Member Article

Keepmoat shortlisted for Repairs & Maintenance Provider of the Year Award

Keepmoat Property Services, a division of Keepmoat, has been shortlisted in the Repairs & Maintenance Provider of the Year category of the 24housing Awards 2013.

The company, which provides a responsive repairs and maintenance service to clients across the UK, has been shortlisted in recognition of the work that it undertakes with its client, Spire Homes in Northamptonshire and Rutland.

Keepmoat Property Services recently secured a fixed price partnership contract for up to 10 years with Spire Homes to provide a 24/7 responsive repairs & maintenance, void and planned works service across a portfolio of nearly 5,000 properties.

The new contract, which is worth up to £50m over the ten year period, commenced in July last year and has seen performance and customer satisfaction increase considerably.

The new contract brought new ways of working together such as providing extended opening hours (8am-8pm), weekend appointments and a price per property cost model, which has enabled both organisations to share efficiency savings within the first year of over £140,000.

“As part of the new contract with Spire Homes, we wanted to provide residents with a fully inclusive service. We acknowledge that people may be at work through the day so by extending the hours of operation to evenings and weekends, this allows a more flexible approach to service delivery.” said Neil Owen, Operations Manager of Keepmoat Property Services.

All members of staff from Keepmoat Property Services and Spire Homes attended a four day induction programme to gain a greater understanding of the new partnership objectives, culture and the new service that would be delivered.

As part of the contract, 95% of all works are delivered with a directly skilled workforce, of which 55% are multi-skilled and 88% are employed locally which is a big boost to local labour in the area.

In August 2013, overall customer satisfaction of the repairs service was 98% with 97% of repairs completed right first time. 99% of customers said they were satisfied with the way their call was handled and 99% of customer appointments were kept and met on time.

The partnership between Keepmoat Property Services and Spire Homes has also seen closer customer involvement with tenants sitting on the Board to monitor performance and have their input in the extensive community investment calendar, which includes a host of coffee mornings and initiatives such as developing local play areas, refurbishing youth centres and providing numerous training and employment opportunities.

Mark Rogers, Head of Property Services, said: “We have worked closely with residents and the contractor to ensure that our repairs service is both high quality and cost-efficient. This is one of the most important services that we deliver to our customers and we are really pleased that this great partnership has been recognised.”

Mike Edwards, Managing Director of Keepmoat Property Services, said: “We are delighted that Keepmoat has been shortlisted in the Repairs and Maintenance Provider of the Year category of these prestigious awards. This is testament to the unique partnership we have with our client, Spire Homes and their residents to deliver an excellent repairs and maintenance service.

“Both organisations have demonstrated what can be achieved by working collaboratively, not just by increasing customer satisfaction but the impact this can have on a local community. We have created training and employment opportunities for local people and we are proud to support this local community by going the extra mile to ensure that customer and client satisfaction is not only met, but exceeded.”

The awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony on Thursday, November 7 at Aston Villa F.C., Villa Park in Birmingham and there are twelve award categories. For more information on the awards, please visit www.24housing.co.uk/awards

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Craig Downs .