New HouseMark services
Complaints accreditation service
HouseMark launched its new complaints accreditation service in June.
Organisations applying for accreditation will undertake a robust examination of their service against pre-defined criteria, and be assessed by trained HouseMark associates with a track record in delivering customer care services. Trained Tenant Assessors will also be used to give the scheme a unique tenant focus.
Dr Mike Biles (Housing Ombudsman in England) said:
‘I welcome and endorse HouseMark’s complaints accreditation scheme. With the new regulatory framework focusing more on the way landlords respond to complaints, both as a means to learn from mistakes and as an indicator of service excellence, an effective internal complaints procedure is of paramount importance.’
Gas safety benchmarking
HouseMark’s gas safety benchmarking services went live in April. The only cross-sector UK wide gas safety benchmarking service, developed in consultation with landlords, CORGI and TAROE, the service is available for no additional cost to full HouseMark subscribers. It enables you to compare data on your compliance with Gas Safety Regulations, and to share information on methods used to achieve compliance.
Recent HouseMark events
Wales Learning Event: Self Assessment – 12 May 2010
Presentations were made by:
- senior Assembly Regulation staff
- self assessment and whole association assessment pilot associations
- the Improvement Consultancy and DEVCO, on self assessment against the Assembly’s Core Principles of Customer Service
- Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association on conducting a Citizen Centred Governance Review
- CIH, on Resident-led self-regulation
- Newydd Housing Association on tenant-powered performance and tenant scrutiny
Wales Performance Improvement Club: Estate Services – 10 May 2010
The 130 organisations in HouseMark’s Estates Services Club between them currently spend £468million per year on estate services. Alan Crowder gave details of club membership, the types of services covered, and HouseMark’s Estate Services Benchmarking, describing cost indicators developed for quantitative benchmarking, and the Peer Review Exercise and Photo Book developed for assessing the quality of estate services. Other presentations were made by:
- Chester DHT, on defining service charges for estate services
- V2C, on their use of Community Caretakers
- Poole Housing Partnership, on using Probation Services to get improvements done on their estates
- Taff Housing Association on their Estate Assistant Service
For further information on HouseMark services and presentations from recent events, go to www.housemark.co.uk
For further information on Housemark in Wales, contact Mani Hundal, tel 02476 472701, email manveer.hundal@housemark.co.uk