Lessons Learnt
GCH are constantly looking to improve and here are some examples of lessons learnt by us by listening to your complaints.
There was nobody available to assist with queries when the Leasehold Manager was not available.
Greater visibility of cases is now available to a wider team who can assist in the event that the Leasehold Manager is not available.
Details of required follow on works were not available resulting in the follow on works not being booked in.
A new process is in place whereby Property Care engineers now no longer rely on emails etc for follow on works to raised. These are now phoned in from site and a new appointment agreed at that point with the customer.
A number of issues identified and “over promises” were made throughout the decant of a customer whilst works were taking place.
Learnings from this complaint have fed into the review of the decant policy and a new tracker for all decants which outlines each team's responsibility, as well as holding information available to all involved.
Callbacks to customers not being made when requested.
We have enhanced our CRM system to notify officers of a callback request. This remains as a task on their task list until completed
A customer felt that they weren’t being kept up to date with the progress of their new home and weren’t able to get an update regarding this.
The Customer Experience Team have now been trained and have access to the lettings information enabling them to give updates to customers directly.
Poor communication following a fire led to some personal items belonging to a customer were cleared from the property and disposed of in error.
This has been added to the Decant Policy and notes that prior to any removal of property, the customer must be made aware, and confirm that they have removed all personal belongings.
Following planned works to the block, the area where works was carried out was left in a mess, and the contractor needed to reattend and carry out repairs to damage caused.
This was addressed with the contractor directly with our expectations around any area of work being left neat and tidy for the duration of works. Any additional rectification works are to be communicated with the customer directly and updates provided.
An issue was identified whereby customers were not provided with all relevant information for registering solar panels with their energy providers to be able to receive the benefit of them.
A process was put in place identifying all information required, and who this was to be provided by. This has been relayed to the Asset Management Team who are now following this, and also applying retrospectively to customer who have had panels fitted previously.
Our repairs team were making multiple visits because some vulnerable customers did not provide access to their homes.
Our new structure aims to enable different departments to work more closely together to seek the best outcome for customers. Where we know customers may be vulnerable, Neighbourhood Managers, Enhanced Support Coaches or Community Safety & Enforcement Managers will help to support appointments and provide relevant support to make them successful.
This page was last updated June 2024
Lessons Learnt
GCH (Gloucester City Homes) are an independent registered social housing provider based in the centre of Gloucester and covering sites all over Gloucestershire.
We currently own and manage rented homes, sheltered housing properties, leasehold properties, shared ownership properties, commercial units and homeless units.
We became an independent Housing Association in March 2015 following overwhelming tenant support of 89% for a stock transfer from Gloucester City Council. GCH was originally set up as an Arm’s Length Management Organisation in 2005 to deliver the Government’s decent homes standard.
All GCH homes now meet the Government’s decent homes standard and there is a 30 year financial business plan to deliver around £250 million worth of investment in our existing and new homes.
Highly valued and trusted by our tenants and residents, we are recognised as one of the best housing providers in the country through independent accreditation including being ranked the 40th best company Sunday Times Top 100 non-profit making organisation, the Equalities Standard and the British Standards Institute ISO 9001:2015 recognition for quality management processes.
Our Board, Management and Tenant Panel look forward to continuing to achieve better outcomes for our customers, improving your homes and making your communities better places to live. We are committed to providing valued housing services to all our customers.
Abbeydale, Barton, Cathedral, Chequers, Coney Hill, Elmbridge, Holmleigh, Hucclecote, Kingsholm, Linden, Longlevens, Matson, Podsmead, Quedgeley, Robinswood, Severn, The Lampreys, The Oval, Tredworth, Tuffley, Westgate and White City.
Lessons Learnt
Our mission is to provide a safe, decent home for everyone and deliver services that meet our tenant’s needs and expectations.
Our Vision is to build homes and communities where people can thrive.
Our values are:
Pride: Taking pride in everything that we do – Having a positive mindset and can-do attitude. Doing what we say we will do. Taking ownership and responsibility.
Quality: Continually improving by challenging, listening and learning – Using every opportunity to learn to improve. Working together to get things done. Taking the time to understand others
Integrity: Being fair, inclusive, objective and accountable – Embracing diversity and valuing difference. Trusting each other to do the right thing. Speaking up if its not right.
Innovation: Creating opportunities to change and grow- -Looking for solutions and being productive. Not being afraid to fail and being open to new ideas. Using our own skills and experience to make a difference.
Lessons Learnt