Feedback process management overview

Customer service is the ability of a housing organisation to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations, meeting their needs and service aspirations. If a tenant is dissatisfied with the level of service they have received, it is important that they understand how to make a complaint, and that there is a robust complaints procedure in place that will empower housing officers to receive, document and respond to such feedback. Often a housing organisation will publish and make available to all stakeholders their service standards, detailing what a customer can reasonably expect from them. Upholding the transparency of those standards ensures that all parties - customers and providers alike - are aware when services drop below the expected levels. There are a number common principles that transcend service standards upheld by housing organisations:

Addressing the complaint in a timely manner - An important factor in managing tenant feedback is the timeliness of the response, not just the initial acknowledgement - although that in itself is important - but also the steps to resolution and satisfactory conclusion. Depending on the severity of the complaint, it might not be necessary to resolve it immediately, but nonetheless the issue must be remedied within a reasonable amount of time. For instance, a complaint pertaining to a leak or broken front door lock would naturally need to be fixed immediately, whilst items such as a broken kitchen cabinet handle or cracked tile can afford a lower priority.
Show Genuine Concern - Dismissing a tenant's concern or legitimacy will undoubtedly create hostility. Regardless of the perceived validity of a tenant's complaint, it is always important to make them feel valued and that their complaint will follow due process. To alleviate tension felt by the complainant, it is often recommended that the feedback recipient assume the role of an advocate or customer champion.
Maintain a professional approach - All customers raising feedback should be treated courteously, professionally and with respect; these are key characteristics of good customer service and demonstrate that the housing organisation really cares.

The driving principle in feedback process management is to resolve issues at the earliest possible stage and achieve a positive outcome, acting decisively and authoritatively throughout, whilst keeping the complainant central to all activities. Early intervention is the key to effective feedback process management, particularly in relation to repeat complaints, giving full consideration to how the investigation outcomes will be used to improve the products and services in the future.

Within Civica Cx Housing, feedback process management focuses on the creation of a case, which is linked to one or more sequential progression stages that define how the comments - positive or negative - should be handled in line with company policy through to a successful outcome. Ultimately, feedback cases are broken down into a series of tasks, segmented by stages, with each task representing a specific action to be undertaken by the case owner. During the progression of an open case, it is possible to attach files that provide contextual background, such as images, videos, and the like. Any number of discrete notes can also be appended to the feedback case as an aide memoir to the owner, these appearing as separate entries within the event log, and forming part of the overall case file.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of feedback process management, including: