosebery’s website.

The opportunity for residents to communicate with Rosebery online is to be further extended with the launch of its new-look website on 11 June.

Atticus Creative has helped residents develop the website, which will be used as a ‘community hub’, providing information on key events and opportunities in the local area, not only for Rosebery residents but for the whole community. Residents will be able to report repairs online and there will be links for them to provide feedback. There will be regular polls to gauge the whole community’s feelings on things that are important to them such as environmental issues and the website will link to social networking sites such as F acebook, which will contribute to connecting the community.

An added benefit is a secure area for Rosebery’s board members to enable them to access information and papers, which it is hoped will drive efficiencies.

“The new website is an exciting step in the future communication style of Rosebery,” said Pike. “We want to create a website that connects the whole community and working closely with residents has made it easily accessible.”