Calderbrook Housing Group / BB-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Calderbrook Housing Group: documents · 2024-11-29 14:00
Check-in on 29 Nov 2024. Helen Marsden reports the brain is working better than expected, with the board pack faster and usage up. She wants more teams added and asked when to talk about the contract for budgeting.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Check-in on 29 Nov 2024. Helen Marsden reports the brain is working better than expected, with the board pack faster and usage up. She wants more teams added and asked when to talk about the contract for budgeting.
What happened: Natalie Eze checked in with Helen after the board pack went out. Helen said the complaints section took a couple of days instead of about a week, and the arrears reconciliation is now the thing she trusts it for most.
Customer view: Helen values time saved and credibility with the board. Paul's repairs counts are fixed and he now uses his own dashboards.
Commercial: Housing officers and the lettings team are next, all within forty licences, so this is adoption headroom rather than a tier change. Helen also asked when the contract conversation should start, and Natalie said the term runs to September.
Watch: Natalie owes a value summary by the middle of next month and review options in January.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Adoption growth and value
Importance
praise
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Natalie to send the housing cheat sheet today and draft the value summary by the middle of next month.
- Helen to send names for new users early next week, plus the slow questions.
- Natalie to offer quarterly review options in January, with Paul included, and cover the contract timing there.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Helen's value case rests on credibility with the board, which depends on the data staying reconciled.
- Broad questions are slow and first-time chat users get poor answers, which could dent new teams' confidence.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Housing officers and the lettings team are to be added, using more of the forty Growth licences.
- A value summary drafted from Helen's own numbers can support the renewal case.
Transcript
Natalie Eze NoneHi Helen, can you hear me okay?
Helen Marsden NoneHello Natalie, yes, I can. Good to see you. Sorry, I'm in a different room today, the usual one's been taken for a training day.- Natalie Eze NoneNo problem at all. Happy Friday, by the way. Got anything nice planned for the weekend, or is it all board paper deadlines?
- Helen Marsden NoneHa. A bit of both. Board pack went out on Wednesday, so I'm actually allowed to breathe.
- Natalie Eze NoneOh, well done. That's partly why I wanted a short call, actually. A check-in, nothing heavy: how's it going, what's working, what isn't, and anything you want from us. It'll be half an hour at most.
- Helen Marsden NoneLovely. Honestly, it's going well. Better than I expected, if I'm being candid.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's nice to hear. Can I ask what better looks like? Because I've got the usage numbers in front of me but I'd rather hear it from you first.
- Helen Marsden NoneSo, for the board pack I used the brain for the complaints section and the tenant satisfaction commentary. Before, that was two analysts and about a week of pulling things together from the helpdesk and the call recordings and the spreadsheets. This time it was a couple of days, and the commentary actually pointed to the calls it came from, so I could quote the tenants properly.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's exactly what we'd hoped for. And did the board notice?
- Helen Marsden NoneOne of the non-executives asked how we'd got the detail so quickly. I said we'd joined it up. I didn't give a sales pitch.
- Natalie Eze NoneI'll take that as a win without the pitch. Okay, so the numbers. Active users have gone up a lot. The monthly average is now nearer eight a day, and compared with the quarter before it's several times what it was. That's a big move in a short time.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat'll be the team leaders. After the training with Callie, I added a few of them. And then they told other people, which I hadn't planned for.
- Natalie Eze NoneWord of mouth is the best kind. You've got forty licences, so you've got a lot of room still. I'm not here to push you, but I'd say if more people want in, there's no reason to hold back on our account.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat was going to be my next question. Is there any catch? I don't want to add people and then find we've gone over something.
- Natalie Eze NoneNo catch at all, within forty. If you were heading beyond that, we'd talk, and the same goes for connectors, but you're nowhere near either from what I can see.
- Helen Marsden NoneGood. Because the housing officers are next, and I think the lettings team would use it too. I can see them asking about void properties and arrears more than anything.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's a good fit. Do you want a short session for them? Our implementation team can do a lighter version of the training you had, an hour or so, aimed at people who just want to search and ask questions rather than build things.
- Helen Marsden NoneYes, please. That would help a great deal. Could it be after the new year? December's a nightmare for everybody here.
- Natalie Eze NoneOf course. Let's aim for January and I'll find a slot once you've got names. No rush on that either.
