Annual Report 2019/20 – Getting involved
We’re always looking for new ways to involve our customers and adding to the team of volunteers who help us to shape the services we deliver.
This year has been no different, following the introduction of Clean and Green Inspectors and the creation of our editorial panel for our quarterly customer magazine, Our Voice.
Our Customer Forum
Our Customer Forum helps to influence what we do and how we do it.
The group works closely with colleagues and our Group Board to check we’re taking the right approach, track our performance and influence the decisions we make.
Despite some of our plans being slightly delayed by the Coronavirus pandemic, the last 12 months have seen the Forum make good progress, with the most significant achievement being the inclusion of the group within our policy review process.
Alongside colleagues, the Forum will agree a programme of scrutiny reviews that are linked to our business objectives and customers’ priorities.
Longhurst Group policies
All customer-facing policies go through a rigorous consultation process as part of the new policy framework, with customer recommendations being taken on board when any new policy or associated procedures are written.
The Forum carries out its assurance role before the policy is presented to our Group Board, so members can be reassured that in-depth customer consultation has been carried out and the policy reflects our customers’ views and priorities.
For transparency, we’ll then add the new approved policy to our website, for the rest of our customers to view.
Clean and Green Inspectors
These are customers who live in flats or schemes that have communal spaces, are paying for a service charge and want to help us improve the standards of grounds maintenance and communal cleaning.
The inspectors use online forms and a rating system to report to us back with their findings, as well as highlighting areas for improvement.
We’re also using feedback from the Rant and Rave text message service to target the schemes with the lowest satisfaction ratings. We’ll continue to earmark these for a series of inspections until standards improve.
Editorial Panel
Earlier in 2020, we also established an Editorial Panel for Our Voice – Longhurst Group's customer magazine.
The panel works closely with our Communications Team on the production of the quarterly publication.
From feedback received from the panel, we’ve already developed the new ‘You Said, We Did’ feature as well as ‘Your Questions Answered’.
Interested in getting involved?
If you’re interested in getting involved in any of the volunteering opportunities, visit the dedicated Longhurst Group Customer Involvement page to see all of the opportunities on offer.