What we do

Our Objectives

1) To ensure that North Devon Homes are accountable to their customers and to promote mechanisms that clearly demonstrate this

2) To involve customers in increasing community participation on developments and projects within their community

3) To review the policies of North Devon Homes to ensure that they are consistent with the aims of the Customer Involvement Strategy

4) To provide suitable training and support for all customers that results in valuable involvement

5) The Customer Forum will produce and annual Action Plan

6) To ensure equal opportunities for all and to actively seek to involve those from minority groups

All of these objectives are designed to put you the customer first.

They also have direct links to the company Business Plan and core values and it is easy to see the similarities between the two sets.

These objectives form part of the new Customer Involvement Strategy which has been developed to ensure that you, the customer, is provided with the opportunity to play a key role in the services that you receive from North Devon Homes.

Monthly Meetings

The Customer Forum meets on a monthly basis to ensure on your behalf that all aspects of the organisations operation involve its customers and that your views are represented.

If you are interested in attending a customer forum meeting please contact the Customer Involvement team on 01271 312525 / 313384. Meeting dates are included in Community and Customer Events.

Develop and review policies and strategies

At monthly meetings the Forum participate in the development and review of North Devon Homes’ policies and strategies. This gives us a significant input and influence over how the company interacts with its customers. It also means that you can be sure that we have the opportunity to put you, the customer first.

Service Review and Improvement groups

A number of groups have been developed over the past couple of years to focus on a specific service area and with customer input aims to improve the delivery of that service in line with what customers want. Forum representatives have been actively involved with the following groups:

Planned Maintenance Service Review Group

Response Repairs Service Review Group

Rents Service Review Group

Neighbourhood Services Improvement Group

Service Standards Improvement Group

The work of each group is reported to the customer forum who make further recommendations for improvement and ratify proposed changes. This is then reported to the Board of Management through the submitting meeting minutes to every Board meeting.

Cleaning reviews and inspections

The Customer Forum were a key player in choosing a new partner for our long term cleaning contract. The contractor chosen by the Forum has committed to year on year improvements in service delivery. The Forum independently carry out inspections of all our sites to ensure that high standards are maintained. Members of the Forum have been trained to conduct communal cleaning inspections to monitor the contract and identify areas that need improvement, repairs, may need adding to the contract or even areas that do not require cleaning so that they can be removed and save our customers money.

Estate inspections

The Forum has been trained to inspect our estates with the Neighbourhood Officers. The inspections look at abandoned vehicles, the condition/appearance of properties and gardens, grounds maintenance and environmental anti social behaviour. Each of these areas are marked using a traffic light system and identify areas for improvement. All estate inspections are advertised and reported in Home News, we hope you can join us.

Grounds maintenance inspections

Members of the Customer Forum were involved in the selection and appointment process for the new partnering contracts. They evaluated the contractors, company information and contract proposals, asked questions at interview and assisted with the final selection of the new contractors. The group holds meetings with representatives from the contractor and district council and inspects the completed work to monitor contract performance. Members of the Forum and 55+ are also completing activity records for their area.

Garden Assistance Scheme