Menu of Opportunities - May 2011

Resident InvolvementBe a part of it

Be a part of it

Contact UsFor more information about Helena Homes, visit our website, www.helenahomes.co.uk or contact us:

By phone: 01744 63 73 83

By email: [email protected]

By post: Helena Homes, 3rd Floor, Court Building, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St Helens, WA10 3TT

Digital TV: Sky viewers: Go to the Community Channel (number 539); press the red button; enter Quick Code 4488.

Virgin viewers: Press ‘home’ button; choose ‘interactive’; click on ‘news & info’; click on ‘Looking Local’; enter Quick Code 4488.

To access through Nintendo Wii or internet-enabled mobile phones, type this into your browser: http://www.lookinglocal.gov.uk/helena

If you would like a copy of this document in larger print, another language or on audio tape, please contact us.

www.helenahomes.co.uk

FREEPOST RESPONSE LICENCE NO NAT 4190CommunicationsCUSTOMER INVOLVEMENTHELENA PARTNERSHIPSALEXANDRA PARKPRESCOT ROADST HELENSWA10 3TT

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APRIl 2011

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ContentsPage 3 Introduction

Page 4 Why get involved?

Page 5 Monitoring and review

Page 6 Menu of opportunities - 13 ways to get involved

Pages 7-15 The ways that you can have your say

Page 16 Sign me up (Expression of interest)

12 Board of Directors

13 Customer Excellence Panel

Monthly (up to six hours each time)

Training given

Customer Excellence Panel

This panel is a group of tenants that meet to review and discuss the services which Helena provides. Feedback gathered through our wider customer surveys and consultation events are used to help monitor our performance, make improvements and ensure that we are meeting the needs of tenants.

Expression of Interest Form

Individual Customer Feedback

Community Engagement

Surveys & questionnaires

Focus Groups

Editorial Group

One Voice Tenant Panel

Estate Champions

Environmental Inspector

Specialist Forums & listening events

Tenant and Resident Associations, Communities Together & Buddy Groups

Mystery Shoppers & Customer Inspectors

Board of Directors


Are you interested in taking part in the following? Please tick 3

Postal surveys

Focus groups

Attending meetings

How would you prefer us to contact you? Please tick 3

Telephone

Email

Post

Name:

Address:

Telephone number: Mobile:

Email:

I am interesting in taking part in the following opportunities:

Please tick 3

Want to get involved?

15

Monthly (up to six hours)

Training given

Board of Directors

The Board oversees the work that we do and the decisions we make, this includes:

• Makingsurethatthecompanyoperateswithinthe law and follows the regulation that is set by the Tenant Services Authority

• Makingdecisionsaboutpolicyandstrategy

• Monitoringperformanceandsettingbudgets

• Forminglinkswithkeypartnersinthelocalcommunity.

A third of our Board is made up of tenant representatives. Our Board members serve a term of three years and each Board member can serve a maximum of three terms – so nine years in total.

Becoming a Board member will require a strong commitment and regular attendance at formal meetings, plus lots of background reading to prepare for meetings.

If you are a Helena customer, we actively encourage you to get involved in our business by taking part in community projects and events, and providing us with feedback that helps us to improve the services we deliver to you and our communtities.

We aim to provide all customers – whether tenants, residents or people who have applied to live in one of our homes – with the chance to have your say. Customers from all backgrounds are encouraged to play a part in making the decisions that matter most to you for your home and neighbourhood, and we ask you to tell us if you don’t think our performance is good enough.

We realise that attending meetings might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so we have developed a Menu of Opportunities, inviting you to choose how to get involved with Helena.

We really value the opinions of our tenants and want to ensure we are delivering services which meet your needs. So through our Menu of Opportunities you can have your say on what Helena delivers and even have the chance to scrutinise our services and check we are up to scratch. There are plenty of ways to get involved, which range from just 15 minutes at a time up to giving dedicated time every month by being a panel or board member.

To find out more about how your opinions help us to deliver services which matter to you, check out the latest copy of Helena Headlines, visit our website, visit our Helena Homes digital TV site or take a look at important Helena documents such as our Annual Report and Promises documents .

