“The results speak for themselves; more calls resolved first time, more repairs completed in target time frames, less void loss and more satisfied customers.”
Judith Comber, information systems analyst, Radian
As an organisation that puts customer service first, Radian is always keen to look for improvements in the way it administers calls and contact from tenants. So when Radian sought to make further improvements in customer service, the social housing provider turned to Capita’s technology for the solution. The implementation of a new customer relationship management system has resulted in great improvements in customer satisfaction, better service and improved efficiencies.
Better call management
The team had already been using Capita’s OPENHousing suite for some time but added the CRM module to manage incoming calls. This software module allows advisors to centrally access all relevant information relating to the customer so queries can be dealt with more efficiently than before. There is less need to call tenants back with answers to their questions as staff can put in a request for an order or answer a query regarding the status of a complaint or repair from one screen.
“As a result, the number of calls resolved at first contact has increased from 65% to 80%,” says Judith. “The call handling times have also reduced from 6.2 minutes to 5.2 minutes on average, so more customers can be helped, more quickly.”
Getting the priorities right
Radian also introduced a new workflow system from Capita. The system can automatically change the priority of orders in the service department to reflect more pressing jobs and ensures work is organised in the most efficient way. This has had an immediate impact. Since the introduction of the system, ‘Priority One’ orders completed on target have risen from 89.67% to 99.48%.
“Advisors no longer have to liaise with the service department by email to get repair jobs logged. Instead, information gathered from customer contact feeds automatically into the workflow system,” says Judith.
Reducing void loss
The system has helped in reducing the turnaround time for a void property. “All relevant departments, such as surveyors and maintenance teams, are automatically alerted when a property is about to become void. This ensures that any delays caused by internal mail or ineffective communication have been eradicated,” says Judith.
“Our void loss has already decreased from 0.45%to 0.43% in three months, which represents a saving of £21,383.”
The workflow system has other uses and alerts staff if they are nearing the 10 day deadline to respond to correspondence. As a result, correspondence replied to within target has risen from 74.17% to 86.54%.
Reducing the paper mountain
As part of their customer service rethink, Radian introduced Capita’s Swordfish document management system, specific to the needs of social housing providers in the UK. This will help reduce the office space taken up by filing cabinets and ensure easier access to customer and housing-related documentation.
“It is estimated that retrieving paper files and finding documents costs around £400 per week in terms of staff time. This is reduced to just £8 a week if files are stored electronically,”
says Judith.
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“It will improve every aspect of the management of homes too, as staff will be able to access information such as gas certificates and tenancy agreements instantly.” says Judith of implementing Swordfish electronic document management system.
Judith and the team at Radian are expecting all the changes to improve their ability to manage properties more effectively and ensure their customers are happier. She concludes: “Customer satisfaction levels have already gone up by 3% so we know our tenants have noticed the improvements. We are expecting this trend to continue as we introduce further changes.”