ReACT User Groups

It’s my turn again to update you on the goings on in my corner of ReACTandReSOLVEland.

This week we are hosting our annual ReACT user group meetings in Birmingham and London which is an opportunity for us to meet up with our users to keep everyone informed with our current plans for the future of our product range as well as for us to speak to our users to find out exactly what they feel about what we offer and how we can improve things to make everyone’s life easier when it comes to use of the products and how they can help to improve the efficiency of how cases are managed.

Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes by everyone in the ReACT department to make sure the days go fully to plan and so that everyone can benefit from them.

We have changed direction slightly at this year’s   events and we have enlisted the help of our friends at HouseMark and Deeplake and also a guest speaker from the Home Office to provide a broader subject range to the days so that the focus isn’t purely on the ReACT application itself.

We will of course use this opportunity to unveil our plans for version 4 of ReACT which we hope you as users of the software will be just as excited about as we are.

There is also a long period in the afternoon during which the ReACT team will disappear so that the users can have an honest and frank discussion about the product among themselves without the feeling that they are being watched.  We hope that this will help us to get to the very bottom of any issues and suggestions which can help us and ultimately help the users to ensure that the ReACT product range develops directly in line with the demands and requirements of dealing with cases and helping you to achieve better results in a more efficient way.

Look out for forthcoming blogs regarding the feedback received at the user groups and how we will be responding to the feedback to progress in the future.

By Phil Egan

ASB Management Day for just £275

The seminar day will be taking place at the Studio

As you may be aware, ReACT and ReSOLVE hold free webinars to support and guide users through certain aspects of the software. We have had a lot of interest and questions about our next webinar “Benchmarking and Best Practice” – more than we can cover in 45 minutes. Therefore, we are holding a joint open seminar with HouseMark, for everyone who wants to know about benchmarking, reports and best practice.

We also know budgets are tight, so we decided to keep the price as low as possible and keep your finance directors smiling.

Register now to secure your place.

Everything you wanted to know about ASB Management (but are too busy to ask)

It’s a dedicated day away from the office, allowing you to focus on ASB practices and reporting. You will have the undivided attention of two top experts in their field: Paul Johns (ReACT) and John Wickenden (HouseMark).

Topics include:

• Categories of ASB & Incidents (ASB Measure 02 & 05)                    
• Actions Taken to Tackle ASB & ReACT Stages (ASB Measure 03)
• ReACT Stages (Actions, Instructions & Reviews)                                               
• Case Outcomes & Case Closure (ASB Measure 04 & 06)                  
• Satisfaction Surveys (ASB Measure 07)                                                                  
• HouseMark Preview Report & Upload                                                                    
• HouseMark ASB Benchmarking Overview            

There’s also an extensive question and answer session allowing you to explore specific problems or areas with the consultants. 

Rooftop location, close to New Street station

We have booked The Studio in Birmingham. It’s  – literally – two minutes walk away from New Street station and within easy reach of car parks (if you are feeling brave enough to drive into Birmingham).

We also suspect the Studio is a retired TARDIS from Dr Who – you see a tiny internet café on the ground floor, hiding the large meeting rooms, restaurant and rooftop gardens on the top. There’s lots of natural light, comfortable breakout areas and a bar if you fancy networking afterwards.

No soggy sandwiches

You get muffins on arrival, unlimited tea and coffee and a two-course buffet lunch made from seasonal, local food. You will also be served cookies, fruit and water throughout the day – just to keep your energy levels up through the Q&A session!

One-time offer

Hiring Paul and John together at their standard day rates costs over £1,500. So a seminar place of £275 is a fantastic bargain. Both consultants are in demand and we won’t be able to run this seminar again for some time to come  – especially at that price.

Register now to secure your place.  

Diary Summary

Subject: ASB Management Day (ReACT & HouseMark)              Date: Wednesday 6th October; 10am – 4pm
Location: The Studio, Birmingham
Cost: £275 per delegate, inclusive of training materials, lunch and refreshments

CIH Event – Landlords Tools and Powers to Tackle ASB

 Held at the new CIH meeting, training and conference facility in Grays Inn Road London the event was sold out with some 50 delegates hearing from SLCNG, TSA, Audit Commission, HouseMark and presentations from West Mercia Police, Buckles Solicitors, Poplar HARCA and New Charter Housing.

We are all waiting to learn what our new Government has in store in respect of ASB but in the meantime it’s business as usual. TSA is actively promoting the ASB Action Squad and Local Partnerships, whilst the Audit Commission covered the new inspection framework and hot topics such as the impact of recession, tenancy fraud, the respect standard, dangerous dogs and policing.

For me the highlight was the presentation from a senior officer of West Mercia Police, beginning with an admission that the police service nationally has failed to give the attention to ASB that it deserves and requires. It was heartening to hear that ACPO and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary are now majoring on the problem of definition, the context of ASB and vulnerability within modern policing and recognising the challenges.

West Mercia is taking a lead in protecting vulnerable people with a pilot scheme running in their North Worcestershire Division and working with local landlord Community Housing Group. This includes trialing the Risk Assessment Matrix currently being promoted by the Home Office.  In due course, this could become a recommended national standard with a requirement that information is shared between all partners.

Lets us hope that it happens and the initiative is not lost in Government cost saving measures.

ReACT events; from Northern Housing to HiTEX

Past Events: NHC Crime & ASB Annual Conference  – Harrogate

Organised by Northern Housing Consortium the Crime and ASB Annual Conference was held in Harrogate on 30^th November and 1^st December. Although not as well attended as in previous years the content and speakers were of the usual high standard. Fred and Mike met up with a number of existing ReACT users and chatted with number of potential new users.

Present Events: HouseMark PIC Meetings

Currently we have a presence at the HouseMark Performance Improvement Club (PIC) meetings which are featuring the management of general complaints. Those of you in the know are already aware of ReSOLVE our complaints management system which uses similar functionality to ReACT. Currently in development is the ability to report on HouseMark Complaints Benchmarking and automatically upload the information to the HouseMark website on a quarterly basis. This upgraded version of ReSOLVE will be available towards the end of April. The PIC meetings include presentations from the TSA and the Housing Ombudsman and having attended the first meeting your editor found it to be very worthwhile. More information on PIC meetings  is available at www.housemark.co.uk

Future Events: TAI 2010 and HiTEX 

ReACT will be exhibiting at TAI 2010 billed as the premier housing event in Wales and organised by CIH Cymru. The conference and associated exhibition will be held on 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd April in Cardiff City Hall and the nearby Hilton Hotel. Further information about the event will be found on the CIH website – www.cih.org

We are waiting for dates for the HITEX events later in the year but have decided not to attend HITEX in Edinburgh on 11^th March. For more go to www.northern-consortium.org.uk