DWP Workshops on Mitigating the Impacts of the Bedroom Tax

Following on from the recent publication of the DWP's Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) Good Practice Guide containing details of various strategies for mitigating the effects of the RSRS, it will be organising a number of Best Practice Workshops in September. If you are interested in attending then you need to register your interest with DWP. Once you have done so they will send you a short survey to find out, among other things, what you want to get from the event. After they receive your completed survey, they say they will analyse your feedback and send you an invite as soon as dates are confirmed. To register your interest, please send an e-mail, by 5pm on Friday 15 August 2014, to: housing.benefitenquiries@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Developing Effective Performance

17 May, HouseMark, Coventry

The regulator expects landlords to focus on economic regulation within a co-regulatory framework. Boards are expected to seek and provide assurance to the regulator that all the organisation’s resources are deployed to maximise a return on investment. This return can be financial, social or environmental.

The efficiency and effectiveness of performance management arrangements therefore play a central role in showing an organisation’s ability to demonstrate VFM and measure the things that matter to tenants and stakeholders. The organisation’s ability to measure, monitor and report performance against objectives helps the board to challenge and provide assurance in the annual regulatory VFM self-assessment that it is an effective business. This one day workshop will enable delegates to understand some of the key performance management issues in determining how well organisations deliver social value. Find more details on the HouseMark website.

Welfare Reform Workshops

To help landlords prepare for Welfare Reform changes, HouseMark is running 4 service improvement workshops covering a number of the key areas and issues for landlords.

28 February - Coventry

5 March - London

7 March - Manchester

19 March - Cardiff

 Content/Speakers

overview session from Sam Lister, CIH

a session on the impacts of the bedroom tax from Sharon Wheeler, CIH

speakers from credit unions, direct payment pilots & payment card providers

a closing workshop session where you can share and learn from your peers

Find more details on the HouseMark website.

Welfare Reform Workshops

We are witnessing the biggest upheaval to the welfare system since it began. With the bedroom tax coming in from April 2013 and Universal Credit going live from October 2013, these are challenging times for landlords. To help landlords prepare for these changes, HouseMark is running 4 service improvement workshops on welfare reform, covering a number of the key areas and issues for landlords.

• 28 February - Coventry
• 5 March - London
• 7 March - Manchester
• 19 March - Cardiff

Find booking details on the HouseMark website.

Smart Processes - Achieving VFM

Date: 26 June 2012

Location: Coventry

To ensure social housing services provide value for money, landlords need to do the right things and do them right. This applies to the way services are delivered. This workshop will help participants to ensure that service delivery is as efficient as possible whilst still having a positive result for tenants.

The workshop will explore the use of business process re-engineering techniques to help identify barriers to efficiency and to redesign processes that can provide services in the most effective and economic way.  Find full details on the HouseMark website.

Resident Involvement Benchmarking Workshops

In partnership with TPAS and TAROE
Date: 6 December (London), 8 December (Manchester)
Time: 10am (registration from 9.30am) to 4.00pm

With the Government’s emphasis on localism and resident scrutiny, the need for landlords to work closely with their residents has never been greater. HouseMark, in partnership with TPAS and TAROE is therefore pleased to announce it will be holding two more resident involvement benchmarking workshops. The workshop sessions will include:
• a presentation of the 10/11 Resident Involvement Benchmarking results which will cover the key areas of cost & resources, participation, communication and consultation, decision making and training
• value for money in resident involvement
• presentations from housing organisations who have demonstrated good practice and innovation in resident involvement.
Find full details on the HouseMark website.

STAR Workshop

Date: 1 December 2011
Location: Coventry
STAR (Survey of Tenants and Residents) which replaced the now defunct STATUS satisfaction questionnaire has been running for a few months now. HouseMark are therefore pleased to announce they will be running a service improvement workshop on STAR to share good practice and ideas around STAR and satisfaction. Sessions include;
*an introduction to STAR and data protection issues around surveys
*how to benchmark your STAR results
*sample checking and using survey data to track service delivery
*resident satisfaction monitoring programme and how it is used to continuously improve services
*how to use survey results to gain customer insight.
Find full details on the HouseMark website.

