In a recent survey with Inside Housing, we looked into key operational challenges faced by the housing sector. Working with our first PropertyLab cohort, we gained some valuable insights into compliance, remediation and customer service; creating an opportunity to enhance our product further. Here’s what we found - and what the survey reinforced.

Data is everything.

One of the most obvious outcomes from the survey was the importance of having access to up-to-date and reliable data. This is crucial for delivering compliant and safe homes, yet only 13% of our respondents expressed confidence in the way their data is collected. Whether it’s filing a safety check or a maintenance callout, it’s clear to see that the sector is ready for a digital transformation. 

Further still, over half of respondents admitted to using a combination of electronic and paper-led data collection, while others are battling with siloed and incompatible systems following organisational mergers. Although respondents felt their current processes were typically efficient, it was evident that there’s room for improvement in streamlining their data collection, reporting and in turn, compliance measures. 

What’s interesting to note is that respondents expressed that digital improvements were needed even before the emergence of COVID-19, but with heightened restrictions on property management work and the shift to working from home, this has been accelerated even further. 

Reaching customer centricity.

Landlords, housing associations and ALMO’s alike expressed an interest in shifting towards a customer-centric approach to property management. It’s about putting control in the tenants’ hands, allowing them to seamlessly call on repairs and safety checks in a way that’s quick, efficient and easily managed. 

Over 80% of the respondents felt that giving tenants more control to select visit times would benefit service levels and completion rates. While some of the participating organisations already have integrated systems to do this, there’s still a long way to go in creating a fully optimised level of customer experience. 

Creating one source of truth.

It was clear to us that challenges across operations, customer service, IT and procurement were causing barriers in the way organisations report for compliance purposes. So, what’s the solution?

With thanks to our cohort for offering their time and insights, we’ve managed to produce 'a one source of truth' solution for all areas of compliance. This enhancement to our existing product will radically improve efficiency and tenant safety. We believe this revolutionary approach will empower operational teams to reduce costs, offer a better resident service and keep homes safer than ever before.

You can read Inside Housing's complete analysis of the survey here.

Watch the prototype in action.

Through close collaboration with our first PropertyLab cohort, we were able realise a vision for the future of compliance and build a working prototype for this holistic compliance product. See it in action here.