Nigel Hunt, Charter Mark assessor, visited East Midlands Housing for two days at the start of February, collecting the relevant evidence and talking to managers, partners, customers and staff.
“The association is well thought of by the Audit Commission who have recently awarded the association two stars with promising prospects,” says Mr Hunt in his post assessment report.
“The association has a strong culture of management of its finances and performance monitoring across the range of its housing services. It performs well, is in the top quartile for resident satisfaction and overall residents are satisfied with the customer services they receive.”
We were judged on six key criteria:
• Setting standards and performing well;
• Actively engaging with customers, partners and staff;
• Being fair and accessible to everyone and promoting choice;
• Continuously developing and improving;
• Using resources effectively and imaginatively, and
• Contributing to improving opportunities and qualities of life in the communities we serve.
We fully complied with the majority of the standards set and in three key areas we were praised for demonstrating best practice.
For example, our Kaleidoscope accessible information policies have been identified as good practice by the Housing Corporation, our regulatory body.
There was partial compliance in just two sub-criteria and we have put together an action plan to address areas for continuing improvement. This will include reviewing ways of effectively engaging with young people in our tenancies.