Self-Assessment – A Key Co-Regulatory Tool

Masterclasses 28 and 30 June
28 June - London
30 June – Coventry
Regulatory requirements for social housing providers from 2012 explicitly require robust and honest self-assessments to be undertaken. Ask yourself if you are:
*as self aware about your performance as you could be?
*able to demonstrate how your performance compares to others, particularly ‘best in class’, to your board, to tenants panels and others involved in scrutiny arrangements?
This masterclass will assist those who want to plan and develop effective arrangements for ensuring self-assessment and self-awareness are built in as part of business planning processes. Find more details on the HouseMark website.

Are You Ready For Co-Regulation?

Date: 16 June
Location: HouseMark, Coventry
Focusing on resident-led self-regulation can help residents get the best out of their social housing providers. Resident inspectors can play a key role in this approach alongside scrutiny panels. The workshop will help participants find out how ready their organisation and its residents are to develop the role of resident inspectors. It will help develop an understanding of the requirements for effective resident inspector programmes and the fundamental support mechanisms that should first be put in place. This small interactive workshop will provide participants with an understanding of:
*how resident inspectors fit into models of resident led self regulation and co-regulation
*the practical framework required to support resident inspectors
*the key criteria that can used to assess service delivery
*benchmarking as a tool for scrutinising and monitoring performance
*the skills and resources required to carry out inspections.
Find more details on the HouseMark website.

Annual Report Workshops – How To Do It Better!

Date and location
7 June - Coventry
9 June - London
The recent report from the National Tenant Organisations on the first year of Annual Reports said it was an encouraging start but that landlords could do better. The review found that:
*too many reports were written for the TSA and not for tenants
*there was too much PR and corporate ‘back slapping’
*the majority did not include enough honest assessment of services
*very few compared services with other landlords
*most did not include information on value for money, diversity and governance
So the workshops are to help landlords get it right for their second annual report. Find details on the HouseMark website.

Tenant Insight - Do You Know Who Your Customers Are?

Date: 26 May 2011
Venue: HouseMark, Coventry
Tenant insight is all about knowing your customers - their needs, wants and aspirations. If you know what services your customers want and how they want these to be delivered you will improve satisfaction and achieve better value for money. Tenant insight is knowledge derived from a variety of sources - information you collect about your tenants as well as external data. The Office of National Statistics is one such example as is segmented customer data that is available to you from data warehouse companies (CACI, Experian). Not only to should you know who your customers are, but turn this information in to action. Find details on the HouseMark website.

SAS – Self Assess Your Way to Success

Date: 19 May 2011
Venue: HouseMark, Coventry
The framework for improvement, regulation and funding in the world of social housing is being dismantled and there is uncertainty about what will replace it and how this will affect providers. But in all the change some things are certain. All housing providers need to be rigorously self aware at every level - from your tenants to your top team. Getting a strong, accurate self assessment, owned by the whole organisation is the crucial first step to improving your performance and building effective scrutiny. HouseMark is offering a one day workshop to help you develop your organisation’s self awareness around performance so you are ready for the new emerging regulatory regime and future challenges. Find details on the HouseMark website.

Housemark Workshop: Annual Report Workshops – How To Do It Better!

Date and location
7 June - Coventry
9 June - London
The recent report from the National Tenant Organisations on the first year of Annual Reports said it was an encouraging start but that landlords could do better. The review found that:
*too many reports were written for the TSA and not for tenants
*there was too much PR and corporate ‘back slapping’
*the majority did not include enough honest assessment of services
*very few compared services with other landlords
*most did not include information on value for money, diversity and governance
So the workshops are to help landlords get it right for their second annual report. Find full details on the HouseMark website.

Improving Your Complaints Performance

Date: 28 June Location: HouseMark, Coventry In June 2010 HouseMark launched its new complaints accreditation scheme. The development of the scheme has been supported by the Housing Ombudsman Service. This workshop will look at some of the building blocks that social housing providers need to consider in delivering a good complaints handling service and give participants the opportunity to discuss appropriate processes and share good practice. Workshop aims - This small interactive workshop will provide the opportunity for participants to: *review legislation, regulatory and inspection requirements that relate to complaints handling *consider the diversity of their customer base and the challenges and opportunities this presents when dealing with complaints and customer feedback *explore how best to meet the needs of a diverse customer base to provide an accessible and excellent complaints service *discuss ways of embedding a culture that welcomes complaints and uses them in service improvement. Find more information on the HouseMark website.

