Efficient and Timely Repairs

At Settle, we're committed to creating initiatives that are led by residents, for residents. Together we want to define "what good looks like" and make sure the outcomes are shaped by your ideas, experiences and priorities.🐣

April

Thank you for all the feedback you shared on our Efficient and Timely Repairs service. We're pleased to share we received a total of 1181 comments from 373 survey responses! Your contributions are essential to improving our services, and creating an improvement action plan based on your suggestions.

📢 Here's what we heard:There were three main themes raised by residents when asked ‘what do you find most frustrating about our repairs service?’ These were:

  1. Long wait times and lack of follow through
  2. Poor communication and transparency
  3. Inconsistent quality and issues with contractors.

A note from Sian, Interim Director of Property Operations

"Thank you for all your feedback! We know that our repairs service is important to you, and we’ve listened to what you’ve said. We’ve created our Service Improvement Plan based on what you’ve told us is important to you to ensure we make the right changes to improve the services you receive from us. Take a look below at our plan to see what we've been doing so far, and what's to come!"

Improving communication

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You keep having to call us to know when your appointment is
You should be given an appointment for your repair the first time you call us. If we cannot provide one at that time, we will contact you by phone to agree on an appointment.
We’re introducing a new feature called 'operative on the way,' which will send you an alert when your repair is next in line, so you know when to expect us.
Sometimes your appointment gets moved, and you aren’t informed
We’ve been working with our service control team to ensure they contact you if your appointment needs to be changed. We’ll always try to call you first and leave a voicemail if you’re unable to answer. We’ll then send a text with the new appointment details in advance.

We're reviewing the emails and texts we send to confirm and remind you of your appointment.

We're also exploring an option where you can confirm if the new appointment works for you via text.

You don’t get informed if a repair won’t be completed in one visit
We’re currently testing new emails and texts to keep you informed at every stage, including updates if your repair needs multiple visits and confirmation when your repair is fully completed.
Once we’ve finished testing, we’ll look to roll this out or explore other solutions.
You find it difficult to book or reschedule a repair*We’re working with our customer hub to reduce call waiting times so you don’t have to wait long to contact us about your repair.
We’re improving the resident portal! Soon, you’ll be able to report non-emergency repairs, check their progress, and reschedule appointments within 48 hours of the booked date - all online!

*As part of these improvements, we want to make scheduling repairs easier for you. If your appointment time no longer works, please let us know - we can rebook it at a better time and offer your original slot to someone else who needs it.

Getting it right the first time

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You find it frustrating when we can’t complete your repair in one visit
We’re working closely with our colleagues to diagnose repairs correctly. This means we may ask you more detailed questions when you report an issue so we can identify the right materials and time needed to complete the work.
We’re improving how multi-visit repairs are managed. Our repairs team will now book your next appointment while they are at your home, so you know what’s happening and when.
We’re working with our suppliers to make sure our vans carry the right materials to reduce delays from sourcing supplies.

Preventing repairs from being overlooked or delayed

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
Sometimes you report a repair, and nothing happens for months
We’re improving our systems to prevent repairs from getting stuck. Our service control team will have better tools to track jobs and move them forward more efficiently.
Our digital team are updating the resident portal so you can track the status of your repair in real-time.

Reducing wait times

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
Repairs take too long, even in emergencies
We’ve revised our repairs standard to give you clearer expectations on how long repairs should take. This prioritises urgent repairs while ensuring all repairs are completed within an agreed timeframe. You can read our repairs standard here.
We’re working with our software provider to help us maximise the number of jobs we can do in a day.

We’re improving the stock on our vans so our team has the materials they need to complete repairs more efficiently.

With these improvements, our inhouse team will be able to complete more repairs directly, rather than relying on contractors - something we know you prefer.

Simplifying how we explain the repairs journey

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You don’t know what to expect when you report a repair
We’ve updated our repairs standard to clarify what repairs we’re responsible for and how long each should take to complete.We're updating the resident portal so you can track your repair and see where it is in the process.

We’re working on creating a guide on our website that explains what to expect when you report a repair, including details on what happens on the day of your appointment.

