Prima Group has transformed its resident engagement via their new initiative, ‘The Big Door Knock’.
The Big Door Knock is about getting behind every door and speaking to customers face-to-face. The aim is to find out how they are doing and if they need any extra support. The emphasis is on really listening to customers. It is also an opportunity for Prima to make sure that its customer data is accurate and up to date, as well as inspecting the quality of homes for any repairs and to proactively identify any issues with damp or mould.
For Prima, this new way of working is also about culture change. The organisation has adopted a ‘one-team’ approach, involving staff from every department across the organisation. This made sure that as many staff as possible really understand the people they’re working for. The customer. The project was trialled first in March 2023, and adapted following feedback from customers.
Postcards are sent in advance to each home to let people know when someone will visit. And all colleagues are fully prepared and equipped with a tablet, ready to complete the survey with each customer. Behind the scenes, colleagues are busy following up on all actions identified by the surveys.
Prima also taps into its established partnerships with local community groups and services, to link their customers with support services in the community. During each visit, customers receive a detailed booklet sharing available support locally.
Impact
Feedback from customers has been positive and they have appreciated the proactive approach.
From an operational point of view, Prima has improved the quality of information about its customers enabling the organisation to better target families who need that little extra support, which as also included minor adaptations in people’s homes.
In addition, 21% of the homes visited were found to have unreported damp or mould issues. The majority of cases were minor, and Prima was able to assess and treat the issues quickly and monitor people’s homes to make sure that they are free from any potential hazards.
The biggest insight has been finding out that of the customers surveyed, 43% disclosed that they are struggling financially, specifically with bills and food. Prima was able to help with food, and energy while also linking customers to existing support providers.
Further opportunities were realised and almost 20% of customers surveyed expressed an interest in being involved with Prima’s customer voice board, scrutiny panels, street reps, and customer groups. This will make a huge impact to how services are delivered in the future.
Lessons Learnt
There must be a commitment from the top for a project like this to succeed. Establishing a one-team approach was invaluable, with regular communication and feedback. It was also really important to ensure that the approach was customer-focused, and that actions were followed through to completion, helping to build trust from customers.
Prima is now on with the task of reviewing is operating model to provide greater visibility in its neighbourhoods across the city region.