Improving Your Complaints Performance

Date: 28 June Location: HouseMark, Coventry
This workshop will look at some of the building blocks that social housing providers need to consider in delivering a good complaints handling service and give participants the opportunity to discuss appropriate processes and share good practice. This workshop will be useful to anyone seeking to improve their complaints handling service. It is not a training session to prepare for accreditation. This small interactive workshop will provide the opportunity for participants to:
*review legislation, regulatory and inspection requirements that relate to complaints handling
*consider the diversity of their customer base and the challenges and opportunities this presents when dealing with complaints and customer feedback
*explore how best to meet the needs of diverse customer base to provide an accessible and excellent complaints service
*discuss ways of embedding a culture that welcomes complaints and uses them in service improvement
Find full details on the HouseMark website.

Taking the First Steps Towards Resident Inspections

Date: 16 June Location: HouseMark, Coventry
Focusing in on resident led self regulation can help residents get the best out of their social housing providers. Resident inspectors can play a key role in this approach alongside scrutiny panels. The workshop will help participants find out how ready their organisation and its residents are to develop the role of resident inspectors. It will help develop an understanding of the requirements for effective resident inspector programmes and the fundamental support mechanisms that should first be put in place. This small interactive workshop will provide participants with an understanding of:
*how resident inspectors fit into models of resident led self regulation and co-regulation
*the practical framework required to support resident inspectors
*the key criteria that can used to assess service delivery
*benchmarking as a tool for scrutinising and monitoring performance
*the skills and resources required to carry out inspections.
Find full details on the HouseMark website.

Latest Workshops

Self assess your way to success
Date: 3 March
Venue: HouseMark, Coventry
How self-aware is your organisation? Getting a strong, accurate self assessment, owned by the whole organisation is the crucial first step to improving your performance and building effective scrutiny. This workshop will show you how. Read more here

Are you ready for co-regulation?
Date: 11 March
Venue: HouseMark, Coventry
Co-regulation is here to stay and HouseMark can help you ensure your organisation works well with your residents. Designed to help you develop an understanding of the requirements for effective resident inspector programmes, this small, interactive workshop identifies the fundamental building blocks that should first be put in place. Read more here

Improving your complaints performance
Date: 24 March
Venue: HouseMark, Coventry
This ever popular workshop will help you deliver a good complaints handling service as well as give you the chance to share good practice. Read more here

Upcoming Workshops

Click on "HouseMark" next to "Location" for more details
Tough choices - achieving VFM from services
Date: 3 February 2011
Location: HouseMark , Coventry
Are you making the right decisions that offer the greatest value for money to your customers?
How would your organisation respond to similar cuts being imposed on the public sector?
How will your organisation respond to the reduction in local authority funding or a reduction in the benefits received by your residents?
==========================================================
Developing Local Offers for the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard
Date: 9 February 2011
Location: HouseMark , Coventry
Service choice and complaints, involvement and empowerment, and addressing diversity through understanding and responding to the diverse needs of tenants are key aspects of this standard, which are expected to be applied to all the other TSA standard areas. This interactive workshop will help you stay on track to hit TSA deadlines.
==========================================================
Self assess your way to success
Date: 03 March 2011
Location: HouseMark , Coventry
This course is designed to help you keep ahead of the game and ensure your organisation is poised to deliver customer orientated, value for money improvements that can be demonstrated easily to your residents and stakeholders.

Improving Your Complaints Performance - 27 January 2011

As part of the Big Society ethos and localism ideology dealing with customers' complaints will be key. This workshop will look at some of the building blocks that landlords need to consider in delivering a good complaints handling service and gives participants the opportunity to discuss appropriate processes and share good practice. The workshop will;
*Review legislation, regulatory and inspection requirements that relate to complaints handling
*Consider the diversity of the customer base and the challenges and opportunities this presents when dealing with complaints and customer feedback
*Explore how best to meet the needs of a diverse customer base to provide an accessible and excellent complaints service
*Discuss ways of embedding a culture that welcomes complaints and uses them in service improvement
Read more and find out how to book your place on the HouseMark website.

Resident Involvement Benchmarking Workshop - 26 January 2011

Book your place now on this resident involvement benchmarking workshop. TAROE and TPAS are working with HouseMark to provide this workshop which will look at how social housing providers can get value for money from resident involvement. The workshop will cover;
*feedback on the HouseMark 2009/10 Resident Involvement Benchmarking results which will cover the key areas of cost & resources, participation, communication and consultation, decision making and training
*Value for money in resident involvement
*How residents can use comparative performance information to hold their landlords to account
*Presentations from housing organisations who have demonstrated good practice and innovation in resident involvement.
Find more details on the HouseMark website.