These actions are still in the planning stage and may change over time.

Previously...

Between April and October 2024, we received valuable feedback from residents, helping us identify the repair areas that matter most to you. We gained this feedback through Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM's), transactional surveys, complaints, Big Door Knocks, Neighbourhood Action Weeks, and more.

📊 Our scores as of January 2025:

We've been working to improve our repairs service for a while now, and whilst the benefits might not be fully visible yet, we've been busy behind the scenes. For example, we've introduced a new software to schedule our operatives more efficiently. We're also working to reduce the number of subcontractors we use because you've told us you prefer having Settle operatives visit your home. There's a lot to do, and that's why your input is so important to us!

We can't promise to make all the changes at once, but we will keep you informed. We'll let you know what changes we'll make based on your feedback, how we'll do it, and by when. This way, you can hold us accountable and make sure we stay committed to improving our services for residents.


🔍 Here are the five key themes that were previously highlighted from residents' feedback:

  • Reducing wait times
  • Improving communication and keeping you informed
  • Getting it right the first time
  • Simplifying how we explain the repairs journey
  • Preventing repairs from being overlooked or delayed

We asked residents to let us know if they agreed with the five key areas above, or if they'd like us to focus elsewhere.

A message from Sian Humphreys, Interim Director of Property Operations

"The repairs service we provide to our residents is the largest service that Settle provide, and it’s the one where we interact with more of you than any service. We recognise that having something wrong with your home can be frustrating and that you want it sorted quickly and efficiently.

While we know that we need to improve, it’s important that you have your say. We really appreciate your input and feedback which will influence our repairs service."

At Settle we are relentlessly resident focused. Our aim is to provide homes residents are proud of and build communities that are welcoming to all.

Our 2030 plan has been developed by feedback from residents, colleagues, and local partners with priorities and commitments shaped by what we know is important to you. Improvement Plans empower you to have a say in how we deliver our 2030 vision.

We believe that working together with residents, colleagues and the community we can create real opportunities for positive, lasting change.

At Settle, we're committed to creating initiatives that are led by residents, for residents. Together we want to define "what good looks like" and make sure the outcomes are shaped by your ideas, experiences and priorities.🐣

April

Thank you for all the feedback you shared on our Efficient and Timely Repairs service. We're pleased to share we received a total of 1181 comments from 373 survey responses! Your contributions are essential to improving our services, and creating an improvement action plan based on your suggestions.

📢 Here's what we heard:There were three main themes raised by residents when asked ‘what do you find most frustrating about our repairs service?’ These were:

  1. Long wait times and lack of follow through
  2. Poor communication and transparency
  3. Inconsistent quality and issues with contractors.

A note from Sian, Interim Director of Property Operations

"Thank you for all your feedback! We know that our repairs service is important to you, and we’ve listened to what you’ve said. We’ve created our Service Improvement Plan based on what you’ve told us is important to you to ensure we make the right changes to improve the services you receive from us. Take a look below at our plan to see what we've been doing so far, and what's to come!"

Improving communication

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You keep having to call us to know when your appointment is
You should be given an appointment for your repair the first time you call us. If we cannot provide one at that time, we will contact you by phone to agree on an appointment.
We’re introducing a new feature called 'operative on the way,' which will send you an alert when your repair is next in line, so you know when to expect us.
Sometimes your appointment gets moved, and you aren’t informed
We’ve been working with our service control team to ensure they contact you if your appointment needs to be changed. We’ll always try to call you first and leave a voicemail if you’re unable to answer. We’ll then send a text with the new appointment details in advance.

We're reviewing the emails and texts we send to confirm and remind you of your appointment.

We're also exploring an option where you can confirm if the new appointment works for you via text.

You don’t get informed if a repair won’t be completed in one visit
We’re currently testing new emails and texts to keep you informed at every stage, including updates if your repair needs multiple visits and confirmation when your repair is fully completed.
Once we’ve finished testing, we’ll look to roll this out or explore other solutions.
You find it difficult to book or reschedule a repair*We’re working with our customer hub to reduce call waiting times so you don’t have to wait long to contact us about your repair.
We’re improving the resident portal! Soon, you’ll be able to report non-emergency repairs, check their progress, and reschedule appointments within 48 hours of the booked date - all online!