- Helen Marsden NoneI'll send a list. Probably the start of next week.
- Natalie Eze NonePerfect. Can I ask about what's not working? You said what you'd expected. Is there anything that's still annoying you? Even small things.
- Helen Marsden NoneSmall things only. There's still a bit of a lag when I ask something very broad, it goes off for a while. And the first time somebody uses chat they don't know how to phrase things, so they get a rubbish answer and think it's broken.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's useful. On the phrasing, we've got a short cheat sheet of questions that tend to work for housing teams. Would that help? I could send it today.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat would be great. Honestly, if I can put it in front of the team leaders that does half the training for me.
- Natalie Eze NoneDone. And on the speed, if you can tell me one or two of the questions that were slow, I'll pass them to the team so they can look at whether it's the question or something we can improve.
- Helen Marsden NoneI'll note them down. I think one of them was about repairs by contractor over a whole year.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat sounds like a big one, so not surprising. Send it anyway.
- Helen Marsden NoneWill do.
- Natalie Eze NoneWhat about Paul? I haven't heard from him in the tickets lately. It's been very quiet, which usually means one of two things.
- Helen Marsden NoneHa, it means it's working. He's much happier. The repairs counts sorted themselves out after the changes Callie made, and he's built himself a few dashboards he looks at before the stand-up. He does a little dance about it.
- Natalie Eze NoneI'd love to see the dance. That's really good to hear. I like quiet when it's that kind of quiet.
- Helen Marsden NoneHe'd not say it to you directly, he's not one for compliments, so I'll say it for him.
- Natalie Eze NoneThank you, I'll pass it on to the team, they'll be pleased. Okay. One thing I wanted to ask you, and it's a bit more strategic. When you talk to your executive team about this, how do you describe what it's worth? Because at some point we'll want to put together a short summary of the value, for you to use internally.
- Helen Marsden NoneInteresting. So, the honest answer is time, and credibility. Time, because we're not reconciling by hand every month. And credibility, because when a board member asks where a number came from I can show them. The second one is harder to put a price on but it's the one I care about.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's very clear. Would it be okay if I drafted something with those two points, using your own numbers where you've got them, and you tell me what's wrong with it?
- Helen Marsden NoneYes. Please, and I'll be blunt about it.
- Natalie Eze NoneBlunt is the best kind. I'll have it with you by the middle of next month, so before the quarterly review. Speaking of which, we should get that in the diary. Growth includes a quarterly review, and I'd like the next one in the new year, ideally with Paul on it as well.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat's fine. Send me a couple of options in January and we'll pick one. I'd want Paul there for the repairs part.
- Natalie Eze NoneBrilliant. And Tom sends his regards, by the way. He asked me to say thank you for being so open with us.
- Helen Marsden NonePlease say hello back. And tell him I said the arrears reconciliation was exactly what I needed. It's been the thing I trust it for most.
- Natalie Eze NoneI'll pass that on. That's the one I'd have worried about, so I'm really glad.
- Helen Marsden NoneIt took a bit of back and forth but once the definition was written down it was fine. I'd say that to anyone else thinking of doing it. Write the definition down first.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's good advice. I might steal that. Right, I think we've covered what I wanted. Anything else you'd like from us before the end of the year?
- Helen Marsden NoneOnly the cheat sheet, and the January session. I think that's it. Oh, and the contract. I know it's a long way off, but I'll have to put it into next year's budget at some point, so a pointer on when you'd want to talk about that would help my finance team.
- Natalie Eze NoneOf course. The term runs to September, so we'd start that conversation well ahead, a few months before. I'll make sure it's in the review in the new year so there are no surprises on either side.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat's all I need. Thank you.
- Natalie Eze NoneBrilliant. So to recap. From me: the cheat sheet today, the January session once I've got names, the value summary by the middle of next month, and review options in January. From you: names for the new users early next week, and the slow questions when you've got a moment.
- Helen Marsden NoneThat's it. I'll send the names on Monday or Tuesday.
- Natalie Eze NoneLovely. Thanks, Helen. Have a really good weekend, and well done again on the pack.
- Helen Marsden NoneThank you, Natalie. You too. Speak soon.
- Natalie Eze NoneBye for now.
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