THE CHALLENGE
Urbanplus is a council-controlled trading organisation wholly owned by Hutt City Council. Urbanplus provides social housing for the elderly and socially disadvantaged and specialises in property management, contract and facilities management.
Urbanplus has three distinct and diverse sets of customers. These are:
- Residents of social housing
- Tenants of community housing and community halls
- Hutt City Council employees who work and operate in Urbanplus-managed buildings.
To ensure that Urbanplus is meetings its objectives and abiding by its formal statement of intent, Urbanplus is required to consult and engage with their customers to ensure that the services they provide are meeting their customers’ needs to a satisfactory standard.
THE SOLUTION
Due to the diverse nature of Urbanplus’ customers, three separate customer surveys were developed. Questions were designed to ensure they mirrored the key objectives outlined in the Urbanplus statement of intent. The survey methodology was developed based on the needs of each customer group.
1. Residents of Social Housing
Because of the demographic profile of social housing tenants, it was decided that a postal survey was the best way to collect feedback. An easy-to-complete feedback form was created which residents could return with a free post envelope. To optimise response rates, reminders are sent out to non-respondents. At the end of the process, results are collated and reported back to Urbanplus.
2. Tenants of community housing and community halls
For the residents of community housing, postal surveys are distributed to all tenants of community housing and buildings. The survey package included a feedback form and free post envelope for easy return. Reminders were sent with all results collated and reported back to Urbanplus.
3. Hutt City Council employees who work and operate in Urbanplus-managed buildings
As the majority of council employees have ready access to email, an online satisfaction survey was considered ideal to capture employee feedback. A customised survey was designed which included survey logic to ensure only relevant questions were presented to employees, thus keeping the questionnaire short and sweet.
THE RESULTS
PublicVoice has conducted the Urbanplus annual satisfaction surveys since 2008. The initial surveys that were undertaken in 2008 provided Urbanplus with a service and satisfaction benchmark which previously did not exist.
The insights gathered by asking a range of quantitative and qualitative questions have enabled Urbanplus to act and implement changes as a result of direct feedback from customers. Since implementing the survey, Urbanplus has seen across-the-board increases in customer satisfaction.
Also, the survey methodology has successfully undergone the scrutiny of Audit New Zealand to ensure the survey results can be confidently relied upon.