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Louder & Stronger

Be the voice of your community.

Involving and empowering residents is nothing new for Trent & Dove, but it was time we made some changes that will make our customer's voices

Louder & Stronger

We want the way customers and other stakeholders influence our business to move from good to great. 

The first step in achieving the aims we've set out in our new Customer Voice Strategy was looking for people like you to join our new Customer Committee. We're now recruiting for local and special interest groups, find out more here.

Customer Voice - From good to great

Right from when we were founded in 2001, customers have helped to set strategy, guide decisions and improve the homes and services we provide. Putting people and communities first and at the heart of how we work, are key parts of our Tpas and PlaceShapers membership.

Our twenty-year partnership with residents has made us the organisation we are today, and we’re determined to build on these strong foundations. We never forget that residents pay for just about everything we do and are the real experts when it comes to living in the homes we provide and the communities we serve. Having a diverse and effective customer voice is crucial to our mission to transform homes, lives and communities.

But what do we mean by customers, "customer voice" and how do we plan to change?

  • Our Customers

     By ‘customers’ we mean: 

    • Anyone who lives in a home provided by Trent & Dove
    • Future tenants, leaseholders, owners and their families
    • People living in and near the communities where we work

    We also work closely and need to engage with other important partners including:

    •  Local councils
    • Health and social care providers
    • Police and other emergency services
    • Charities and voluntary organisations
    • Community and faith groups
    • Membership bodies (for example, National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing, PlaceShapers, tpas).

    The new strategy explained here encompasses all of these groups and individuals.

  • A new Customer Voice

    The groups, structures and opportunities we’ve had in place for many years have achieved some great things, but are in some cases starting to show their age.
    The Government, Social Housing Regulator and Housing Ombudsman Service now rightly expect housing providers to do more to listen to their residents and act on what they say.

    So it’s time for a change, and we also want to learn from how other successful organisations engage with their customers, including new methods and technologies.

  • Together with Tenants Charter

    We have already adopted the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants Charter (Click Here)

    This covers six commitments:

    1. Relationships: treating all residents with respect, through relationships based on openness, honesty and transparency.
    2. Communication: providing residents with clear, accessible and timely information on the issues that matter to them, including homes, communities, how we address problems, how we’re run and our performance.
    3. Voice and influence: seeking and valuing the views of residents, and using this information to inform decisions. Making sure every individual feels listened to and can speak without fear.
    4. Accountability: working in partnership with residents to scrutinise and hold us to account for our decisions, homes and services.
    5. Quality: providing high-quality, well maintained, safe and well-managed homes.
    6. When things go wrong: giving residents simple and accessible routes to raise issues, make complaints and seek redress, with timely advice and support when things go wrong.
  • Vision

    The Customer Voice Strategy that has been created is about:

    • Listening to customers so we can improve homes and services, and how we contribute to and invest in our communities.
    • Making sure that our strategy and long-term plans are aligned with and influenced by customers’ views, needs and expectations.
    • Showing customers how their views influence our actions and decisions at every level
    • Helping us to play an important and influential role in the communities we serve, to make them successful, thriving and sustainable.

    You can read the strategy in full here.

  • Benefits of a fresh approach

    To achieve a louder & stronger customer voice we want to:

    • Offer a wider range of opportunities for customers to share their views, tailored to the reasons why they want their voice to be heard and how they prefer to engage
    • Gather high-quality data to obtain meaningful customer insight we can use throughout our business to achieve our vision and objectives
    • Be clear about who our customers are, and how we can best interact with different groups and individuals
    • Reach and learn from groups that have previously been less involved
    • Distinguish better between our responsibilities as a housing provider and the broader role we play in local communities
    • Ensure that involved customers feel valued, supported and encouraged to keep on giving their views and input
    • Assure our Board that the views of all customers are listened to and acted upon appropriately
    • Meet the expectations set out in the Social Housing White Paper, National Housing Federation Code of Governance and Together with Tenants Charter.
  • Creation of a new Customer Committee

    Our vision is to build a vibrant, valued, supportive group of people who are all passionate about improving their area and homes. Improving things for themselves and others.

    With your help, the committee will make sure that Trent & Dove’s customers’ views are listened to and acted upon. You will help shape and monitor our work as we transform homes, lives, and communities.

    The new committee will report directly to the Board, focusing on our role as a housing provider and on our community investment activity.

    For more information and to apply to join the committee please click here.

 

 

 

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