Welcome to the latest Calico Homes newsletter!
Inside, you’ll find all the latest stories and updates about what we’ve been getting up to over the last few months. From exciting events taking place to what’s coming up soon, we’ve got loads of updates and insights to share with you this summer.
Sharing achievements from Calico Community Choice
We’re thrilled to announce that Casual Minds Matters, a project dedicated to providing vital mental health support for men in Burnley, received the highest support from our communities and received £1000 in funding.
As well as Casual Minds Matter, Warm Hearts’ Coffee Morning received funding which provides breakfast, lunch and a safe space for people in the community every Friday.
Burnley Wood Community Group will also receive funding to host free dance classes for kids to make sure every child in the area has access to the same opportunities.
We’re currently welcoming submissions for Round Two, with voting scheduled for June.
If you or someone you know has a community group or concept in need of financial support, please reach out to customers@calico.org.uk for details and application materials.
Our new app is on its way...
We’re delighted to say that we’ve been busy reviewing our customer services processes and we’ve decided to invest in a brand-new customer app.
The new app will allow you to interact with our services anytime, anywhere – making everything from re-scheduling appointments to reporting repairs and making payments easier for you. We’ll also use it to keep you up to date and as a line for easy two-way communication.
This is a direct response to the feedback from our recent ‘Make It Happen’ survey. Following the results, we’ve been committed to listening and acting on your feedback, which included re-arranging of appointments, knowledge of our services, and poor communication.
As part of the Customer Experience Network, you can be more involved. You can join our Portal Focus Group where, where you will help with the design, test and launch of the new portal.
If you would like to be part of this group, please let us know at CEN@calico.org.uk.
New complaints handling process
We’re always looking at ways to make our service better, that’s why we’ve taken steps to improve how we deal with complaints.
We want to hear your feedback, whether it’s a suggestion for improvement, a compliment, or something you’re not satisfied with. We’re here to listen and learn.
To make things easier, we’ve put our feedback into three categories: Compliments, Concerns and Complaints.
Read moreIncome management & tenancy sustainment updates
We’re pleased to report that no evictions for rent arrears took place over the last 12 months, thanks to additional support given by our tenancy sustainment team.
We’ve successfully maximised customer income by over £126,000, supporting over 400 people with a range of tenancy related servicest; including budgeting, hoarding and income maximisation.
As well as supporting those who pay rent, we also supported 146 of our most vulnerable customers with food and fuel poverty over the 2023/24 financial year, as the cost-of-living crisis showed no signs of letting up.
Read more to find out about everything we’ve been doing to support income management and tenancy sustainment over the last year and our plans going forward.
Learn more
Introducing Danielle Edwards-Cooke
Hi, i’m Danielle, your new Head of Customer Experience here at Calico Homes.
My mission is simple: to make sure your needs are not just heard but met with action. In a nutshell, I’m here to make your interactions with us as smooth as possible. Whether you have a problem, a concern, or a suggestion, I want you to make sure you can contact us easily and have any issues addressed as quickly as we can.
If you’d like to get in touch with Danielle, feel free to drop her an email on: dedwards-cooke@calico.org.uk
Introducing our new Service Scrutiny Board (SSB)
We’re always looking for ways to get you involved in making our services better. That’s why we’ve created a brand-new customer group for you to share your thoughts and ideas with us.
The newly formed Service Scrutiny Board will play a big role in evaluating and enhancing our services, using their unique customer’s perspective to make things better for all our customers – including you.
Learn more
We’re taking steps to make our repairs service more efficient!
Supplies will now be delivered directly to our trade operatives and engineers, as we take steps to make our repairs service smoother after taking on new suppliers.
Huws Grey, Plumbase and Edmondson Electrical are all local based suppliers who will supply all our materials across the repair services.
All orders are placed via apps, where the stock has been directly agreed by Calico trade operatives and engineers.
We can also automatically keep agreed levels of van stock, so we never run low of essential materials to complete repairs.
Materials will be delivered to site, removing the need for operatives and engineers to collect materials from stores.
All of these changes mean we can continue to improve the efficiency of the service we provide to you.
We're now wearing body-worn cameras
From April, you’ll see our Neighbourhood and Community Safety Officers wearing body-worn cameras.
We’ve decided to introduce these as a direct result of feedback from our teams, following an increase in incidents when visiting neighbourhoods.
The body-worn cameras will be used by officers as protection. This isn’t just for the officer, but for our customers and members of the public too.
In addition to being a visual deterrent, the cameras will be used to evidence breaches of tenancy and help us keep our neighbourhoods safe.
We always want our colleagues to feel safe and by investing in body-worn cameras, we’re taking further steps to protect and provide reassurance to our colleagues and customers.
Thank you, from a customer....
“A great big thank you to Gemma and Judy at Calico. You have made my mother’s transition into sheltered accommodation a breeze with all your support. Nothing has been too much trouble and I feel staff go above and beyond to support their tenants.
The Income Management Team sorted all her benefits out which was one less thing to worry about and have promptly returned phone calls to myself, and any issues have been quickly resolved. I am also a tenant, and, in the past, I have had support from Suzanne and Gemma whilst being out of work and was dealt with care and compassion whilst being given practical advice, which is invaluable in times of stress. Keep doing what you’re doing. Very happy tenants.”
Want to join our Customer Experience Network?
As part of the Customer Experience Network, you can be more involved in everything we do. If you would like to be part of this group, please let us know at CEN@calico.org.uk.
We look forward to sharing more information with you in the autumn.
Laura Hodkinson
Group Director of Customer Transformation