Wednesday Walkabout
They chat to residents and identify issues, from repairs to vacant land, which will improve the neighbourhood in which families live.
‘Walkabout Wednesdays’ are the brainchild of Michelle Wood, Cobalt’s housing services director.
She said: “The tenants we met really welcomed ‘Walkabout Wednesdays’ because it gave them the chance to talk to our staff directly and get anything off their chest that they wanted to raise with us.
“We have a high customer satisfaction rating with our tenants so when someone knocked on their front door and said they were from Cobalt most people were happy to chat.
“This is all about getting staff out and about meeting tenants, raising the profile of Cobalt Housing and reaching out to the communities which we serve.
“It’s also a great way to build on the team spirit among our staff. Everyone got involved from our managing director Alan Rogers to our back office staff that the tenants don’t usually see.”
On the first ‘Walkabout Wednesday’ earlier this month approximately 200 surveys were completed by tenants with their views on improvements to the local area. Staff logged repairs that were needed and also identified other issues including an elderly tenant whose home needed some adaptations to make it more accessible.
In future ‘Walkabout Wednesdays’ staff will be tackling different issues from rent arrears, anti-social behaviour and benefits advice to working with partners such as the local authority and NHS on issues like smoking cessation.
Any issues outside of Cobalt’s remit, such as street lighting or flytipping, that tenants raise will be passed on to the relevant organisation.