Agenda item

10.1

The Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee received a report on the outcome of a scrutiny review into the Sheffield Homes customer complaints procedure.  The Sheffield Homes Board had approved the establishment of a Customer Scrutiny Panel, whose main purpose was to examine the customer service delivery of Sheffield Homes in relation to the level of customer satisfaction of complaints handling and to review whether this met its expectations.  Recruitment to the Panel had been open to tenants, leaseholders and customers of Sheffield Homes, and the Community Engagement Team, with independent support and advice from the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS), along with a steering group of tenants and other customers, had successfully recruited 15 scrutineers.  The project itself had been completed with six scrutineers, four of whom were in attendance at this meeting.  The Panel had been allocated a budget of £5,000 from Sheffield Homes for the duration of the project.  

10.2

In support of the scrutiny report, Ian Alexander, a representative of the scrutineers, gave a presentation on the review.

10.3

Members of the Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee raised a number of questions and the following responses were provided:-

·       The scrutineers attended a staff forum to meet with those staff who handled complaints in the Contact Centre, housing offices and within New Bank House.  The staff interviewed as part of the review were selected by the Sheffield Homes Customer Care and Communications Team.

·       It had been found that, on some occasions, the incorrect operator would be sent out to a property as there had been a lack of clarity as to the precise nature of the problem reported.  It had been determined, as part of the review, that this was most likely due to the fact that there were two separate call centres – one for Sheffield Homes and one for Kier – and it was often the case that the caller had contacted the wrong Call Centre.  Call handlers received regular training in terms of acquiring the relevant knowledge to be able to ensure that they were fully aware of the issue and that they were in a position to send the correct operator to the caller’s property.  The fact that the incorrect operator was sent to a property was sometimes due to the fault of the caller, who provided incorrect information on the precise nature of the problem.

·       The overall review process had taken approximately six months to complete, and the scrutineers had met for approximately two hours, once a fortnight.

·       In terms of future, similar projects, the scrutineers had just commenced a similar process in terms of grass cutting on Sheffield Homes land.

10.4

Alison Woods, Customer Care and Communications Team, Sheffield Homes, stated that Sheffield Homes had been very satisfied with the quality of the work undertaken as part of the Challenge for Change project, and that the findings and recommendations were in line with Sheffield Homes’ own findings.  The report on the review should be considered by the Sheffield Homes Board in November 2012, in conjunction with proposals for the implementation of a new complaints process by April 2013.  She stated that it was hoped that, following the implementation of the new complaints process, all the issues and concerns raised as part of the Challenge for Change project would be addressed.

10.5

RESOLVED: That the Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee:-

(a)

notes the information contained in the Challenge for Change scrutiny report now submitted, the information provided as part of the presentation and the responses provided to the questions raised; and

(b)

expresses its thanks and appreciation for the excellent work undertaken by the scrutineers, as part of the review, and extends to them its best wishes for any similar future work.