Menu of involvement

Menu of involvement
We offer a flexible and broad range of opportunities for resident consultation and involvement.

Involvement Counts
We have a database of over 540 residents who have told us their preferred way of being involved, along with the areas of service, which most interest them.  Members are invited to be involved in activities they have expressed an interest in.

Below is a brief description of different opportunities for you to let us know your views.  If you would like to find out more about any of these please contact Simon Martin, Resident Involvement Manager – smartin@rutcht.org.uk or telephone 020 8481 8944.

Annual meetings
We hold annual meetings on each estate and in each sheltered scheme to give information and discuss matters relevant to the estate or scheme. You will be given the opportunity to put forward items of interest to be discussed by all residents there.

Residents' associations
We are keen to help any residents who want to set up a residents' association.  We provide guidance, training and grants to residents associations as long as they meet certain conditions.  Residents can just attend meetings or stand for election onto the committee.  For more information please look at A Guide For Starting Up & Running Residents’ Associations.

There are active Residents Associations at Fulmer Close and Walnut Tree Close
 
Surveys and questionnaires
We use surveys and questionnaires to find out the views of our tenants.  This includes the following:

• Arrange for an independent company to carry out a satisfaction survey (know as Status) every three years. This gives all residents the opportunity to express their views about us in confidence. We use  the results of this survey to help us plan where we need to make changes.

• Giving a questionnaire to all tenants six months after they move into a newly developed scheme. We use this information to help improve future developments.

• Inspace sending satisfaction cards to residents asking for repairs. These cards give us feedback on the standard of work done.

• Carrying out specific surveys when necessary to find out how satisfied tenants are with particular aspects of our work.

Questionnaires can be done by post, phone, face to face interview or on line.

Annual general meeting
All tenants can attend our annual general meeting. We give details of the meeting in 'News & Views'.

News & Views Editorial Panel
Resident members of the editorial panel help to decide what goes in the newsletter and contribute letters or articles. The panel meets four times a year at the Trusts’ offices, although residents with access to computers and internet access will have the opportunity to engage in the Panel electronically.

Tenants’ Action Committee
A group of tenants who meet 10 times a year to take part in and contribute to the decision-making processes of the Trust, by representing the views, needs and interests of our tenants.  For more information please the leaflet.

Leaseholders Forum
A forum for leaseholders to contribute to improvement of services, assess performance and make recommendations for improvement, to be the primary starting point of all consultations with Leaseholders and make recommendations for wider consultation.  They meet 4 – 6 times a year.

Local Representatives
Where there isn’t enough interest in or properties to form a Residents’ Association individual residents can act as a point of contact for the Trust.  They represent the views, needs and interests of residents on housing and community issues to improve communication with the Tenancy Services Officer and other Trust staff and also help a two-way flow of information.

Estate Walkabouts
Residents can walk around their estates with their Tenancy Services Officer and Inspace and help to point out areas of concern of in need of improvement. RuTCHT will publish details of walkabouts and residents can choose to be involved for the whole visit or join/leave when they want.

Sheltered Housing Scheme Meetings
We aim to hold informal meetings of residents living in sheltered housing schemes, providing an opportunity to discuss issues with other residents and the Scheme Manager. Meetings can be between 1-2hours in duration and are generally held in the daytime.

Focus groups
A group of residents meets with us to find out their views on a specific topic.  After the focus group we write a report on the focus group and send a copy to all residents who attended.  We use the report to help us decide what action to take.

Reading Panel
Individual residents provide a 'sounding board' for new policies and service standards.  Information is sent out by post or e-mail.  Members of the Reading Panel read the information and let us know their comments on the policy (by post, phone or e-mail).  We use these comments to help us write the policy. 

Inspace Working Party
This group meets quarterly and considers the maintenance service provided by Inspace.  Training is given and the aim is to use tenant views to help Inspace improve the service it provides.

On Line Panel
We are looking for tenants who would be happy to complete questionnaires on line regularly to let us know what they think of the service we provide.

Mystery Shopping
We provide free training to residents interested in becoming mystery shoppers.  Mystery shoppers make anonymous phone calls, visits to the office, send letters and e mails to our staff, record their experiences and evaluate our customer service.

Website
In addition to being a valuable source of information to residents, it is an opportunity to gather feedback. The website has an online questionnaire to help us find out your views on the website.

Resident Board Members
Two members the Trusts’ Board of Management are residents.  The Board meets six times per year.

Community of Interest Groups
These groups are essentially on-going service based focus groups and currently there is just one looking at Resident Involvement.  We are hoping to launched Repairs & Maintenance (in cooperation with Inspace Working Party) and Anti-Social Behaviour groups soon. They are chaired by a Tenants Action Committee member and made up of both residents and staff.  They aim to improve services in line with residents needs. Membership requirements include regular reading and attendance at regular (usually quarterly) meetings.