Improvements with the complaints process

There has been a significant shift in the way in which complaints are handled across the housing sector. Consequently, we have made lots of changes and introduced better complaint handling practices in the last year.

Communications & visibility

Our Customer Experience Team Leader worked alongside our Communications Team in 2023-24 to introduce complaints into our regular communications with our customers. Our newsletters now include learnings identified from complaints, as well as the Housing Ombudsman’s contact details. You can view our latest newsletter here: Our Spring 2024 newsletter | mhs homes

Our Compliments & Complaints Leaflets were also created and circulated to the following areas:

  • At the lettings stage for any new customers  
  • To have on hand at customer engagement events  
  • In our reception area at the Broadside office  
  • On site at our Foyers  
  • On site at Sheltered Housing locations  
  • Provided to new colleagues at their staff inductions  
  • Available for operatives and front-line staff to take with them of visits

You can view our leaflet here: Complaints leaflet | mhs homes

Scrutiny & oversight

Regular meetings were set up in 2023-24 with our Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC), Mark Miles Lea, Group Board and Heart of Medway Trustee. Mark attended the Housing Ombudsman Member Responsible for Complaints event in October 2023, alongside the Customer Experience Team Leader.

This event highlighted the importance of the role of the MRC and setting a positive complaint handling culture from the Board down to all other colleagues. We listened to other landlords who were in similar positions to our own and

Following this event, it was decided to introduce a second MRC, our Executive Director of Customer and Transformation, Amy Cheswick. Amy’s role is to have oversight of the operations of the Complaints Service and to influence the complaints culture around the business.

Our Customer Scrutiny Panel (CSP) also received an introductory meeting and following presentation on the complaints service in December 2023. Every six months the CSP will be given an updated presentation from the Customer Experience Team Leader on the key trends, issues and learnings arising from complaints.

The CSP completed a review of our gas contractor, Liberty Gas, last year where they identified a lack of oversight of complaints when a contractor handles the complaint. To address this, contract managers that were also complaint handlers, attended a Contractor Complaints Workshop delivered by the Contracts Officer and Customer Experience Team Leader.

In line with the new complaint handling code, all complaints relating to contractors working on our behalf, must be dealt with by mhs. Therefore, we have asked all contractors to refer any issues to mhs or ask our customer to contact us directly to complain. This gives us better oversight of the complaints that relate to individual contractors acting on our behalf.

Training & continuous learning

In 2023-24 the Complaint handler training was delivered to all selected complaint handlers across the business. This initial training focused on the new code, our Complaint Policy changes, their duties as a complaint handler, response templates, empathy, the Compensation Policy, and Managing Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour Policy.

Following the initial training, we introduced complaint workshops. These workshops are based on industry hot topics, internal trends, and subjects that complaint handlers feel they need to learn more about. We have completed workshops on the following:

  • Effective response writing  
  • Contact and communication  
  • Contractor complaints   
  • Financial remedies

In previous years we had not captured the learnings from complaints. As part of the new role out, we introduced a learning from complaint form which captures what we have learnt on each case. This is highlighted the value in complaint handling and helps us to see what types of learnings are required. The learnings identified have directly influenced the all-staff training, All Stars, that is running throughout 2024-25.

We also added a complaints introduction to all staff inductions. This is so we can discuss the importance of complaints, the lessons we learn from them and set the positive complaints culture from day one of joining mhs homes. We also teach colleagues what information to gather from customers if they complain to them, and how to send that to the Customer Experience Team to be formally acknowledged and inputted into our data systems for recording and monitoring.

Reporting

We have improved our reporting of complaints. We now report to the following areas:

  • Weekly reports to complaint handlers on open cases, bitesize learning and compliments  
  • Monthly Insight Reports to Leadership and our Governing Body on the data and trends of complaints  
  • Monthly reports to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) taskforce on both internal and external learnings of complaint cases that include EDI  
  • Bi-monthly reports to the Building Safety taskforce on any complaints or concerns around matters relating to building safety
  • Annual operational risk register reporting to Leadership  
  • Regular reporting on Housing Ombudsman decisions to Leadership

Policies and practice

As mentioned above our Complaint Policy had a re-write in November 2022. We also completed a minor revie in November 2023, making some changes following learnings throughout the year. We have just completed another major review and released a new Complaint Policy; you can read more here: Compliments and complants | mhs homes

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion case studies that were reported on have led to the development of an Individuals Needs Policy that takes into account:  

  • reasonable adjustments and our approach to supporting customers still receiving the same level services taking into account their individual needs
  • the Housing Ombudsman Spotlight on Attitudes, Respects and Rights  
  • our own Equality Impact Assessments for all customer facing policies

Our Compensation Policy also had a minor review in May 2023. This review increased our offers of compensation, taking into account the Housing Ombudsman’s Remedies Guidance. We are in the process of completing a major review of this policy, changing it to a Remedies Policy as mentioned throughout this report.