At Asra Midlands Housing Association we are aiming to provide the highest standards in customer service and we understand that effective resident involvement is vital if those standards are to be achieved and maintained.
The information below details our resident involvement policy and outlines our commitment and responsibilities for getting people involved. A full copy of the resident involvement policy is available at any of our offices.

Why do residents need to be involved?
As a provider of housing it is essential that residents are involved to make sure that the services we provide are efficient, effective, provide value for money and meet the needs of our residents.

What are the opportunities for getting involved?
There are a range of opportunities for residents to get involved, including:

• Telephone surveys
• Questionnaires
• Mystery shoppers
• Focus groups
• Satisfaction forms
• Tenant groups
• Policy review focus groups
• Tenants conference
• Tenants forum
• Best value steering group
• Best value reviews
• Tenant board member.

How will we support resident involvement?
We will provide both practical and financial resources to support resident involvement including a dedicated staff and budget, a resident training programme, and the reimbursement of expenses. Some of the ways we will publicise how residents can get involved are through newsletters, publications, direct mail, tenants meetings and our website. We will make sure that information we provide is easy to understand and translation services are available in community languages, large print and braille.

How will we communicate with residents?
Staff at Asra Midlands will aim to ensure we are meeting the communication needs of our residents, using clear and accessible methods.

Will residents be involved in major building works?
If we are carrying out building works to individual properties, we will make sure residents are kept informed and involved.

Will residents be involved in developing our policies?
We will make sure that residents are fully involved in the development of our operational policies through policy focus groups, questionnaires, tenants meetings and the Tenants Forum.
We will check changes in policies through telephone surveys and seek to create consumer panels.

Will residents be involved in setting Customer Service Delivery Standards?
We will make sure that residents are fully involved in the development and monitoring of service delivery standards, including timeframes for answering the telephone, responding to correspondence, and responding to repair requests.

How will you monitor Resident Involvement?
We will make sure that the resident involvement statement and its associated action plan is reviewed annually and it is our aim that this is monitored by resident representatives.

This will be backed up by our STATUS survey, which is undertaken to find out the views of our residents.

Themes for 2006
The Association believes that residents should be involved in a way and at a speed, that suits them. This will not be the same for everyone and it is important that the association accommodates the different needs and requirements of different groups. To achieve this, the key themes for 2005/2006 are to:

• Build on the firm foundations of our current approach to increase the opportunities for all our residents to be involved in a manner that suits them;
• Develop new and innovative ways to involve all residents;
• Make appropriate resources available for resident involvement;
• Implement the action plan for resident involvement;
• Review staffing and skill levels for resident involvement and implement necessary changes;
• Develop appropriate benchmarking and monitoring to measure the impact of resident involvement;
• Implement continuous service improvement as identified in the best value reviews;
• Develop ways to involve harder to reach groups;
• Develop a mechanism for encouraging and supporting the development of residents’ groups;
• Include residents in continuous improvement reviews;
• Develop methods for communicating and improving maintenance services to residents;
• Increase resident involvement in major improvement programmes;
• Create better opportunities for resident involvement at local level;
• Formalise and strengthen the role that the strategic tenants forum plays and
• Introduce pilots for Roadshow events, "Asra people", and regional groups.

How can I find out more?

Contact the Resident Involvement Co-ordinator by telephone 0116 2536646 or email customerservices@asra-midlands.org.uk

or write to:
Asra Midlands Housing Association
78 Burleys Way
Leicester
LE1 3BD