For Social Housing there are the added challenges around regulatory changes, such as those identified in the Social Housing White Paper, November 2020. There is also a need to improve diversity, equality and inclusion.
The outlook looks pretty daunting as the World seeks to tackle health issues surrounding the pandemic with each country managing the situation based on national circumstances. In the UK the pandemic has created a ‘domino effect’ on economic and financial aspects for the country, which has created wide-reaching challenges for individuals. Most fundamental of these, outside of health, is the financial landscape with unemployment resulting from businesses not being able to operate. The long-term implications, post Government furlough support, are mostly unknown but there is no doubt recovery will take a long time.
For individuals, the customers, these financial pressures undoubtably bring anxiety and stress leading to greater scrutiny of their personal financial position. During these times it is vitally important for businesses to be more transparent in their communications with customers, especially with regard to sending documented information, either physically or electronically. Customers need clarity in the content to help reduce anxiety. This will reduce the ‘query calls’ into the organisation, which itself faces challenges with a disrupted workforce. One specific part of the Housing sector is the regulatory need to communicate to customers information in relation to their Rent and Service Charges, which are demands for payment, and part of the overall financial pressure on individuals.
“During these times it is vitally important for businesses to be more transparent in their communications with customers.”
There are digital driven solutions available to help organisations provide clearer communication of information to customers. They don’t detract from the regulatory requirements, nor the demand for payment, but they do enable you to offer explanations with transparency and openness. Effective content can also help those customers most in need by providing details of resources that customers can reach out to for help. It can be a means for the organisation to empathise with customers ensuring they have clear information regarding any call to action.
Many organisations have brought their digital transition and transformation plans forward in an attempt to restructure processes providing a customer self-serve environment. Whilst these will change the operational models, they still do not address the need for clarity of the message content to help customer understanding. In times like these customers need clarity and reassurance building trust.
TriPartum are specialists in creating and providing effective customer communication solutions across a number of business sectors. One sector it has been successful in supporting is Housing. It has developed a market leading solution for the effective communication of Rent and Service Charges to customers that meets the VfM criteria whilst improving CX. This is a scalable solution with content based on the data relating to individual customers and information that is relevant to them.