*As part of these improvements, we want to make scheduling repairs easier for you. If your appointment time no longer works, please let us know - we can rebook it at a better time and offer your original slot to someone else who needs it.

Getting it right the first time

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You find it frustrating when we can’t complete your repair in one visit
We’re working closely with our colleagues to diagnose repairs correctly. This means we may ask you more detailed questions when you report an issue so we can identify the right materials and time needed to complete the work.
We’re improving how multi-visit repairs are managed. Our repairs team will now book your next appointment while they are at your home, so you know what’s happening and when.
We’re working with our suppliers to make sure our vans carry the right materials to reduce delays from sourcing supplies.

Preventing repairs from being overlooked or delayed

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
Sometimes you report a repair, and nothing happens for months
We’re improving our systems to prevent repairs from getting stuck. Our service control team will have better tools to track jobs and move them forward more efficiently.
Our digital team are updating the resident portal so you can track the status of your repair in real-time.

Reducing wait times

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
Repairs take too long, even in emergencies
We’ve revised our repairs standard to give you clearer expectations on how long repairs should take. This prioritises urgent repairs while ensuring all repairs are completed within an agreed timeframe. You can read our repairs standard here.
We’re working with our software provider to help us maximise the number of jobs we can do in a day.

We’re improving the stock on our vans so our team has the materials they need to complete repairs more efficiently.

With these improvements, our inhouse team will be able to complete more repairs directly, rather than relying on contractors - something we know you prefer.

Simplifying how we explain the repairs journey

You Said...What we're doing now...What's next...
You don’t know what to expect when you report a repair
We’ve updated our repairs standard to clarify what repairs we’re responsible for and how long each should take to complete.We're updating the resident portal so you can track your repair and see where it is in the process.

We’re working on creating a guide on our website that explains what to expect when you report a repair, including details on what happens on the day of your appointment.

These actions are still in the planning stage and may change over time.

Previously...

Between April and October 2024, we received valuable feedback from residents, helping us identify the repair areas that matter most to you. We gained this feedback through Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM's), transactional surveys, complaints, Big Door Knocks, Neighbourhood Action Weeks, and more.

📊 Our scores as of January 2025:

We've been working to improve our repairs service for a while now, and whilst the benefits might not be fully visible yet, we've been busy behind the scenes. For example, we've introduced a new software to schedule our operatives more efficiently. We're also working to reduce the number of subcontractors we use because you've told us you prefer having Settle operatives visit your home. There's a lot to do, and that's why your input is so important to us!

We can't promise to make all the changes at once, but we will keep you informed. We'll let you know what changes we'll make based on your feedback, how we'll do it, and by when. This way, you can hold us accountable and make sure we stay committed to improving our services for residents.


🔍 Here are the five key themes that were previously highlighted from residents' feedback:

  • Reducing wait times
  • Improving communication and keeping you informed
  • Getting it right the first time
  • Simplifying how we explain the repairs journey
  • Preventing repairs from being overlooked or delayed

We asked residents to let us know if they agreed with the five key areas above, or if they'd like us to focus elsewhere.

A message from Sian Humphreys, Interim Director of Property Operations

"The repairs service we provide to our residents is the largest service that Settle provide, and it’s the one where we interact with more of you than any service. We recognise that having something wrong with your home can be frustrating and that you want it sorted quickly and efficiently.

While we know that we need to improve, it’s important that you have your say. We really appreciate your input and feedback which will influence our repairs service."

At Settle we are relentlessly resident focused. Our aim is to provide homes residents are proud of and build communities that are welcoming to all.

Our 2030 plan has been developed by feedback from residents, colleagues, and local partners with priorities and commitments shaped by what we know is important to you. Improvement Plans empower you to have a say in how we deliver our 2030 vision.

We believe that working together with residents, colleagues and the community we can create real opportunities for positive, lasting change.

Page last updated: 03 Apr 2025, 10:40 AM