Digital inclusion will only work if we put our customers at its heart

At Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), and our parent organisation Wheatley Group, we have always had a strong focus on excellent customer service. But now we are going one step further. We are determined to use our approach to digital as an opportunity to deliver services that are much more personalised and tailored to people’s individual needs than ever before.

For organisations like us, with people at the heart of everything we do, that means asking some tough questions.

“We’re on a journey and I am certain, by putting customers at the heart of that journey, we can build on the great start we’ve made”

Questions like: “What happens to our customers if we don’t adapt?”; “What do our customers expect and want?”; “How can we provide services in a way that means they are really tailored to their personal circumstances?” and “How can we use the very best technology to meet the challenges individual customers face?”

At Wheatley these are the very questions we’ve been asking ourselves over the past few years as our digital journey gathers pace.

When I joined GHA as director of innovation and improvement at the start of the year, I was lucky in that Wheatley Group was already well on the path to not only transforming its services through digital, but was also helping its customers adapt. Our ambition was well defined. We believed firmly in offering personalised services to people and wanted, through our approach to digital, to redefine what that looked like.

Nowhere has it been more important than in changes to the benefits system. Across Wheatley Group we predict that 10,000 of our customers will be on Universal Credit by next spring. Each and every one has to have a Universal Credit online journal or they don’t get their housing costs paid. Ensuring customers are able to get online is crucial both for our customers and for our business.

Part of our wider response to that saw us develop GoMobile, a set of apps loaded onto an iPad and issued to every housing officer, with training. It allows the officer to sit with a customer, bring up their rent account in the comfort of their own home, use the UC calculator to plot out their housing costs and signpost them to local services that will help them. We can also help customers get online so they can do more for themselves.

One of the really exciting aspects of the digital world is that it gives customers more choice and control over the way they interact with us.

Web self-service, for example, enables customers to report issues and repairs, pay their rent or check their balance online – wherever and whenever it suits them.

Last year we launched MyHousing, our new portal that makes sure every person who is looking for a home gets personalised and honest advice about their housing situation and the best help possible in finding a home. People start their journey by answering questions online so that their housing options can be assessed. They then get a personal plan with tailored advice and information on their best housing options. They can then view the homes available, get much more information about them than before and note an interest in the properties that suit their needs – all online. It is simple to use and is helping people find a home that suits their circumstances.

“Many of our customers are among the most disadvantaged in Scotland. There is a risk that as the world moves on, already vulnerable and excluded people can be left behind”

In the summer, we believe we became the first housing association to offer customers savings on their household shopping for transacting with us online. MySavings offers customers discounts on their shopping bills at hundreds of high street retailers. This has enabled customers to save thousands of pounds on a weekly grocery shop, school uniform, cinema tickets and even getting a better deal on their energy tariffs.

Already we’re seeing a lift in the numbers of people opting to transact online with us as a result of MySavings.

Many of our customers are among the most disadvantaged in Scotland. There is a risk that as the world moves on, already vulnerable and excluded people can be left behind. We need to tackle digital exclusion while continuing to transform our services.

We are committed to leaving no customer behind in the digital world. That’s why we provide community computer learning centres and a range of other help to get online. We are just trialling a digital lending library project for our customers who are digitally excluded.

It’s an exciting time for both Wheatley and the housing sector and we will work hard to ensure our approach to digital delivers services that are right for each customer’s needs. We’re on a journey and I am certain, by putting customers at the heart of that journey, we can build on the great start we’ve made.

Jehan Weerasinghe, managing director, Glasgow Housing Association