ReSOLVE Summer Development Progress update

 You may recall from my earlier blog post on  24^th May that I talked about the planned development changes in the ReSOLVE application, to include reports that provide the data required for HouseMark Complaints benchmarking.

As it happens the rota for my blog date has fallen within the same week as the next phase of development for the changes.

The work scheduled for this week is to develop the database and the changes required behind the scenes to include the relevant data for reporting and integrate it into the ReSOLVE application.

Following this week’s work we will then be running various internal tests to make sure that the application is ready to be installed on customer sites.

We expect that the update to be ready for installation from week commencing 9^th August.

Following on from the ReSOLVE release, HouseMark will be activating an automatic upload facility in autumn so that you can upload your benchmarking statistics directly into their website, rather than spend time inputting the figures manually.

For details of costs and to schedule your upgrade please contact the ReACT and ReSOLVE team on 0121 384 2513 and select option 4.

What constitutes a good complaints system?

An informal flexible approach to managing complaints is recommended before moving on to your complaints process.

The procedure should be easy to follow and have as few stages as possible, aiming at completing the internal consideration of the complaint within weeks not months. It is, therefore, imperative that a complaint be escalated through the procedure promptly.

Ordinarily, the complaint should be first considered by a person responsible for the service against which the complaint is made, and whose responsibility is to investigate the claim and give a complete response.

If the complaint is not resolved, the complainant should be asked to give reasons.

Generally, the next stage should involve a manager or person with no functional responsibilities directly relevant to the service that is the subject of the complaint. The job at this stage is to check how the complaint was handled at first stage in the light of the reasons given by the complainant, and to see whether the matter could have been handled better – and, if so, whether the outcome should be different.

If the complaint remains unresolved, it should be considered by an independent panel as soon as possible within the organisation. Ideally, the panel should not be totally or mostly formed by salaried staff. The role of the panel is to review that:

• The procedure was followed,
• The complaint was dealt with as formulated by the complainant (or her/his authorised representative), and
• If a remedy was offered or actioned, it was proportional to the complainant.

Take a positive approach to complaints

You may want to encourage your tenants to give you feedback about the services you provide. Compliments are nice, but complaints can offer an invaluable early warning signal. They can alert you to problems before they get much worse and can also help you demonstrate that even when things go wrong you are able to act proactively. They can give you a good opportunity to build trust and understanding with your tenants. Even when complaints are not justified, they can still offer you the chance to manage the expectations and perceptions of your tenants more effectively.

Keep good records

There is no need to document every single item of information in the course of dealing with a complaint. What is important is to leave a comprehensive and clear trail of the key decisions and who made them, a good chronology, and adequate references to documents and evidence used to inform the case.

A well administered case file will help you, your colleagues who might have to review the case after you, the Ombudsman if he gets involved – and, above all, the complainant.

(All extracts were taken from the HouseMark Complaints guide produced in partnership with the Housing Ombudsman Service, January 2010)

ReSOLVE has been designed exclusively for social housing landlords who need a cost-effective, easy way to record and manage general complaints.

For more information on ReSOLVE please visit www.resolve-complaints.co.uk

ReSOLVE summer development

It’s not all about anti-social behaviour here in ReACT towers; we also have the ReSOLVE application which offers a way in which organisations can log and monitor general complaints about the service provided.

My current project in the product management aspects of my role is to analyse the HouseMark General Complaints Benchmarking Guidance manual and translate that into the required changes for the ReSOLVE application.

Incorporating these changes will not only keep ReSOLVE at the forefront of logging complaints and the related procedures within the housing world but it will also mean that any users reporting to HouseMark General Complaints benchmarking system will have a report providing all of the relevant data fully labelled ready to be inputted into the HouseMark website.

Things won’t be staying there, oh no sirree, during the following phase we will integrate a short routine which will import your benchmarking statistics directly into the HouseMark website.

So what amendments to the software will we be introducing to meet these requirements?

These are the following key development changes…

1. A “Service request” flag per complaint will be available so that an organisation can segregate between complaints and requests for service.
2. Cases can be categorised and reported upon based on resolution types such as “Upheld”, “Not Upheld”, and “Partially Upheld”.
3. A fully configurable “Service area” list will be available so that an organisation can analyse and report upon complaints within key service areas of the business such as “Allocation”, “Repairs and Maintenance”, and “Housing Support Services”.
4. A “HouseMark General Complaints Benchmarking Preview Report” will be available within the ReSOLVE application so that each and every one of the performance indicators within the guidance manual can be reported upon by any date range so not only is it useful for HouseMark benchmarking it is also perfect for internal KPI reporting.
5. A “HouseMark General Complaints Benchmarking Upload” facility will allow all indicators to be uploaded directly from within the ReSOLVE application to prevent vast volumes of work in terms of collecting the data and then entering it into the HouseMark website.

As well as the changes introduced to tie in with HouseMark Benchmarking we also introducing some changes to greatly improve the efficiency of logging complaints and escalating complaints to closure to give staff more time to deal with complaints and less time spent logging the complaints.  These changes include the following…

1. A rapid case entry screen which allows complaints to be logged from within one screen, and straightforward “Expressions of dissatisfaction” / “Service requests” / “Compliments” can be logged and closed within the same screen.
2. An “Escalate” button will be available within the action page so that if a complaint needs to escalate to the next stage it can be escalated and the subsequent actions will automatically be created from a single button click.

The next release of ReSOLVE will incorporate the above features and is currently in the design and specification stage.  Development and testing will take place over the summer months. We will be publicizing the release date on the blog and letting customers know, via their account manager.

To find out more about ReSOLVE, please visit our product page, or request a brochure.