Performance

Overview

This article provides an outline of how members of the Adactus Group Structure monitor and report on their performance.

Monitoring the organisation's performance

We are committed to improving our services and adapting them to meet the needs of our customers.  Measurement plays an important part in helping the board of management and senior management understand where we need to improve and how much change we have brought about.  Publishing this information is also very important to help our stakeholders understand how we are performing and to hold us to account.

Each year, as part of the business planning process, the boards agree the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure and monitor performance. The indicators selected help the boards assess the progress that is being made in delivering the objectives set in the Business Plan.  Some of these KPIs are retained each year so that trends in performance can be analysed over long periods of time.  Others are introduced to assist the boards determine how well we are coping with new challenges and priorities.

Through our Local Offers we also agree with tenants the activities and improvements that meet a real need in their neighbourhood and go beyond the National Standards required of us by our regulator.  Local Offers were introduced in April 2011 and are reviewed and updated from time-to-time in consultation with local area panels of tenants.

In instances where the KPIs or measures show that performance is not at the level set by board or agreed with tenants, we provide an explanation as well as a description of the action being taken to bring performance back into line.

What are the performance measures?

Indicators are selected to provide current information on progress against our business plan goals. Each indicator has a performance target set. Examples are provided in the table below.

All of the key activities of the organisation are measured: repairs, property condition, rents, void management, customer service, new property development, neighbourhood investment, ASB case handling.

Where is performance reported?

Performance is reported to board at each meeting held quarterly. These reports form part of the board paperwork published on our website in the news articles on board feedback.

We also report performance directly to customers as follows:

• the tenants' annual reports contain information relevant to the National Standards set by our regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency
• newsletters contain a range of performance information
• local area panels receive regular performance information on the Local Offers agreed for their area
• our website in the news articles that we publish performance information each quarter for AHA Performance, BHA Performance and CCH Performance

There are other publicly available sources of information about our performance: CORE quarterly lettings reports and data in the public domain of the HCA's website including their regulatory judgements on housing associations.

Benchmarking

'Benchmarking' is a method of assessing costs and/or performance by comparing with other organisations, time periods and industry standards.  Very useful benchmarking information is obtained from participating in accreditation schemes (e.g. CCA Global Standard).

The Group is also a member of Housemark and takes an active role in organising exercises which provide comparative information with which to assess its services: e.g. market testing of the Group's in-house maintenance team in 2010 and benchmarking of the housing management and grounds maintenance services provided as part of the Miles Platting PFI project in 2011.