What you said, what we did

The Customer Needs and Adjustments Policy consultation was open for 4 weeks and we received 76 responses. The consultation was emailed to all registered users as well as all customers who had advised of either a long term disability, health condition or support need after their completion of the ‘About You Survey’ during Q3 2024, in order to gather targeted responses.

Question	Agree %
To what extent do you agree that this section [4. Understanding and identifying customer needs] demonstrates that Derby Homes are committed to understanding and identifying customer needs?	75.0
Do you agree with the data collection methods outlined in the policy?	77.7
Do you agree this policy adequately explains how customer data will be collected and used?	81.6
Does the policy provide enough detail about how we will ensure communication and services are accessible to all customers?	75.0
Do you agree that collecting information about your protected characteristics and additional needs helps Derby Homes tailor services to better meet your needs?	85.6
Do you feel the training outlined for staff and board members is sufficient to address the barriers faced by diverse groups?	65.8

We asked if there were other ways customers would suggest Derby Homes could gather information from our customers to support this policy, to which 32 customers raised points for consideration. We also asked if there was anything else customers wanted to comment on that had not been covered, to which 6 customers added further points. The Quality and Inclusion team categorised these comments into common themes and considered these:

Customer comment	Derby Homes response
Customers suggested a range of other ways of gathering information, including home visits, phone calls, My Account, community events, and surgeries.	Surveys are being completed in a range of ways including many of these options. These suggestions will be considered by the Inclusion Working Party and discussed with appropriate teams such as Community Engagement.
Several comments related to the need for regular contact with customers to keep information up to date.	Consideration is being given as to the regularity of asking customers to complete a survey to update their household circumstances.
Comments were made about how to gather information from those without internet access	This has been considered and information is also gathered over the phone and through home visits.
Some customers suggested analysing feedback and complaints for trends.	This work is already being undertaken by the Engagement and Feedback Team.
Customers gave examples of then they have difficulties accessing services such as adaptations.	It is disappointing that customers feel this way and we acknowledge that there is more work to be done. As part of the Quality and Inclusion Team’s workplan, an Equalities Impact Assessment will be performed on all service areas to ensure a consistent access to services and review the customer journey.
Customers gave examples of times when they have felt processes are too complex.	As part of reviewing policies and procedures, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Forum will be looking at how accessible these are and whether they are easily understandable by customers.
A customer expressed a lack of confidence in Derby Homes being able to use the information provided to them to tailor services accordingly.	We acknowledge that there have been issues in the past with information not being easily available across all service areas. This comment highlights the importance of training on how information is recorded and how it is used, something which is included in this policy.

Based on the feedback received from customers, we made the following change to the policy:

We changed ‘Keeping in Touch’ visits to say Home visits. What the visits are called internally does not matter to customers and from the feedback received on the current language, it is clear people do not see that visits will take place to gather information.

We included a reference to surveys being completed over the phone. Whilst the list in the policy isn’t meant to be exhaustive, this was a common suggestion from customers and so is helpful to include.