Customer engagement action plan

Customer Engagement effectiveness review priorities

High priority area

September 2025 update​

Decision makers, technical experts and the colleagues involved in the issue being discussed to speak directly to customers, with support from the Engagement Team.​

•  Launched new customer engagement and insights platform, including recommendations tracker and engagement plan to help colleagues get involved. ​
• 40+ colleagues have signed up to speak directly to customers at engagement events between July and November.​
• A further 7 colleagues, including decision makers and frontline colleagues took part in the repairs communication scrutiny session held with the Customer Scrutiny Panel.​

Develop a range of methods to receive feedback and communicate outcomes.​

• Customer Engagement Framework published March 2025
• Age-restricted services are particularly keen to have different methods of communication. Over the next three months we will be piloting and gaining customer feedback on a new paper- based newsletter and introduction of a digital notice board. We are also planning on introducing a designated Tenancy Officer as single point of contact.​
• Customer Recommendation tracker introduced from July to record, monitor and help communicate outcomes ​
• You said/we did outcomes published on website​

Have a standing agenda item for customer engagement at both Board and Senior Leadership meetings, attended by CuSP.​

• To agree process at meeting on 10 September​

Create a governance structure for engagement.​

• Claire (Tentacles Consultancy) and Pip have met and started to draft more detailed guidance on the customer engagement governance structure, scope/purpose of customer involvement and timings.
• Tentacles Consultancy has been retained to further embed customer engagement model ​

Ensure clarity of purpose for all EDI information collected.​

• Life Through Your Lens in progress.​

Develop an engagement model and accompanying plan to use all data and feedback.​

• Training sessions delivered to roll out engagement model across the organisation. 7 further sessions scheduled by end of Oct 2025
• Training session also facilitated by Chartered Institute of Housing to circa 35 colleagues ​
• All recommendations from the effectiveness review are now on Microsoft Planner to help enable more effective project management and oversight. ​
• The model is being further developed with new groups such as customer complaints panel and Customer EDI champions being established.

Ensure senior leaders are visible and engage in a range of activities.​

• See previous comments. Leaders are also speaking more about engagement when meeting with colleagues.​

Set a clear definition between general engagement and regulatory engagement to ensure all bases are covered.​

• The revised definitions have been included within the customer engagement presentation Michael is rolling out to colleagues. ​

Use the results and the insight gathered to scrutinise areas of dissatisfaction, what makes the biggest difference to customers and what happens next.​

• CuSP has used a Tentacles tool to start this prioritisation.​
• CuSP has reviewed repairs performance and customer insight data​
•  CuSP held scrutiny session on repairs communications, gaining additional information from colleagues to help inform their recommendations
• Session with CusP scheduled for Oct 25 on Tenant Satisfaction Measures, to share interim results/what makes the biggest difference to customers​

Implement a recommendation tracker for customer-led recommendations.​

• Recommendations Tracker launched in July; training has been provided to relevant colleagues. Meeting held with senior managers in August to ensure oversight of tracker actions and focus on improving communications with customers.​

Develop a robust communication plan and start testing methods. Important to ensure all customers feel included and informed.​

• The customer engagement framework has been promoted via Intouch, social media and Website
• The Communications team has drafted a customer engagement comms plan and design ideas to help ensure customers feel included and informed. ​

Suggestions and improvements

High priority area

September 2025 update

More clarity on what we mean when we say ‘engagement is a collective responsibility’​

• Michael is currently working his way around the organisation with a presentation on this subject.​Collective responsibility has also been reinforced by senior management at the Leadership conference, Colleague Roadshow, monthly Cascade and within CIH passport qualification and club.​

More clarity on definition between general and regulatory engagement. Suggestion that general engagement could be referred to as ‘added value’ and ‘every day’.​

• Michael is currently working his way around the organisation with a presentation on this subject.​

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Additional emphasis on consistency of service, ownership and calling people back.​

• Development of customer golden rules and service standards should also support this objective.​

More good practice sharing and positive role-modelling.​

• Range of customer engagement blogs and news articles (Home, website and socials), latest includes customer panel member gaining TPAS award and article on Ageing without limits event​
• Customers voting for colleague award (celebrating outstanding customer service)​
• Customers and colleagues attending Tenant Participation (TPAS) good practice event ​

Include something in Job Descriptions to capture the collective responsibility for engagement.

• Leadership excellence framework and self-assessment includes engagement behaviours /requirements​
• Golden rules will also guide colleague behaviours 
• Meeting scheduled with Helen Grantham in September to agree next steps. ​

Be visible about the budget for engagement and how it flows to front-facing services.​

• Need to clarify with the group how to evidence this​

More consideration of cultures and subcultures​

• Read more about this here
• Meeting scheduled with Helen Grantham in September to agree next steps. ​

How could values link to culture? Use staff personal objectives.​

• Managers starting to influence culture by setting customer engagement objectives for team members ​

Create a joint panel for large projects that includes customers and an EDI assessment.​

• There are a range of recent examples of customer involvement in large projects e.g. MOT pilot, quarterly performance reporting, scrutiny activities (repairs comms). Neighbourhood strategy development & Connect implementation. ​
• Meeting scheduled with business change team in September on how this customer involvement will be incorporated as a requirement within all large projects (including EDI assessment)​