About our Customer Committee

Trent & Dove is supported by a Customer Committee, whose members are Trent & Dove customers. The committee takes customers’ views into account to shape and continuously improve the homes and services that Trent & Dove provides and the community investments it makes. 

Trent & Dove also has an  Executive Team and a Board that are responsible for the organisation's day-to-day running.

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Nick Bush | Independent member

Nick Bush

What inspired you to become a Customer Committee member at Trent & Dove?

I stopped working full-time a few years ago when I turned 60 after a career mostly spent as a management consultant, and realised there was no shortage of things to do.

I have been a trustee of two music charities for about six years that create opportunities for young people.

My interest in social housing was sparked when I realised it wasn't just about property. There’s another aspect to it: how you create opportunities for people by giving them a good community to live in, which chimed with my charity interests.

I was inspired when I went to the assessment day - it was just fantastic to hear about the work Trent & Dove do.

The residents were invited to tell us about the positive aspects of Trent & Dove, as well as their issues. That in itself was very motivating.

And then to hear Trent & Dove CEO Ursula Bennion talking was genuinely inspiring.

It is talking about community, not about whether you've got houses, running water or other minimum criteria.

What makes you a good Customer Committee member?

I've been consulting on customer experience for the last 20 years.

I bring that wider perspective not only of customer experience, but also of how organisations work, how they use technology and so on.

My wife's family live in social housing and has done so for nearly 50 years. From their experience, I identified that there's a stigma attached to being social housing, which there is. I think that's just appalling that people make those assumptions.

What experiences, both directly and indirectly, do you bring that make you an effective Committee member?

I have been a management consultant for most of my career so I'm curious about how organisations work and function.

When I feel there is an issue which can affect the organisation as a whole, I raise this and push it. We've got the ability as a committee to do this.

Equality diversity and inclusion: how does the committee ensure that Trent & Dove is embracing this?

There’s a really strong drive in the committee to ensure that all the customer voices get heard, not just the people who complain or answer the customer surveys, so I’d say that it permeates all of our discussions.

Do you have a favourite quote or philosophy that inspires you?

My approach is best summarised as “we can always make things more complicated, but let's not.” It is about removing the unnecessary stuff and just leaving the important bit.

The Customer Committee’s purpose is to:

1. To provide a diverse cross-section of views, insight and opinion to the board from a customer perspective to:

a) Influence the board’s decision-making on key customer-related issues relating to the organisation’s responsibilities as a landlord or its commitment to communities (“Place-shaping”)
b) Enable the customer voice to shape and, and continuously improve, the homes and services that Trent & Dove provides and the community investments it makes. 
 

2. To scrutinise operational service delivery to ensure that quality, performance and impact is in line with:

a) The expectations set by the board
b) The organisation’s customer service commitments.
 

3. To provide assurance to the board on the impact and operation of Trent & Dove’s community support and investment activities, including:

a) Approving the criteria for awarding community grants and priorities for funding
b) Providing assurance to the board that Value for Money and Social Return on Investment is being achieved as a result of community initiatives, activities and grants.
 

4. To provide assurance to the board that there are effective mechanisms in place:

a) For the organisation to gather and analyse customer opinion and insight on key customer-related issues
b) For the organisation to take customers’ views into account in a meaningful way before making decisions on important matters which affect them
c) For the organisation to respond to customer views and feedback and implement continuous improvement actions
d) To enable the quality of homes and services provided by T&D to be continuously improved in response to customer insight and feedback;
e) to effectively communicate to customers how their views and insight have influenced Trent & Dove’s actions and decision-making.