Sutton Housing Partnership (SHP) is an Arms Length Management Organisation and manages 7,500 properties on behalf of London Borough of Sutton. The ethos of the organisation is to build productive relationships with residents that are characterised by mutual trust and confidence with every home a platform for household success.

The responsive repairs service at SHP has been through some difficult times including an acrimonious split from the appointed contractor Rydon in 2015, followed in 2019 by the next incumbent repairs partner, Mears, giving notice on grounds of lack of contract profitability.

In considering how to proceed, residents and stakeholders were clear that the greatest weight should be given to the delivery of a high quality, consistent and sustainable service, securing high levels of resident satisfaction. An in-house service supported by a local supply chain would provide SHP with the discretion and control needed to be able to make the changes to enhance service quality in the face of an increasingly volatile operating environment.

With the benefit of cooperation from Mears who provided ICT and other infrastructure support the repairs service was brought in-house from April 2020, just as the Covid lockdown took effect. This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the transferring craft and managerial team who were pleased to replace the previous commercial focus and ways of working with a new emphasis upon ensuring that tenants are happy with the work completed.

In the views of engaged tenants and based upon the majority of feedback received this has been an overwhelmingly positive insourcing journey. The alternative of going to and trusting the market presented major risks around finding the right procurement model that would produce a trusted partner, cost uncertainty in a time of rising inflation and post Brexit supply chain fragility and shortages including labour. Whilst certainly not a panacea an in-house repairs service does bring some important benefits:

• Creation of a wider pool of expertise in repairs that is important for capturing and understanding the detail of the various challenges faced in delivering an effective service.
• Potential to fully align repairs and maintenance activities with the broader direction of asset management so it is investing in the stock rather than simply meeting demand in a reactive way. 
• Enabling a move to planned and predictive maintenance models based upon knowledge of component life cycles, use of repair visits to check on stock condition and update information held and identification of stock with a propensity to require higher spend so this can be investigated.
• The opportunity to develop a closer relationship with housing management which is able to address property and tenancy needs more holistically.
• Economies, efficiencies and unity of purpose can flow from not requiring a rigid client versus contractor split as is necessary with an outsourced service.
• The autonomy to make whatever changes are needed in response to operational and strategic circumstances without triggering a costly contractual implication, a good example is the introduction of a handy-person service for elderly residents.
• The warm response of tenants and residents to being able to work with an in-house team to improve service effectiveness and drive up satisfaction levels.
• The ability to identify where further investment can be made in the in house service by reducing spend on the external supply chain with the potential to create further savings and efficiencies.

SHP has been concentrating upon identifying and putting in place the core elements of an effective and reliable repairs service: 

• Excellent two way communication with tenants so that access to the service is simple and convenient for all, repair orders are confirmed through the tenant’s preferred means of contact, work is planned and organised carefully, tenants are informed of any changes and the experience is one of calm professionalism. Feedback from tenants is valued and used to shape future service design. Resident feedback via an independent company, IFF Research, has been critical in identifying areas where tenants believe there are shortcomings in service delivery and which are subsequently acted upon.  Open transparent dialogue with customers is key.
• Rapid and effective problem solving - tenants expect the repairs service to overcome any obstacles to satisfactory completion and to attend to the majority of repairs quickly.
• Constant focus on tenant satisfaction is driven by a high productivity environment which enables the reliability of the service to grow and generates tenant trust.
• Smart and efficient business processes with well aligned ICT systems and training - staff receiving repairs requests understand what the craft operative needs to know about the repair in advance so they are prepared and able to work efficiently and without interruption.
• Inclusive organisational culture which supports and rewards initiative and collaboration - close working with asset management to ensure we are adding value to the asset. Effective alignment with housing management to understand/address tenancy issues.

Strong working relationships with housing and asset management are an essential foundation for an effective repairs and maintenance service:

• Repairs and maintenance must be fully aligned with asset investment in order to add value to the stock. Important that repairs differentiate between good and bad demand so that it can genuinely add value to the stock and commit time and resources to the genuine priorities.
• Ability to address maintenance needs through the most appropriate service - move tasks between reactive, planned and major works according to cost and programming capacity.
• Identifying high demand properties and jointly investigate with housing management to establish whether the volume of work reflects poor property condition or is a product of behaviour or misuse which needs addressing - helps ensure fairness in the allocation of resources.
• Integrated working to successfully address more intractable problems which can come to light through repairs e.g. tackling damp and mould in properties where hoarding or other factors make the task difficult and addressing any matters observed during the course of a repairs visit which merit investigation such as suspected safeguarding or domestic abuse concerns.
• Making best use of the repairs visit to check and report on property condition - equip operatives with the kit needed to capture and log this and ensure this appears on the asset management database.

