Can we fix it?

We’re always looking at ways that we can develop great services both now and for the future. Your feedback has told us that the daily maintenance of your homes is one of the most valued services we provide. Over the past year, we’ve been looking at the range of ways in which the service could be delivered and have now decided that the best way to do this is to create our own in-house maintenance service.

This means we’ll be able to:

• Make savings of around £400k to reinvest in our services
• Have direct control over quality and how the service develops
• Create employment and training opportunities for local people
• Adapt and grow the service in line with your feedback

We’re planning for the new service to start from September 2012. Until then, we’ll continue working together with our partner contractor, MITIE, to carry out responsive repairs and to help ensure that the transition to the new service is as smooth as possible.

As we start to build the new service over the next 10 months, we’ll be involving both customers and staff, to help us design and create a great service, as part of our Customer Deal offer. If you want to become involved in a Focus Group or feedback panel to help us deliver this exciting project, please contact us for details.

Latest news

Customer group continues to shape service (February 2012)

15 customers got together with Sentinel staff this month to continue planning the new maintenance service. With only seven months to go until the official launch, the focus group concentrated on incorporating the feedback from our resident inspectors and addressing how we can minimise missed appointments.

Branding for the new service was also discussed. You’ll be able to have your say on initial van designs and a name for the service shortly.

The next major milestone that the group will be working on is selecting the new IT system to deal with the repairs process from initial report through to the completed job that you are satisfied with.

You can read more from the resident focus group in the upcoming issue of Spirit magazine.

Online poll results (January 2012)

During November and December we asked customers what the most important thing is when you need a repair.

The poll question was on the front page of our website and on our facebook page.

The overwhelming majority indicated that "getting the job done first time" was the most important aspect with quality of workmanship and choice of repair timeslots coming in joint second.

These results have been given to the project team to help them shape the new service. Don't worry if you didn't catch this poll question as there will be more opportunities to give your feedback and get involved throughout the year.

Focus group gets underway (December 2011)

The project is now underway and kicked off with a successful focus group with residents this month. 13 residents were joined by four members of staff to discuss how we’re going to delivery the new service.

Three workshops focused on customer priorities, ideas to improve the current service and how we can measure success.

The group were keen to share their experiences and to make suggestions for a better service . The top three priorities for a new service were identified as:

1. Good customer service
2. Getting it right first time
3. Quality

The group will continue to meet over the next year and will help us to deliver a service that meets the needs of our customers.

Our vision for the new service:

As part of being a great landlord, provide an outstanding property maintenance service that delivers on customer expectations.