Consultation Strategy

Introduction

Aim

What is customer consultation?

Why do we consult?

What will be consult on?

How has the strategy been developed

Objectives

Introduction

Effective consultation with customers is vital to the successful delivery of any public service. RBH agrees with the Audit Commission that to be effective consultation has to be part of the organisation’s culture and part of a genuine commitment to engage with the local community. This document, along with the Tenant Participation Compact, forms that commitment.

Since its establishment RBH has consulted with its customers on a range of services and issues using a number of different methods. As an organisation however we recognise that we need to improve in this area to ensure that consultation is better planned and co-ordinated, that standards of consultation are higher and that resources are better utilised.

This draft strategy sets out RBH’s commitment to encouraging and enabling its customers to influence and shape the delivery of its services through more effective customer consultation.

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Aim

The aim of this strategy is:

“To ensure that consultation activities carried out by RBH engage our customers in an appropriate, efficient and effective way.”

The following documents accompany this strategy:
· An Action Plan
· A ‘Guide to Involving Customers’. This is a framework document or toolkit setting out the consultation procedures and offering practical guidance to managers on carrying out consultation exercises.
· Consultation fact sheets which set out good practice examples on various consultation methods.
· A consultation proposal form.
· A post consultation evaluation form

Throughout this strategy the term customer is used to describe tenants, residents and other service users.

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What is customer consultation?

Consultation is the overall term we use to refer to the range of activities that enable customers to give us feedback on current services and comment on proposals on how services will be delivered in the future.

Consultation is one way in which customers can become involved in influencing and shaping service development and delivery.

In essence there are 4 ways in which customers can engage in our services. These are:

1. By receiving information
RBH provides a range of information to customers to enable them to access our services, to describe those services and to set out service standards.

2. Through consultation
RBH consults with customers to ensure that their views are taken into account before decisions are made.

3. By being actively involved
RBH encourages customers to become actively involved in helping us to arrive at decisions.

4. By taking direct control
RBH promotes a range of ways for customers to become formally involved in or take control of the decision-making processes.

This strategy deals with consultation only. The ways in which customers can become involved in decision making or take control over the decision making process will be set out in the Tenant Participation Compact, which is currently being reviewed.

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Why do we consult?

RBH recognises that effective consultation is required if we are to develop and deliver excellent services.

There is also a statutory requirement to consult within:
· The Housing Act 1985.
· The Best Value and the Comprehensive Performance Assessment processes
· The Local Government Act 2000

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What will we consult on?

In order to make informed decisions we are committed to consulting customers on:
· Proposed new services
· Existing services that are being formally reviewed.
· Existing services where changes are proposed
· Special boroughwide projects which affect our customers
· Local projects that affect the lives of those that live in the area affected.
· Strategy or policy development
· Budget proposals
· Performance targets

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How has the strategy been developed?

This strategy has been developed following a consultation survey of tenants, after consultation with staff and after running 4 workshops at our Annual Tenants’ Conference. Formal consultation with Rochdale Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations (RoFTRA) and tenants and residents associations has also taken place.

The consultation survey was carried out to find out the level of interest amongst current tenants for ‘getting involved’ on an individual basis. This survey identified the preferred method of consultation for those who want to get involved, obtained information on some potential barriers to involvement and identified which service areas individuals were particularly interested in providing feedback on. All new tenants now receive the survey in their tenant information pack.

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Objectives

We have identified 5 key objectives, which if achieved, will deliver better customer consultation. They are:

1. To ensure that all our staff have a clear understanding of why we consult with customers, what we consult on, and what their role is.

We will:

• Ensure all staff are aware of the Customer Consultation Strategy and have access to the ‘Guide to Consultation’.
• Ensure that the roles of individuals and teams are clearly documented in the ‘Guide to Consultation’.
• Provide advice, help and support to staff at all stages, for example questionnaire design, data input, analysis, reporting, etc.

2. To improve how we communicate.

We will:

• Publish information about our services and the standards of service that customers can expect.
• Promote the availability of information.
• Feedback to individual consultees and customers in general on the results and outcomes of consultation exercises.
• Ensure that information is clear, understandable and available in a range of formats e.g., Braille, audiotape, community languages, etc.
• Use a range of media to deliver information, e.g. newsletters, local newspapers, radio, the Internet, etc.

3. To increase the opportunities for customer involvement in consultation events.

We will:

• Carry out a consultation survey to identify tenants who are interested in ‘getting involved’.
• Include the consultation survey in the tenants information pack for all new tenants.
• Develop and maintain a database of tenants who have expressed an interest in being consulted or getting involved.
• Ensure consultation is inclusive and allows the involvement of all customers including traditionally hard to reach groups.
• Identify and address potential barriers to effective consultation
• Adopt a wider range of consultation methods.
• Liaise with other agencies (for example voluntary and community groups and faith organisations).
• Maintain records of customer involvement.

4. To improve the quality and co-ordination of consultation exercises.

We will:

• Develop an annual consultation programme
• Have a named consultation co-ordinator to oversee all consultation exercises.
• Develop a ‘Guide to Involving Customers’ for staff to inform consultation exercises and increase the knowledge and understanding of staff.
• Ensure that all staff are aware of the strategy and its supporting documents.
• Make all efforts to ensure that consultation is representative of the community being consulted.
• Ensure that following consultation, results are analysed and fed into the decision-making process, thus having demonstrable influence on service delivery.
• Monitor and evaluate consultation exercises through a post consultation questionnaire for staff completed by the lead officer to highlight good practice and demonstrate how the process has impacted on service delivery.
• Monitor customers’ views of their involvement through evaluation sheets to identify opportunities for improvement.

5. To ensure that we continue to develop our approach to consultation.

We will:

• Introduce performance indicators
• Monitor progress quarterly through reports to the Board, Area Boards and Company Management Team.
• Review the strategy and ‘Guide to Customer Involvement’ annually in conjunction with the consultation programme.
  

 

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Getting Involved
Ways to have your say
Consultation Programme 2005/06