Measuring customer satisfaction within a Housing Group

Examples of our Work - Property and Housing Market Research

Background

This Housing Group provides homes and other related services to over 40,000 customers. The Group consists of several different member landlords and serves different customer types, including social rent, shared owners, Right to Buy and other leaseholders.

The Group wished to conduct a satisfaction study, including for the first time customers from all member landlords in the one survey.

Objectives

• To meet the requirement upon registered social landlords to undertake a user satisfaction survey every three years

• To measure customers’ satisfaction with their home, the area in which they live, the repairs and maintenance service, contact with the landlord, communication and involvement in Group activities and the warden service. 

• To identify customers’ needs and aspirations

• To make comparisons with results from past surveys

• To make comparisons of the views of customers from different member landlords

• To make comparisons of the views of customers of different types, for example by age group, ethnicity and disability

Methodology

PCP had carried out similar surveys for the Group on three previous occasions, so were able to ensure that comparable procedures and methodology were used in the latest research.

Most of the interviews were conducted by telephone. However, face-to-face interviews were arranged:

• For customers allocated to the target sample for whom no telephone number was available

• For customers of one landlord (it was felt that the customer base made telephone interviewing inappropriate).

For each customer group, an ‘ideal sample’ and a ‘reserve sample’ were drawn randomly from the database of all customers. Every effort was made to complete an interview with each member of the ideal sample. A replacement was accepted only if an interview was refused, or at least four attempts had been made by telephone or at the customer’s home. In that case the next available contact from the reserve list for that particular customer group was used as the replacement. Exactly the same procedure was then followed with the replacement contact.

The questionnaire was finalised in consultation with the Housing Group and reflected very closely the questions asked in previous years. The interview took c15 minutes to complete.

A total sample in excess of 2,000 customers was achieved by these means.

Outcome

The latest results were able to be put into context with previous surveys.

Overall satisfaction with the services provided by the landlord was high. However, the results showed that satisfaction had declined compared with the previous survey amongst some landlords’ customers, but improved amongst others. Inspection of the more detailed results allowed reasons for these changes in satisfaction levels to be identified.

New customers were a little more critical overall. There were quite significant levels of criticism of the condition of the home on first moving in, and the help and advice received during the move.