from Melanie Olymbios, English Rural Resident & Chair of the Customer Charter Working Group
My name is Melanie Olymbios. I have been a resident with English Rural for 27 years. In the past I have been the guest editor of English Rural’s newsletter and I'm currently chairing the working group that is responsible for the creation of a new Customer Services Charter. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on our achievements over the year, what we're currently working on, and what we have planned for the future. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Melanie Olymbios Melanie is an English Rural Resident and Chair of the Customer Service Charter Working Group. She is pictured here meeting English Rural's Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, at the official opening of affordable homes in Warehorne, Kent
Twenty-seven years ago, myself and my husband were fortunate enough to be offered a property with English Rural. I was born and raised in the area, with generations of family history associated with my village.
However, we were not in a position to be able to buy a house. Private renting was expensive and offered little security, and at that point in time, there was very little opportunity to rent in the more rural villages, so we had to move to the nearest town. Being offered to live in an English Rural property offered us security of tenure, to stay close to family ties and most importantly to make our little village house into our home.
As a response to the ‘Together with Tenants’ Charter, English Rural is putting the Resident at the centre of everything they do, allowing the 'resident voice' to be heard more clearly than ever. One of English Rural’s Seven Strategic Ambitions is to 'Work with Residents and Deliver Services in an Accountable way.' The Resident Scrutiny Group is at the heart of this.
Some of you may be aware that English Rural already operate an in-person ‘Resident Scrutiny Group’ that is made up entirely of residents. They meet formally once a year, report back on regional performance twice a year, and are led by an elected Chair.
The Group scrutinises operational performance, feeding directly into the governance process. They identify service priorities and ensure progress is made via a work programme which English Rural implement and report on.
As many residents are dispersed across the UK, the current Scrutiny Group was extended by creating a ‘virtual’ Online Resident Scrutiny Group. This gives a voice to more English Rural residents and ensures a wider network of residents are represented.
The purpose of the Resident Scrutiny Group is to monitor and review the Association’s service delivery to residents, enhancing the connection and understanding between the Board of Management and day-to-day activity. The Scrutiny Group ensures that key service performance areas are monitored; services continue to develop in line with the Association’s strategic objectives; and the views of residents are represented within the decision-making process at Board level.
With the relaunch of the Scrutiny Group online via Microsoft Teams, it was felt that it would be an exciting time to launch a Customer Service Charter for English Rural.
The Customer Service Charter will take into consideration what the residents can and should expect from English Rural as a landlord. It will provide a clear and simple overview as to what you can expect from English Rural, in line with its vision and mission statement. It is also in response to the ‘Together with Tenants’ charter, published by The National Housing Federation, which sets out a plan of how landlords, such as English Rural, can re-evaluate and improve engagement with those that are at the heart of rural housing - you, the resident.
The Customer Charter working group was formed late last year. Our initial task was to ‘brainstorm’ around the following concepts:
What would you like to see in the Charter?
What are your expectations of English Rural?
How can these expectations be made clear in the Charter?
From this we have identified three key categories, which will eventually form the basis of the Customer Charter. Once completed, every Resident will be able to view the completed charter which will be reviewed and updated annually.
If you feel that you would like to get involved and have your voice heard, please contact your Housing Manager.