Introduction

At Helena we’re always looking to improve what we do, and we can

only do this by listening, talking, and acting on what you tell us.

Be a part of it

3

Our opportunities have been illustrated with an Olympic theme to highlight how much we value teamwork and individual input. This theme also symbolises our commitment to ‘go for gold,’ delivering high quality services to all.

Why get involved? By getting involved in having your say, you

will have a chance to improve the services that you

and thousands of others in St Helens receive from

Helena Homes.

You will also:

• Meet new people and make new friends

• Learn new skills and build your confidence

• Receive invitations to events and initiatives in your local area

• Get satisfaction from seeing your views and input lead to change

• Boost your skills and CV

• Make a real difference to the services you receive

• Improve your communication and organisational skills

• Access training and accredited courses to build your confidence, skills and knowledge

• Make a positive difference to your neighbourhood and help to build positive communities.

34

Be a part of it

Case studyWhen tenant Karen Forest made a complaint, we listened and offered a solution…

“I belong to Helena’s Assisted Gardening Scheme and complained to Helena after one of the lights in my flower beds had been damaged during garden maintenance.

“I didn’t notice the problem until later that day, but I was disappointed as the light was brand new. I phoned Helena who arranged for a staff member from the Green Space Team to come and take a look that same day. I also explained that I had ordered the broken light online in a set of two and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find a replacement.

“I was assured a solution would be found and a few days later I returned home to find a brand new set of lights that had been delivered and they were an exact match! I was so pleased that my complaint had been dealt with so promptly, I couldn’t fault the can-do attitude of Helena’s staff and the lengths they went to, ensuring the correct lights were replaced. It’s great that Helena valued my complaint and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped set the damage right.”

Monitoringand Review

We have developed various ways for you to have your say and influence the services that you receive from Helena, and we will make sure we regularly assess how effective our methods of resident involvement are.

These are some of the things we measure to make sure that we are involving residents as much as possible:

• Percentage of tenants who agree (strongly and slightly) that their views are taken into account.

• Percentage of tenants who agree (strongly and slightly) that Helena keeps them informed about things that affect them as tenants.

• Number of changes made in response to customer feedback.

• Number of community initiatives supported.

• Number of customers actively engaged and involved in Helena feedback groups and making a difference in communities.

5

Be a part of it

Menu of opportunitiesThe options below describe the different ways you can get involved with Helena, you can choose how much or how little you wish to be involved based on how much time and commitment you are willing to give.

13 Ways to get involved1. Individual Customer Feedback

(One off input – up to 30 minutes)

2. Community Engagement (One off input – up to 30 minutes)

3. Surveys & questionnaires (One off input – up to 30 minutes)

4. Focus Groups (One off input – up to two hours)

5. Editorial Group (Three times a year – up to two hours each time)

6. One Voice Tenant Panel (Surveys and meetings, from 15 minutes to two hours each time)

7. Estate Champions (Meet monthly – up to two hours each time)

8. Environmental Inspector (Monthly – up to four hours each time)

9. Specialist Forums & listening events (Monthly – up to three hours each time)

10. Tenant and Resident Associations, Communities Together & Buddy Groups (Meet monthly – up to three hours each time)

11. Mystery Shoppers & Customer Inspectors (Monthly – up to four hours each time)

12. Board of Directors (Meet monthly – up to six hours each time)

13. Customer Excellence Panel (Meet monthly – up to six hours each time)

6

1 Individual Customer Feedback


Your feedback is important to us. It helps us to understand what we do well and how we can improve.

One off input (up to 30 minutes)

Training not required

If you have any suggestions or if you want tell us about something we have done well we would really like to hear your views. Alternatively, if you’re not happy with the service we provide you can make a complaint. We aim to learn from any mistakes we make and use the complaints we receive to identify areas for improvement.

You can make a comment, compliment or complaint by:

Ringing One Call on 01744 63 73 83;

Calling into your neighbourhood office;

Writing to us at the address on the back of this booklet;

Visiting us online at www.helenapartnerships.co.uk

You can also get in touch through our digital TV site, Helena Homes TV (find out how to access this at the back of this booklet) and tell us what you think. We will soon be using SMS texts to get your views too.

