‘Ask Elim’ Event feedback: Q&A with Paul Smith CEO of Elim Housing Association

Last week we held our second ‘Ask Elim’ event. This was an online Question and Answer session, held via Zoom, which was open for any Elim customer to ask questions and to share their thoughts on what Elim is doing well, or what they feel can be improved.

The evening session was attended by Paul Smith, Elim Chief Executive, and Rachel Pinchin, Deputy Chief Executive. We were joined by 5 customers.

What we heard during the event:

• One resident had received an incorrect rent statement which had made her concerned about the position of her rent account.
• Residents in some of our Bristol properties were concerned that their windows are not currently being cleaned, even though this is service which is paid for through their service charge.
• One of our residents told us that our ‘out of hours’ telephone line was not working properly last weekend: residents were not being passed over to a member of the out of the hours team but receiving an automated message on a loop.
• We heard from a resident experiencing a personal issue with ongoing antisocial behaviour.
• One resident asked why their Household Assistance Fund application took 5 months to be approved.
• We were thanked by two of our residents for the service and support we have provided for them over the years and for acting on requests in a timely, professional manner.
• Our CEO Paul was asked if he was available to speak to residents on request. We confirmed that Paul is happy to talk to and meet residents if requested.
• One of the customers attending the session was also part of the Customer Portal pilot group and he told us that his experience of the self-service portal was really positive. We are in the process of updating the portal system, and will make access to this system available to all our customers as soon as possible.

What we will do (or have done) as a result of this feedback:

• We explained that there had been a number of issues affecting a small number of accounts in April and May and apologised for any confusion or distress this caused. Our Housing Officers review each customers rent account monthly and are available to speak to any resident who has concerns. In the instance that we identify that anyone else has received an incorrect rent statement we will ensure that they are made aware and issued with a corrected statement next quarter.
• The issue we were having with our ‘out of hours’ telephone line was addressed as a matter of urgency. This issue has now been resolved and all calls are being transferred to the correct service.
• We are in the process of finding a new contractor to carry out our window cleaning in this area.
• The personal request from one of our residents regarding antisocial behaviour is being investigated and dealt with by the responsible Housing Officer.
• We typically try to approve Household Assistance fund applications in 3 weeks, so we have raised this matter internally and will work with our teams to ensure applications are processed as quickly as possible.
• We also picked up a small number of maintenance issues and requests to share information on different housing services in our local areal. We have responded to these since the Ask Elim event.

Thank you to our customers who took the time to join us for this event, we will use the information we received to help us to improve our services and the way we work. We aim to be the best organisation we can possibly be for all of our customers and we are committed to listening and ensuring that our services are shaped by the needs and requirements of our customers.

We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to tell us what they think about Elim, and will be running at least two additional ‘Ask Elim’ events later this year. One of these events, will provide customers with the chance to speak to our maintenance team about our planned and responsive repairs service, and the second will provide another opportunity to raise issues with Paul Smith, CEO. We will share dates and details over the next few months.