Flexible complaint handling that adapts to the needs of a growing team.
The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) is a free, independent and impartial service looking into complaints about the housing organisations registered with them. HOS use Workpro for all casework, with the system under constant review as they seek continuous improvement.
An expanding remit, and huge growth in caseload and staff numbers, means HOS need a complaint management system that’s flexible enough to scale up and manage changing regulation.
The system needed to evolve
In 2020, HOS created a new directorate tasked with ensuring casework quality and promoting positive change in the wider housing sector. This meant big changes in structure and approach.
On top of this, they needed to reflect the Ombudsman’s updated remit which included the power to conduct systemic investigations beyond individual complaints or landlords. So the system needed to hold case data in a way that supported big-picture investigations.
Finally, an initiative to publish all ombudsman decisions required new functionality within the Workpro system, as well as the ability to interact with their website.
Working together to find solutions
We worked closely with the HOS team to implement these process changes and to make it easier for the team to extract data, including new casework screens and workflow stages. HOS also moved to our Workpro Cloud to take advantage of our fast, secure and reliable hosting. A process of development and testing made sure HOS had everything they needed in place.
Chris Harrison, Performance and Business Information Analyst at HOS, said:
“The team were just superb, asking what problem do you need to solve? Talking it through, taking time to understand what we were trying to get to, then designing a solution. It’s been an absolute pleasure!”
A truly collaborative relationship, we have monthly service meetings with HOS to highlight any areas for improvement – including use of a 360-degree scorecard system. Chris added:
"Throughout the service meetings, the team have been so responsive and receptive to change. The relationship is really good."
Easy and flexible
Workpro makes it easy for users to achieve what they need. It’s quick and intuitive with minimal training, and has a range of functionality that helps the HOS team save time.
For example, users can view exception reporting in Workpro – these reports highlight important information people are not filling in. Caseworkers can then fix these gaps without being prompted by their managers. Additionally, HOS use the SQL reporting services within Workpro to have regular reports emailed to managers automatically.
Flexibility for new data is important too. When HOS wanted to start recording any issues related to Covid in 2020-21, they were able to add a subcategory in no time at all.
The ability to edit forms throughout the system is also proving extremely useful. The admin area in Workpro gives HOS the freedom to make system changes themselves – from case categories to field names, target dates or user permissions.
Something as simple as adding a label to a field to signpost users to the information required is invaluable in saving repeat work.
The final word
Workpro is an integral part of day-to-day life at HOS. For Chris: “Workpro empowers us to do the things we need to do as an organisation and as individuals. It mirrors our approach to casework. You are free to use your own initiative while keeping to the things that have to be done. It’s so flexible but we can really funnel use of the system through validation and field labels. Workpro allows us to be as consistent and directive as we want to be.
Ready for a more flexible complaints handling process?
Find out more here. Or contact us for a free demo on info@workpro.com
