One Vision Housing
Scrutiny Team
Communications Review - Electrical Appointment Letters
Background information
Following a complaint raised with the Housing Ombudsman, One Vision Housing received a recommendation to work with our contractor to review electrical safety appointment letters to ensure the tone of the letter was respectful, and consider if any changes were necessary.
Our approach
Tenant feedback is invaluable when it comes to refining our services. It pinpoints areas for improvement, fostering innovation and trust. By valuing tenant input, we can create a responsive environment, ensuring regulatory compliance and tenant satisfaction.
To ensure we acted appropriately in response to the recommendation, we called upon our dedicated Tenant Scrutiny Panel to review the electrical letters and provide feedback. We asked them to consider the following points when reviewing the letter:
- Language used and tone of the letter
- Overall legibility of the letter
- Tenant's understanding of what's expected of them and any next steps
After reviewing the letters, our Scrutiny Panel requested clarification on the following points:
- Is it necessary to include legal information with regards to no access?
- Are Saturday appointments available, and if so, when would they take place?
- The letter references adults, but should this be clarified to someone over 18.
Further to this, just over half of the panel agreed the tone should be adjusted and the grammar should be reviewed by OVH teams.
Outcomes
As a result of our tenant's feedback, we were able to implement the following changes:
- We consulted with our teams and removed legal information with regards to no access.
- Made adjustments to the tone of the letter to ensure our tenants were aware of their responsibilities in a respectful manner.
- Included clarification around Saturday appointments.
- Amended all grammatic issues.
After the tenant's recommendations were implemented, the letter went to the Repairs Team for further consultation, where it was approved and actioned on our systems.
Tenant Scrutiny Panel Member, Pam Holliday, said:
As a tenant, it was nice to go through the letter to make sure other tenants get a good service from OVH. I'm happy to see that our suggestions were taken into account and put into action. I'm looking forward to collaborating with OVH to make sure their communications continue to be effective and respectful to tenants.