You may recall we recently asked you to complete a survey, asking you how satisfied you felt about the services we provide.
This was a STAR survey, which is carried out annually by all registered social landlords (RSLs) to gain a better understanding about customers’ feelings. It’s also an opportunity to see how RSLs are performing when compared to each other.
Almost 1,300 of you responded to our STAR survey, when we asked you to reflect on the previous 12 months, from 2021-22. We were really pleased to see that satisfaction has increased overall, but there are some areas of our service we need to look at more closely to increase your satisfaction moving forward.
Compared to our 2021 results you told us you are more satisfied about things like:
- Your neighbourhood as a place to live;
- That your rent and service charges are value for money;
- That your home feels safe and secure;
- And that you’re given a chance to get involved in our decision making.
However, you are now less satisfied about:
- The services we provide;
- The quality of your home;
- How we deal with anti-social behaviour;
- And how we listen to and act on your views.
Our biggest concern was seeing a drop in how many of you felt you trusted Valleys to Coast. This is something we are keen to understand, and so when we have opportunities to speak to you next, we’ll ask for your feedback.
We’ll also aim to improve your satisfaction by…
- Investing significantly in the quality of your homes, and building new affordable homes
- Launching a wholly owned subsidiary – a company 100% owned by Valleys to Coast to improve and grow our repairs and maintenance services
- Launching a new IT system to better manage repair requests
- Investing in our internal communal spaces, as well as external spaces
- Making you more aware of how we support communities affected by anti-social behaviour
- Keeping an eye on the affordability of our rent and service charges
- Continuing to support customers struggling with the cost of living
- Reviewing how we engage with you to ensure your voice is heard across our business
- Doing better in letting you know how your voice has created change
The full STAR survey results, together with the 2021 results for comparison, are listed below.
Chief Executive Joanne Oak said: “We are grateful that so many of you took the time to respond to the survey to share your thoughts and feelings. We are committed to providing homes and communities where you feel safe and happy, and whilst we were pleased to see that you are satisfied with many of the services we provide, it was disappointing to see that satisfaction has fallen in some areas. It’s important that we aim to understand what we need to do to make things better.”
She added: “We hope that by the time we carry out the next STAR survey you will start to see many of the improvements we have been working so hard to make happen. We have made great progress in reducing our repairs backlog which was a legacy of the pandemic through our Turnaround programme.
“This year we are also making the largest single investment in our homes since Valleys to Coast came into being in 2003. We will be spending £31.5million on improving your homes, focused on making them warmer and cheaper to run, adapting homes to better suit your needs and carrying out better maintenance and repairs. We’ll also be bringing more empty homes back into use and building more affordable homes to help meet the needs of local people in Bridgend.
“We’re also focusing more of our efforts on helping you live safe and happy, increasing the support available to you to save money on everyday costs and keep more money in your pocket – all part of a range of measures we are taking to tackle the cost of living crisis.
“As always, we are grateful for your feedback. What’s important to me is that you don’t wait for a survey to let us know how you feel – we are here to listen at any time.”
- If you have an issue you’d like to speak to us about – whether it’s something you are happy or unhappy with – contact us on 0300 123 2100 or email TheHub@V2C.org.uk
| 2022 Satisfied | 2021 Satisfied | 2022 Neutral | 2021 Neutral | 2022 Dissatisfied | 2021 Dissatisfied | |
| The service provided by V2C | 69% | 74% | 12% | 9% | 19% | 14% |
| The quality of your home | 73% | 80% | 11% | – | 16% | 27% |
| Repairs and maintenance | 64% | 64% | 11% | 8% | 26% | 27% |
| Your neighbourhood as a place to live | 76% | 74% | 11% | 8% | 13% | 27% |
| Rent is value for money | 75% | 67% | 11% | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| Service charges are value for money | 62% | 60% | 20% | 23% | 18% | 25% |
| V2C listens to your view and acted upon them | 53% | 56% | 23% | 24% | 24% | 23% |
| Your home is safe and secure | 75% | 74% | 12% | 8% | 13% | 17% |
| V2C deals with ASB | 56% | 78% | 27% | 21% | 17% | N/A |
| Opportunities are given to be involved in decision making | 54% | 51% | 35% | 27% | 12% | 20% |
| V2C gives you a say in how services are managed | 52% | 50% | 33% | 28% | 14% | 22% |
| Do you agree with the statement ‘I trust V2C’ | 63% | 67% | 23% | 23% | 14% | 10% |