We will respond to all comments received and will ensure that we pass on your compliments to the relevant staff members.

We will respond to all complaints within five working days. If you are not happy with our response you can appeal against it. There are three stages to our complaints process, with the final stage being reviewed by representatives of our Customer Excellence Panel and tenant Board of Directors.

7



Training not required Training not required


We regularly ask a randomly selected group of tenants to tell us what they think about the service they receive, such as our repairs service or anti-social behaviour service. There are a number of ways that you can complete a survey and tell us your views:

4 Postal surveys and questionnairesSometimes we might write to you asking you to give us your views on our services. We allow at least a minimum of two weeks for you to return the survey.

4 Telephone surveysYou may be contacted by telephone to ask for your views on the services you receive from Helena. We will only call you if you say that you’re happy to take part.

4 Internet surveysInternet surveys are similar to postal questionnaires, except you will have the chance to submit your answers online via our website www.helenahomes.co.uk


We organise regular community events for all ages, ranging from play sessions for the tots, sports and creative events for teenagers and tea dances and bingo for our older residents. During these great events you can also update us on your views and any feedback you may have.

We will help you to organise community activities in your area – what would you like to do? To find out more contact Helena’s Community Engagement Team by calling 01744 63 73 83.

2 Community Engagement

3 Surveys & questionnaires

8

One off input (up to two hours)

Three times a year (up to two hours each time)

Training not required Training not required

4 Focus Groups

5 Editorial Group

9

Focus Groups

A focus group brings together around ten customers for a one-off informal discussion about a particular service. A member of staff from Helena Homes will oversee the discussion, identify the issues we would like your views on and make a note of your comments.

When taking part in a focus group we ask you to listen and respect other people’s opinions and keep discussions focused on the main topic, rather than using the group as an opportunity to address a particular problem you may have. You can raise any other issued directly with us through the methods described on page 6.

Editorial Group

Would you like to have your say about the information, leaflets and newsletters we provide? Our tenant editorial panel helps to review and approve articles included in our newsletter, checking that leaflets and other customer information is easy to understand.

Whenever you see this logo in one of our documents it has been approved by our customer editorial panel – including this one!

6 One Voice Tenant Panel


If you are happy to get involved and provide feedback about the services you receive on a regular basis, you can join the One Voice tenant panel. One Voice gives you the chance to tell us about your experience as a Helena customer.

Members of the One Voice Panel complete short surveys about Helena’s services up to four times a year. The surveys are posted to Panel members’ homes and take around 15 minutes to complete each time. The surveys can then be posted back in a Freepost envelope and all members receive a newsletter highlighting the outcomes from their feedback. We may also ask you to take part in telephone and face-to-face surveys and occasional focus groups.

The results of One Voice consultation are used to ensure that services are meeting your needs now and anticipate those you might have in the future.

Up to four times a year (From 15 minutes per survey to up to two hours for a focus group)


10

Case studyN is a 21-year-old outreach worker and is a Customer Inspector for Helena.

N said: “I jumped at the chance to become a Customer Inspector as it’s a brilliant way for me to have my views heard as a young person. Not only is this role giving me the opportunity to try something new, it’s also boosting my CV and I’m meeting new people who live in my local area.

“Being a Customer Inspector is really flexible and doesn’t take up too much of your time, I’ve just finished my training and I can’t wait to get started. I’ll be checking that a variety of services provided by Helena meet existing standards and I’ll also be making recommendations for improvement from a customer perspective.

“You can express an interest about which area of services you would like to inspect and I’m really keen to review Helena’s properties prior to them being rented out to new tenants. I think I’m going to get a lot of satisfaction from being a Customer Inspector and it’s great to know that my contributions will help Helena to keep improving customer service.”

11

7 Estate Champions

8 Environmental Inspector

Meet monthly (up to two hours each time)


12

Monthly (up to four hours each time)

Training given

Estate Champions

By becoming an Estate Champion and taking part in Estate Walkabouts, you can share your views about your neighbourhood. Estate Walkabouts involve a group of residents and Helena staff taking a short walk around an estate and looking for things that may need improving, for example, a patch of land which has become a bit of an eyesore.

