Gentoo’s Customer Committee has marked its first-year anniversary with a commitment to continuing to help us improve the services we provides to 60,000 people we provide homes to.
The Committee first met in November 2023 after being created to ensure we put our customers at the heart of our decision making. Passionate about the communities they live in and sharing a desire to raise standards in social housing, our members meet bi-monthly and give direct feedback to Board members to ensure services are delivered to the best possible outcome, customer standards are being met and that Gentoo is achieving value for money.
By being consulted on key matters, the Committee helps guarantee that customer voices are always heard and that we listen and act on the invaluable feedback provided by our customers across a range of services.
In its first year, the Committee has helped us reshape how we deal with cases of damp and mould by helping to create a more customer-friendly procedure alongside a more empathetic approach to dealing with any such reports. Members have also helped us make decisions on how we communicate important subjects such as rent updates, using their own experiences to provide valuable insight on what information customers require and how it should be presented.
Customer Committee member Angela Dalzell said: “I have really enjoyed my first year being on the Customer Committee, meeting other committee members who also want the best service for Gentoo customers.
“Shadowing teams within Gentoo has been rewarding and given the committee the chance to see how the teams support customers.
“Scrutinising and contributing towards policies has been interesting, with a highlight being working towards Gentoo gaining the C1 grading in the new Customer Standards.”
Fellow committee member Doreen Richardson added: “I would say the highs of the first year on the Customer Committee are the numerous times we have seen the suggestions we made being put into actions to further benefit customers.
“I hope in the coming year we can continue to find ways to help customers get a better perspective of how much Gentoo do care and value their customers as well as to continue finding ways to improve our knowledge of the business and to convey policies etc from a customer perspective.”
Committee member John Dannell commented: “I am able to see whether in advertising literature or policy our committee’s thoughts and suggestions come to light , which to me clearly demonstrates how customers CAN make a difference.
“I see how we are encouraged to contribute by all of the senior leadership team and that our opinions are valued.
“I see now that Customers are now truly at the heart of everything Gentoo plan and do. This committee works and I am proud to be a part of it.”
Customer Committee members also represent Gentoo on The Social Housing Quality Resident Panel, which brings together social housing customers from across the country so they can directly share their views with the Government and its ministers on their approach to driving up the quality of social housing.
Emily Cox MBE, Gentoo Group Chair, said: “Over the last year I have loved working with our brilliant Customer Committee.
“They bring insight, clarity and balance to our decision making and make sure Gentoo’s Board have customers at the heart of our decision-making processes.
“I am looking forward to the next 12 months and working with the Committee to help Gentoo be even better.
Gentoo CEO Louise Bassett said: “Gentoo has become a better organisation over the past 12 months because of the Customer Committee.
“We are delivering improved services and better outcomes for our customers through listening and acting on their ideas, feedback, and challenge. I am so proud of their achievements and how they have formed as a brilliant team through working together and attending some of the national housing conferences.
“I am excited at what we will achieve together in the next 12 months, and I’d like to thank each of them for their commitment to Gentoo and helping us to continue to improve our services to customers.”
Earlier this year, we received the highest C1 grading in terms of delivering the outcomes of the Consumer Standards following an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing.
The inspection assessed all four of the Consumer Standards: the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, the Safety and Quality Standard, the Tenancy Standard and the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard.
In its judgement, the Regulator acknowledged there are a wide range of meaningful opportunities for customers to influence and scrutinise our strategies, policies and services and noted evidence that we consider customer input to make improvements, including at Board level, and that customer feedback has improved service delivery and strategic decision making.
We invest £1million each week in our existing properties and are one of the first social housing providers in the North East to be assessed against these new Consumer Standards.
We also continue to meet the Governance and Financial Viability requirements with gradings of G1 and V2 respectively.
We have a range of opportunities for customers to get involved with to help improve our services by sharing views and giving feedback. If you would like to become one of our involved customers, please email customerinvolvement@gentoogroup.com.
