Scrutiny Panel

Spotlight on… 

The panel welcomed the involvement of Karen Rosser, Chief People Officer, who provide direct support and act as a vital link to our board. This collaboration highlights the board’s commitment to not only listening to customer feedback but also ensuring customers can actively influence services and witness meaningful changes.   

Additionally, Michelle McGregor, Customer Engagement Manager, play key roles in facilitating the panel sessions, ensuring smooth and productive discussions.  

They shone a light on:  

Complaints – process and statistics (focus on stage 0) 

• Enhancing complaint processes: Recommendations included introducing new methods for updating customers on informal complaint outcomes, providing clearer information about the complaints process on our website, and conducting cross-departmental lessons learned sessions.​ 

• Private spaces for sensitive conversations: Panel members highlighted the need for Coaches to have private spaces during drop-in sessions or when visiting customers’ homes to facilitate sensitive discussions.​ 

Customer Experience Overview – challenges and improvement plans 

• Promoting support services: The panel emphasised the importance of promoting services like Care and Repair and the Databank to ensure customers are aware of available support.​ 

• Sharing call patterns: Suggestions were made to inform customers about peak and off-peak times for contacting our Customer Experience team, aiming to improve response times and customer satisfaction.​ 

Other topics discussed:  

• Renaming fund: Panel members recommended changing the internal name used to mirror the external name of ‘We’re Here For You’ to foster a more positive and person-focused approach.​ 

• Training programme development: The panel agreed on devising a training programme for future topics, ensuring continuous improvement and colleague development. 

The panel welcomed the involvement of Karen Rosser, Chief People Officer, who provide direct support and act as a vital link to our board. This collaboration highlights the board’s commitment to not only listening to customer feedback but also ensuring customers can actively influence services and witness meaningful changes.   

Additionally, Michelle McGregor, Community Engagement Manager plays a key role in facilitating the panel sessions, ensuring smooth and productive discussions. 

They shone a light on: 

Customer Satisfaction 

The panel focused on how customer feedback is gathered, shared, and acted upon, as well as key service improvements already in progress and gave the following recommendations: 

• Have a better understanding of how the STAR satisfaction questions are set by Welsh Government to ensure all landlords ask the same set of questions 

• Recommendations to ensure the coaches in the community have a space to share customer satisfaction on the ground. 

• Recommend to add a webpage on the different ways we capture satisfaction rather than just a STAR satisfaction page. 

• Recommendation to highlight good examples as well as what we need to improve on. 

• Recommendation to look at the google reviews – are they accurate/old/needed? 

• Recommend sharing a better understanding with all customers on the process for raising repairs, including budgets and timelines. 

• Reassured that the new housing management system offers a clear picture and accountability of what’s working well and what needs to be improved.  

• Recommend to have random checks on completed works. 

• Recommendation that contractors who subcontract need to make it clear to customers which contractor will be attending. 

• Recommend explore customer morale – listening to results from D.A.V.E, Question of the Month etc.  to see what can be done next. 

• Welcomed suggestion of feedback in 12-18 months time to identify if we have made a difference and going in the right direction. 

• Recommend exploring good practice with other RSL’s on what has worked for others.  

• Recommend exploring repair items done by customers in their own homes and or handyman service. Small jobs to save contractors calling out. 

The panel discussed a range of topics, including our repairs responsibilities policy, voids process, annual rent setting, and recent Board updates. Members also received updates on engagement activities and were pleased to hear that the merging of the Hendre and Hafod Boards (now the Common Board) is working well. 

In total, panel members made nine recommendations, one suggestion, and twelve observations during the meeting. A new Board feedback template will also be developed to show where scrutiny recommendations and observations have been discussed. 

Spotlight on Repair Responsibilities 

Members gained a better understanding of Hafod’s repair responsibilities policy and provided several recommendations to improve communication and transparency for customers. 

Key recommendations included: 

• Advising customers that photos are taken at the void stage to help identify repair responsibilities and suggesting customers do the same when moving in or out. 

• Advertising available payment methods for recharges and offering affordability discussions with coaches to reduce concerns about costs. 

• Making it clear that customers are charged our preferred contractor rate, ensuring costs are as low as possible. 

• Including details on costs and payment processes directly in the policy and communications. 

• Linking related policies for easy cross-reference. 

• Providing training for call and email handlers to improve their understanding of properties and the repair reporting process, including exploring video call options. 

The panel also suggested exploring financial incentives or penalties for contractors as part of KPIs to encourage quality and local engagement. 

Members made several positive observations, welcoming improvements to the void process, clearer expectations for contractors, and continued monitoring of customer satisfaction. 

Spotlight on Annual Rent Setting 

Members reviewed the rent and service charge setting process and offered feedback to help improve transparency and understanding for customers. 

Key recommendations included: 

• Providing clearer communication about what service charges cover, as some customers still find this confusing. 

• Increasing communication about value for money and how the Hafod £1 is spent, to help manage perceptions. 

Members were pleased that Welsh Housing Partnership (WHP) homes follow the same rent-setting module as general needs homes and that the 2025 consultation has been split between rent and service charges to provide better insights. 

Engagement and Community Updates 

Members welcomed an update on Hafod’s customer engagement activities, including plans to refresh the Customer Engagement Framework. They were also pleased to hear about financial savings achieved for customers through access to the Databank and partnership initiatives that help reduce costs. 

A special thank you was shared with everyone involved in the Fir Tree Community Allotment project, which received £12,000 of Social Value funding to make the space more accessible for all. (find out more about Social Value funding Social Value | www.hafod.org.uk) 

Any Other Business 

• The intermittent issue with website photo uploads when reporting repairs has been investigated and will continue to be monitored as new systems are implemented. 

• Some members experienced device connectivity issues when joining the meeting; discussions are underway with IT to prevent this in future sessions.