Value for moneyWe aim make sure to use our money

and resources in the most effective ways. Any money left

over after our costs are met can then be put back into

the business; this helps us build more homes and provide

new services. Last year, for example, we spent an extra

£500,000 on community projects.

Continuing the journey...We achieved a lot over the year but we are always

looking ahead to see how we can continue to improve

our services to you. In the coming months, we will be

concentrating on improving our repairs service, estate

services, how we let our homes, the service provided

by the Customer Service Centre and how we handle

complaints.

There are major changes coming in the housing world in

general. Welfare reform will have a huge impact on the

housing world. Despite this, our aim is to be in the top

25% of housing providers by this time next year.

We will continue to build brighter futures for people and

our communities.

Our local housing teams and Orbit

Independent Living teams continued to

provide additional services and activities

to meet the needs of their customers; such

as set up work clubs, ‘clean up’ days and scheme

improvements.

Orbit Heart of England is also a major investor in local

communities; last we spent over £800,000 to help make

a difference to local people’s lives. Further details can be

found on our website

www.orbitheartofengland.org.uk

Last year, there were 252 cases of Anti-Social Behaviour

(ASB). Many were dealt with quickly by our Community

Housing Officers while others saw us take firmer action.

We will review our ASB procedures to make sure they

meet our customers’ needs and changes to the law. We

continue to work hard to prevent or reduce crime and

disorder. We also aim to increase the amount we spend

on local community improvements to nearly £1 million.

Customers contacted within timescales when they have reported an ASB problem 98%

Customers satisfied with how their ASB case was handled 69%

Neighbourhood & Community

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Join us on our road to successAnnual Report to Customers – April 2011 to March 2012

This Annual Report Summary shows what we achieved in the last 12 months. You will see how we performed in comparison to the targets which were set and we look at our plans for improving our performance in the coming year.

Customers helped to make sure this report is relevant, easy to understand and well designed. More detailed information is also available in the full annual report on our website www.orbitheartofengland.org.uk

Tenant Involvement and EmpowermentWe will continue to train staff and we are working with the Customer Service Centre to improve the efficiency and quality of the service they provide. We will also look at improving other communications such as using digital technology and improving the website.

During the year we have worked closely with customers to review and improve our services offering a range of opportunities for customers to get involved. For example, the Customer Scrutiny Group completed a review of how new kitchens and bathrooms are delivered as well as starting to look at how customers report a repair and why on occasions they have to be chased up.

In the coming year we will be completing a major review of customer involvement opportunities to make sure that you can get involved in a way that suits you best and that your involvement leads to service improvement.

Target achieved

Target was not achieved but performance was better than last year

Target was not achieved

Key used when comparing

ourselves to other landlords.

Calls answered at our Customer Service Centre within 20 seconds 59%

Customers satisfied with the service provided by the Customer Service Centre 95%

Number of additional customers expressing an interest in being involved 624

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Customer First Sometimes things don’t always go to plan. Last year, we

dealt with 301 formal complaints. So we updated our

complaints policy making it fairer and easily accessible for

customers. We also concentrated on working out what

has gone wrong when you first tell us as we appreciate

that this is what most customers want.

In the coming year we will improve how we learn

from our mistakes, train staff and look at how other

organisations achieve great customer satisfaction when

dealing with complaints.

We have continued to collect equality and diversity data

for all our customers. This information has helped us with

our long term planning as well as having a practical use for

customers (eg. letting Property Matters know that some

people need more time to answer the door).

Information held regarding our customers 98%

Complaints formally acknowledged within 3 calendar days 87%

Complaints responded to within 14 days 72%

Customers satisfied with how their complaint was handled 51%

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Your HomeThe repairs service continues to be one of the most

important services for you. Over 65,000 repairs were

reported over the last year. So we worked on getting

the right people with the right spares on the van so

Property Matters could fix more repairs on the first visit.

We also got an independent assessment to identify

strengths and weaknesses and asked over 2,000

customers their opinion of the service.

We will continue to improve our workforce skills and

further improve what spares are on our vans so more

jobs can be completed at first visit. We will work with

the Customer Service Centre to improve how repairs

are diagnosed and increase customer involvement to

help us improve this service.

Investing in our properties and your home is a major

commitment each year. Last year, we invested over

£7 million in home improvements. We completed

a major service review on how we manage home

improvements and we reduced the number of homes

that are not meeting the Decent Homes Standard.

We are now targeting properties that have poor energy

efficiency to help reduce customers’ fuel bills. We

will continue to talk to customers to make sure the

improvements are working. And we will make sure we

meet new asbestos legislation.

Your TenancyWe aim to let our homes as quickly and as fairly as

possible. Customers helped develop a new customer

information pack which is now given to all new

customers. Our tenancy support workers helped

nearly 600 customers by providing free and confidential

support.

Over the coming months, we will continue to look

at ways of reducing the time it takes us to re-let our

properties so that waiting time for new customers is

kept to a minimum.

Customers satisfied with the Planned Maintenance service 86%

Customers satisfied with the repairs service 82%

Customers telling us that the job was completed at the first visit 72%

Customers telling us that an appointment was provided for their repair 78%

Customer satisfied with their new home 94%

Average number of days it took to re-let general needs and sheltered properties 26 days

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