Our Repairs Focus Group meets monthly and reviews all aspects of service set-up and performance. This has developed into a strong bond and shared objectives between tenants and the in house team and is driving service improvement:

• Promoting a partnership approach to repairs and home maintenance - defining a repairs offer that both informs and manages the expectations of residents about the responsibilities they hold for managing their home.
• Developing key initiatives that are designed to shape resident understanding and behaviour in ways that will benefit the upkeep of the asset and reduce costs. For example, new tenancy induction visits, comprehensive advice and guides to carrying out simple repairs which are the tenant’s responsibility and support for tenants who undertake repairs themselves.
• Involvement in service design, including mapping out business processes and in procurement of suppliers and evaluation of bids. 
• Having just a handful of involved tenants shaping services for the majority can be a risk and the strategy has been to widen involvement - a more commercial approach recognises that all tenants are consumers of services and interaction, and influence should be focused at an individual as well as a collective level. This is available from the detailed feedback received through the Tenant Satisfaction Measures telephone surveys and generates real insight into how the service is meeting tenant need. Do the priorities/concerns of the active minority diverge from those of the quiet majority?
• Collection, interpretation and application of customer insight as the principal involvement mechanism supports evidence informed decision making. Resident Focus Group interprets feedback and applies learning to service improvement.
• Residents recognise the need to spend the available resources in the most prudent way and to demonstrate value for money through cost benefit analysis and indicators of impact e.g. the involvement and development of a planned maintenance programme in conjunction with the Resident Focus Group and agreement to standardise fixtures and fittings.
• The value of social investment and community development in complementing repairs and maintenance services.

From the outset we identified 'investment in the repairs workforce' as a priority so that the team possessed a hierarchy of important skills alongside their craft abilities:

• Ensure that all repairs staff feel they are equal partners in the business and they share key responsibilities for meeting landlord obligations to residents.
• A critical understanding of the repairs mission in social housing - the need for repairs work to always be of a high standard and provide an enduring remedy which gives residents confidence in the amenities, safety and comfort of their home and that repairs should always add value to the asset.
• Good communication skills - advising and coaching tenants so they develop the understanding and commitment to the partnership approach needed between residents and SHP and play their part in looking after their own home.
• Adept at using new technology to communicate, to enhance the repair being undertaken and to evidence the quality and completeness of their work.
• Problem solving approach and the practical skills which this requires based on both principal and ancillary trades so that a complete job can be undertaken in a single visit.
• Acting as the landlord representative during the repairs visit - inspecting and surveying properties as part of the repairs visit to identify and where appropriate undertake any further repairs needed or report these for future attention as well as report on condition of key components.
• Observing how the tenancy is being managed and looking out for any concerns that should be reported.
• Creating opportunities for transitioning into asset management and wider housing roles and for women to work in repairs and maintenance.

This excellent esprit de corps has been sustained and has enabled the repairs service to drive up tenant satisfaction so that it compares with the very best in London. The performance of the SHP repairs service has been continuing to improve and is now meeting its principal targets consistently:

• Routine repairs completed within target time scale - 97.3 per cent against target of 97 per cent
• Emergency repairs completed within target time scale - 100 per cent
• Appointments made and kept - 99.7 per cent against target of 98 per cent
• Average key to key relet time of 26.2 days against target of 30 days.

All other repairs indicators have improved and are on or close to target.

Close working with residents has been sustained through the Repairs Focus Group with strong input from the Tenants Federation.

The project has been sponsored and led from the most senior level within SHP and has had a high profile across the organisation and at board level in recognition of the strong connection between satisfaction with repairs and overall landlord satisfaction. The most intractable problems have related to securing the level of functionality which IT providers claim for their systems, particularly in relation to providing information for customers which keeps them updated and informed about repairs progress and for scheduling. 

The repairs workforce are the public face of SHP and a continuing high level of morale is evident with feedback overwhelmingly positive from residents. Some of the positive comments received in just the last month include:

"The work was done almost straight away so I was very pleased with that. And the two boys that came to do it were very polite, told me what they were going to do and kept me informed, very satisfied with them."

"Because they were very accommodating with the times as I can only do certain times. He turned up on time, was very polite, got on with his job, told me exactly what had happened, fixed it and then went on his way."

"I was happy. That was the first time I called them and the waiting time was very short. They came out quickly and I was very happy. The guy that did the work did a very good job."