Insight to Engagement – The Value of Knowing your Tenants

4th December 2024

by Jimmy Rogers

Jimmy Rogers interviews Kate Lindley from Change Network.

Complying with consumer standards means knowing your tenants – understanding the people behind the doors of the homes you provide. Most importantly, you’re tasked with showing how you use that information to enhance tenant engagement and evolve your business.

Kate Lindley, Co-founder and Director of Change Network, shares expert insights on combining transactional and perception data including demand, failure and satisfaction data to ensure housing providers meet tenant needs and regulatory expectations.

Understanding regulatory judgements

Q: Kate, can you share some key takeaways from the recent analysis of regulatory judgements under the new consumer regulations?

A: Our analysis of 42 regulatory judgements highlighted some key trends and areas that housing providers should focus on:

C1 (Top Grade): 10 providers achieved this grade, showing strong compliance and meaningful tenant engagement.

C2 (Compliant with Work to Do): 17 providers were graded here, meaning they need to make improvements but are generally on the right track.  For many there was more work to do on understanding customers and making use of that data to inform service planning and delivery

C3 (Non-compliant): 14 providers failed to meet standards, often due to poor data management, repairs and maintenance issues.

C4 (Severe Non-compliance): One provider received a C4 grade, indicating significant failings, particularly around data and following through on planned actions.

Key themes for housing providers

Q: What themes and challenges have you observed for successful providers and non-compliant providers?

A: We’ve noticed some key themes that might determine more successful outcomes like:

Strong tenant engagement: Providers who excel in tenant engagement, building real, personal connections and ensuring representative inputs tend to perform better.

Data usage: Effective use of accurate, actionable data is crucial for making informed decisions and improving service delivery.

At the same time, there are many challenges that other providers are grappling with, like:

Data issues: Many providers still struggle with siloed systems and poor-quality data, which affects their ability to understand and respond to tenant needs.

Repairs and maintenance: Common issues include slow response times, repeat visits for the same issues and service backlogs.

Steps for improving tenant engagement and service delivery

Q: How can housing providers improve tenant engagement and service delivery based on these findings?

A: Improving tenant engagement and service delivery is a multi-faceted effort, Jimmy. Here are some steps that can help:

Engagement strategies:

• Personalise communication using data to tailor interactions with tenants in ways that suit them.
• Engage tenants in their own communities to foster trust, whether through in-person visits or local events.
• Don’t forget about the silent majority—those tenants who don’t engage often but still have valuable feedback.

Using data as a catalyst:

• Consistently clean and validate data to ensure it’s actionable and reliable.
• Prioritise resources for deeper data analysis, which can help uncover patterns and inform better decision-making.
• Analyse feedback, complaints, and repair data to pinpoint areas for improvement – and make sure you take action as a result.

Driving action and measuring impact:

• Move beyond just reporting data. Focus on tracking and measuring the actual impact of any changes you make.
• Combine different data types—operational, perception, and assurance data—to uncover trends and address service gaps.
• Analyse feedback, complaints, and repair data to pinpoint areas for improvement – and make sure you take action as a result.

Q: Can you think of a great example you could share of a provider who seems to be on the right track in improving tenant engagement?

A: One organisation on the South coast comes to mind. They’re conducting annual tenancy visits, building personal relationships with tenants, getting staff out and about to meet tenants where they are – and ensuring they have comprehensive data about their tenants. This data enables them to tailor services more effectively and respond to tenant needs in a more personalised way.

They’re also making great strides in involving tenants directly in the design of services. During the discovery and design phases, they’re asking tenants what ‘frictionless’ services would look like from their perspective. This approach ensures that services are designed with tenant needs at the forefront and that they align with their expectations from the outset.

Another organisation is doing something similar, especially around major repairs. They’re engaging tenants in designing the repairs process so that the services that tenants interact with most frequently—like repairs—are shaped by their feedback. The goal is to make repairs more effective and in line with tenant expectations, ultimately improving satisfaction.

Key themes for housing providers

Q: What’s the role of co-production in all of this?

A: Co-production plays a central role in these initiatives. It’s about moving beyond traditional consultation to real co-design with tenants. By involving tenants in every phase—discovery, design, and delivery – organisations can better understand tenant needs, build trust and create services that truly meet tenant expectations.

Applying these insights in your organisation

Q: How can other housing providers apply these insights in their own organisations?

A: Other organisations can benefit by adopting similar practices. For example, they should focus on building strong, personal relationships with tenants in ways that suit the tenants themselves (including those who are less keen to engage), improving data collection and curation to gain better insights and involving tenants early in the design and development of services. This approach leads to more responsive, tenant-centred service delivery, improving satisfaction and compliance.

Other organisations can benefit by adopting similar practices. For example, they should focus on building strong, personal relationships with tenants in ways that suit the tenants themselves (including those who are less keen to engage), improving data collection and curation to gain better insights and involving tenants early in the design and development of services. This approach leads to more responsive, tenant-centred service delivery, improving satisfaction and compliance.

Key enablers for achieving higher grades

Q: What do you think are the key enablers for housing providers who want to improve their grading?

A: To achieve a C1 or a C2 grading, it’s essential to focus on having accurate, timely data. That includes creating a single source of truth for tenant and asset information. This ensures that data is integrated across systems, allowing for better analysis and decision-making. By consolidating tenant data into one clear source, or by being clear on the master data source, and ensuring data validation, housing providers can better predict demand and understand service impacts, leading to improved outcomes. It’s critical to establish clear ownership of data across the organisation, ensuring systems are updated with validated information and that any anomalies are promptly addressed.

Meaningful tenant engagement is another key enabler for improving service delivery. Housing providers should start by understanding how tenants prefer to engage with them, using various methods like surveys, direct conversations and analysing tenant interactions. Knowing your tenants in this way with this data helps to tailor services that truly meet tenant needs, ensuring diverse voices are heard and that silent or underserved groups are represented. By integrating operational, perception and transactional data, providers can identify patterns that help prioritise changes and deliver actionable insights. The process culminates in a feedback loop where tenants see that their input leads to tangible improvements, creating a more responsive and accountable service.

Knowing your tenants

“It’s clear that creating meaningful tenant engagement and improving service delivery requires a focus on trust and understanding. Meeting tenants where they are—whether through mobile libraries, family hubs or engaging in services like allotments—creates an environment for open communication and valuable feedback. This trust is key to gathering the insights needed to make real improvements in the landlord-tenant relationship.”

Kate Lindley

Co-Founder and Director, Change Network

The ultimate takeaway is that housing providers need to collaborate closely with tenants and regulators. Co-regulation, where all parties work together, helps ensure services not only meet compliance standards but are also tailored to tenant needs. As providers continue to better utilise data and involve tenants in decision-making, we can expect even more informed decisions and improved service delivery in the future.