Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Week “Lovely, wonderful; staff are very nice; I feel really well looked after” Resident

Basic information 480 staff took part in the door knocking Collected 1578 surveys 1574 comments on what we do well 971 suggestions for improvement 338 residents came to our events in 5 district areas Asked residents 5 questions door to door and at the events

Outcomes Improving visibility of staff and their knowledge of local areas Providing information given to residents in areas such as welfare reform, through the Independent Voice, Right first time repairs, departmental successes, training opportunities, grounds maintenance contractors and other service specific information. Promoting engagement and increasing diversity of those who engage Consulting/gaining feedback from residents to inform service improvement work in areas such as Right First Time repairs, local priorities etc. Working in partnership with our colleagues in the NHS to improve health outcomes for our tenants and leaseholders Improving visibility of staff and their knowledge of local areas Providing information given to residents in areas such as welfare reform, through the Independent Voice, Right first time repairs, departmental successes, training opportunities, grounds maintenance contractors and other service specific information. Promoting engagement and increasing diversity of those who engage Consulting/gaining feedback from residents to inform service improvement work in areas such as Right First Time repairs, local priorities etc. Working in partnership with our colleagues in the NHS to improve health outcomes for our tenants and leaseholders “We spoke to a variety of residents who may have been unlikely to engage in any other way.” Staff member Outcomes in line with the Camden Plan Involving the community more: Introduce innovative and more accessible ways of influencing decision-making for all residents – ones that move away from those formal-style forums which reach only a small number of people in the community; Camden Plan page 20

Results – what do like about having Camden as a landlord “Very vibrant area. Good council - try hard to resolve problems - do try very hard, very happy and settled - feel secure. All areas in Camden well cared for” “I'm just happy that Camden is my landlord. I've even had a rent deduction when it was discovered I was paying too much”

Results – what could we do better? “ we dislike the proposed management fee structure; we would like to receive results of consultations (we have only received them once); problem with rats outside building near bins still ongoing” “more enforcement of tenancy agreement” “do not listen to tenants about repairs needed”

Results – Can you give us one idea on how we could improve the above? ? “Dealing with rent arrears promptly and running a huge campaign borough wide on responsible citizenship" “Council should insist that tenants should keep the area outside their doors clean and tidy as some have bags of rubbish, old furniture that should be removed. Perhaps an occasional spot check.” “employ more resident staff and front line staff”

Results – how would you like to give us your views? “A number of those who engaged in the survey presented as being very unwell, either mentally or physically. Very good to get the views and feedback from those who would not usually get involved. I felt that those who did engage lacked the confidence in expressing a full range of views. This should be done on a regular basis, should improve level and quality of engagement” Staff member “ meeting at community hall at Kingsgate in the evening as we are working at day time” “better facilities for focus groups ie better feedback following meeting and more frequent local meetings”

Meeting outcomes “I went inside blocks I had not been to before and was shocked by the poor conditions.” Manager Did the events meet the set outcomes? 52% Outcome Evidence Staff feedback Improving visibility of staff and their knowledge of local areas 86 people said this was the principle way they wanted to get involved “People who answered the door appeared delighted with this form of communication”. Staff member 90% stated that this outcome had been met Providing information to residents Staff door knocking had less opportunity to provide information. 70% felt they had met this outcome. Staff did not feel there were enough residents Promoting engagement and increasing diversity of those who engage 65% of residents engaged with at the events were from BME communities 3 potential TRAS 200 new ATRP members “We spoke to a variety of residents who may have been unlikely to engage in any other way.” Staff 90% stated that this outcome had been met The other 10% unsure Gaining feedback from residents to inform service improvement work 1578 people gave us their views 978 suggestions to improve 70% staff agreed that this outcome met before results of the survey Working in partnershipPolice, NHS, recycling Other outcomesTeam building/engagement as fun/culture “As an office worker, it was very interesting for me to visit a Camden estate” staff member “As a new Manager this has given me the chance to see my team all together and to get to know them” Manager

Costs Event costs Benchmarking 2009 Ipsos Mori Poll into private sector renters 270 respondents - £35, Residents survey – 1000 respondents - Benchmarking 2009 Ipsos Mori Poll into private sector renters 270 respondents - £35, Residents survey – 1000 respondents - Estimated staff costs 1,432 staff hours £25, Within existing responses £25, Within existing responses Total £30, Expenditure itemamount Children’s entertainer£750 Face painter£500 Entertainment (drums)£250 Refreshments (- £100 donation from Linbrooks) £361 Gazebo costs£130 Publicity£1000 Table cloths/ stationery£170 St John’s ambulance£595 Sand bags£64 Van hire£261 Community Centre hire£420 Totals£4,501

Recommendations Do it again! Make it an annual event every July 2.30pm – 5pm Increasing face to face contact – respondents identified this as a problem and referred to the closure of the district offices. Piloting estate meetings once a year to get feedback from local residents – as satisfaction with both the caretakers and local meetings scored highly, it would seem sensible to include them in these. Simplify service charge bills Improve response time for s Introduce a notice to show the property has been checked by the caretaker More information for residents about recycling, rubbish and location of bins and their responsibilities Have a regular redecoration programme for communal areas Train contractors to be more polite Better tenancy enforcement of rubbish in communal areas Telephone or text about arrears instead of standard letters Publicise post inspections of repairs. Listen to what we have to say as individual leaseholders and group residents committees. Define within your various departments who should be dealing with what and save everyone a lot of time and expense and irritation with not being able to speak to the right person

Learning “I think there should have been more info to residents prior to event, as not a lot of residents turned up and hold it in July” Contractor “I think a little more encouragement and information could be given to staff in advance of the door – knocking. For example, some staff complained that the stall areas were really very far away from the area where they were to go door-knocking, and they had not been aware of this.” More planning More staff training and communication Consider value for money of electrical supply More sponsorship This pilot means it will be easier and cheaper next time More entertainment More publicity and planning from other teams Give enthusiastic staff more surveys to do Change times and month of events Use community volunteers to process data (co-production project)

QUESTIONS ?