What we’ve achieved together

Residents at Hawthorn Mill are working with Joanne Davies, senior scheme manager, to completely update the A-Z guide for new tenants, helping them to settle into their homes.

While we were choosing a new ‘out of hours’ repairs provider, customers were involved in reviewing the contract applications, which helped us to appoint Cornel Building Services – a Yorkshire-based, professionally accredited contractor. 

We have been working on new procedures for estate walkabouts and annual tenancy visits. Feedback from discussions with members of our Customer Voice Group will now be incorporated into the pilot projects.

You have given us feedback that you've not been satisfied with the way we've handled complaints. We have done our own internal work to review the quality of our complaints handling. As a result, we've created a new full-time post of Complaints Resolution Officer to expand our Complaints team and make sure that we have a more consistently high quality approach.

Feedback from customers indicated poor satisfaction with our gas contractor. We put in place a new monthly account management meeting with our contractor and invited residents to attend, to help Connect to drive service improvements. Complaints about our gas contractor have steadily dropped as a result of this work.

We worked with residents at Phoenix Close in Seacroft to do a big community clean-up. We provided skips for everyone to have a clear out, did some litter picking and collected donations of children’s toys for North Kirklees Women’s Refuge. 

Members agreed a new name for the Service Improvement Forum. They will now be referred to as the Customer Voice Group (CVG).

The group wanted to ensure that their name really did reflect the work that was happening at the meetings.

Read more about the decision.

We changed the bin stores at Hanover Street so they are compliant with fire regulations. The plans were agreed in consultation with residents to maintain accessibility.

Residents worked with us to review the way we run our customer services. We're now working on a charter to ensure high customer service standards across Connect. 

You told us that we need to get better at keeping you informed. We've begun using a new communications tool that allows us to provide timely updates to you via email and text, for example to let you know when works will be carried out in communal areas.  

Newall Close residents told us they wanted level access to the allotments, so our groundworks team installed a new path in spring.

Residents and staff worked together to develop a new pet policy for Yew Tree Court.

Residents were given anonymous surveys and asked to share their views on pets in the block, especially when it came to the communal lounge and other shared areas.

We had some really useful feedback and as a result changes have been made to the policy, making communal areas more accessible for all, including those who chose not to have pets.

For more details, read our news story about the change.

Martyn Broadest, Director of Home, presented the Repairs, Maintenance and Asset Management strategy to CVG, so they could share their thoughts on it before the final copy went to the Connect Housing Board for approval.

Martyn presented seven priority actions to the panel. The CVG’s general consensus was that the actions were appropriate, and Martyn added an 8th priority action around contractor performance into the final draft, following concerns raised about it earlier in the meeting.

For more details on this process, take a look at our blog post.

We give every new Connect tenant a handbook with useful information. In 2024, we spoke with 72 residents who told us what they thought was already useful in the booklet, and what they would have liked to see. As a result,  the handbook was rewritten to include the key information important to residents.

We contacted over 400 residents by letter and telephone to discuss how they felt about how we dealt with reports of damp, mould and condensation (DMC). 

We received 43 responses, all of which highlighted the importance of communications at different stages of our case management process. This has led to a review of the stages involved in the process, with further communications now being built in. 

We engaged with 90 residents who'd been involved with an anti-social behaviour (ASB) case, to share their thoughts and feelings about what good looks like when dealing with ASB. 

We also reached out to the Customer Voice Group (CVG), residents’ associations and other residents who had said they were interested in this subject. 

As a result, the Policy was updated to include clear timescales, clarity on what people can expect and communication throughout the investigation of an ASB case.  The policy was approved by the Customer Voice Group (CVG).

The Connect Scrutiny Panel carried out a deep dive review looking at ‘missed appointments in day-to-day repairs’. 

The review concluded with seven recommendations made to Connect, six were formally adopted by Connect’s Board, here they are in brief: 

1. Provide staff training to ensure the correct pathways are followed when booking follow-up appointments, so that reminder texts are sent where appropriate.  
2. Do more to highlight tenant responsibilities and reasonable behaviours. 
3. Include data about missed appointments in management reports. 
4. Provide a telephone system that enables residents to know a telephone call is from Connect. 
5. Ensure translation needs are on the job sheet so translation can be arranged.  
6. Deliver training to reinforce the procedure for when an appointment is missed. 

The actions will be tracked until completion by Connect’s Board. 

Residents contacted Connect to highlight why they needed a new drying area. They explained it would collectively save them money, reduce energy usage and therefore carbon footprint, as well as minimise problems with condensation in residents’ flats. 

They also asked about a new seating area, particularly for the lighter and warmer months. It was important to them to have somewhere to come together, enjoy fresh air and the outdoors. 

Residents were supported to submit an application to Connect for Seed Funding which enabled the installation of new drying and outdoor seating areas.