Estate Walkabouts are your opportunity to have your say about what’s good and what’s bad about where you live, with the knowledge that Helena will do something about what you have said.

At times, representatives from other organisations such as the Police take part in Estate Walkabouts and all feedback is passed onto relevant agencies if Helena cannot deal with the issue.


This role checks how good we are at maintaining the green spaces in your local neighbourhood. We might ask you to visit local green spaces commenting on whether you think we have met our service standards and how we can improve.

We’ll use your views to improve the environmental services that we provide.

9 Specialist Forums and listening events

Specialist ForumsFor example, you can join our:

• Sheltered Housing Forum;

• Disability Forum;

• Communities Together – an umbrella group for Tenant and Resident Associations and Buddy Groups;

• Diversity Forum.

Each group will meet with staff to discuss issues that affect tenants. You will also be consulted on changes to policies or procedures that affect you as a customer.

13

We have a number of specialist forums which meet regularly to discuss how we can improve and meet specific needs and expectations.

Monthly (up to three hours each time)

Training given

Listening events

These are informal events open to all tenants where you are invited to come along and meet with senior managers and staff, discussing what matters most to you about a particular service or issue. Listening days are held in local neighbourhoods to ensure everyone can come along.

We will listen to your views and use them to improve services, update policies, or identify new ways of working to meet customer needs. You can also have your say on what our priorities for improvement are and how we allocate funding/spending for the year ahead.

10 Tenant and Resident Associations, Communities Together & Buddy Groups

11 Mystery Shoppers & Customer Inspectors

Meet monthly (up to three hours each time)

Monthly (up to four hours each time)

Training given Training given

Mystery Shoppers and Customer Inspectors

We will ask you to pose as a real customer, testing how well we provide services. We’ll give you training first and ask for your comments afterwards. We want to know how you found the experience, what level of service you received, and what could have been done better. We’ll use your comments to improve our customer service.


We work in partnership with a number of tenant and resident associations across the St Helens area. If you want to work with others in your local community to help improve the neighbourhood in which you live, joining a Tenant and Resident Association may be for you.

Buddy groups are similar to tenant and resident associations but are less formal.

All groups that we work with which meet set criteria will receive support and an annual grant from Helena to put towards the management, administrative and running costs of the group.

Communities Together is made up of representatives from all of our Tenants and Residents Associations. They are consulted throughout the year on a number of issues and given the opportunity to develop their own suggestions around Helena’s services and policies.

14










Training given







Focus Groups

Editorial Group


Estate Champions





Board of Directors



Postal surveys

Focus groups

Attending meetings


Telephone

Email

Post

Name:

Address:


Email:


Please tick 3


15


Training given

Board of Directors

















Training given







Focus Groups

Editorial Group


Estate Champions





Board of Directors



Postal surveys

Focus groups

Attending meetings


Telephone

Email

Post

Name:

Address:


Email:


Please tick 3


15


Training given

Board of Directors








Resident InvolvementBe a part of it

Be a part of it

Contact UsFor more information about Helena Homes, visit our website, www.helenahomes.co.uk or contact us:

By phone: 01744 63 73 83

By email: [email protected]

By post: Helena Homes, 3rd Floor, Court Building, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St Helens, WA10 3TT

Digital TV: Sky viewers: Go to the Community Channel (number 539); press the red button; enter Quick Code 4488.

Virgin viewers: Press ‘home’ button; choose ‘interactive’; click on ‘news & info’; click on ‘Looking Local’; enter Quick Code 4488.

To access through Nintendo Wii or internet-enabled mobile phones, type this into your browser: http://www.lookinglocal.gov.uk/helena

If you would like a copy of this document in larger print, another language or on audio tape, please contact us.

www.helenahomes.co.uk

FREEPOST RESPONSE LICENCE NO NAT 4190CommunicationsCUSTOMER INVOLVEMENTHELENA PARTNERSHIPSALEXANDRA PARKPRESCOT ROADST HELENSWA10 3TT

Be a part of it

APRIl 2011

Des

ign:

Ope

n Cr

eativ

e 01

744

7320

77

Documents

Menu of Opportunities - May 2011