By seizing opportunities for digitization and making services increasingly efficient, there is room to give tenants who want help the attention they need. With that in mind, Kennemer Wonen — responsible for around 10,000 VHE in North Kennemerland — approached its services. What does this mean for how tenants ask their questions to the organization and what does it mean at the bottom of the line? A discussion about this with Information Management Advisor Anja van Burgsteden and Knowledge Editor Customer Information Center (KIC) Inge Jongkind.
The homemaker of North Kennemerland. Kennemer Wonen wants to convey that slogan in everything, including in its services to tenants, Anja begins: “Housing is an important foundation in everyone's life, and we want to mean something positive for our tenants in that. That goes beyond just providing a home for someone with a modest income. It also means listening to problems and questions. We do this by being visible in the neighborhoods and keeping the threshold for making contact as low as possible. That is why we can be reached 24/7 via the website with self-service scenarios where tenants can do a lot themselves, and on weekdays by phone and in the office for those who need personal, social contact.”
Save more time
Earlier this year, Kennemer Wonen investigated whether her current way of customer contact meets the needs of its tenants. “Based on this, we want to make a few adjustments to optimize our services,” explains Inge. “For example, we want to add an online chat channel because it appears that the younger generation finds it difficult to contact us by phone. At the same time, the older generation finds personal contact very important. That is why the office and telephony remain open five days a week. In addition, we notice that our KIC is receiving fewer and fewer standard calls. Society is changing. Elderly people are living independently at home longer and there is also a group that needs more attention. We also notice that we are increasingly having to have conversations in English. By digitizing more and more, we have time to better help people who need it.”
No separate paper service
In the context of digitization, the corporation from North Kennemerland has therefore chosen not to create a separate paper service. Anja: “That means that all contact options are digital. For a tenant who opts for self-service, this is clear. He himself, for example, goes through the process of terminating the lease. But people who approach us by phone or visit the office go through exactly the same process. The difference is that we help them fill in the information and engage in a conversation to better understand the core behind the question.”
A lot of aging, high need for digital
“We do encourage digital contact,” Anja continues. “Despite the fact that we live in an area with a lot of aging, the need for digital contact remains high.” Inge: “Developments are also moving rapidly and we want to stay connected. That is why we have set up a dashboard that provides information about how well the service is going. For example, we have made working agreements that someone should receive a response to their question within two days. Via the dashboard, we can monitor the percentage and control it accordingly.”
Business-oriented work
This information is in line with the process that Kennemer Wonen has recently taken to improve online services, says Anja: “We are implementing business-oriented work. We are working with the latest version of customer tracking system from Embrace — the Suite — where we can set things up. The first thing we will work on is onboarding or welcoming new tenants. The advantage of working in a case-oriented way is that you can follow exactly where we are in the process. Tenants can also see that and get acquainted with our tenant portal at the same time. That makes the step to digitally arranging other matters with us even smaller.”
“This way of working is more efficient because the different steps can be followed up more quickly. Take, for example, the tenant who must provide income data. Previously, the tenant had to send an email or drop off physical documents at the office, but now documents are automatically uploaded into the tenant portal. We will then have them at our disposal more quickly and will immediately receive a notification that they are there. That's why giving feedback is getting faster and faster.” Inge nods and says: “Another example is requesting tenants' leases after signing. In practice, that contract is regularly lost during the move. This would previously mean an extra step for our employees, but now tenants can find the document online.”
“By seizing the opportunities for digitization with both hands, we at Kennemer Wonen can work more and more efficiently and better support tenants who need personal attention.”
Sharing knowledge with fellow corporations
“The desire to sign leases digitally brought us into contact with business-oriented work,” Anja looks back. “And it soon became clear that business-oriented work could bring us much more, so we've already decided that we're going to use this more broadly. We do that together with Embrace. We experience them as a pleasant party with short lines of communication, which is very pleasant to work with. In addition, they have a large customer group, so that we, as fellow corporations, can also share experiences with each other and learn from each other.”
Handling nuisances and complaints
When asked whether Kennemer Wonen also wants to add other things to its services, Inge says: “We already have ideas for other processes that are suitable for this. For example, the request for a new kitchen or bathroom, or the desire to cook electrically. We see that there is also an interest in business-oriented work outside of service. For example, from our social management colleagues to handle the handling of nuisance cases so transparently, so that the tenant knows better where he or she stands. Or when dealing with complaints about Kennemer Wonen, so that the tenant can follow that we are actually working on this.”
The right combination
The best service is achieved through a combination of digital services and personal contact, Anja concludes: “Everything starts digitally, but keeping in touch with the tenant remains crucial. Most tenants find their way — almost half of our tenants now have their own account on the tenant portal — but we will continue to support those who need it. I do believe that business-oriented work will boost digital services. And that is good news, because by seizing the opportunities for digitization with both hands, we at Kennemer Wonen can work more and more efficiently and better support tenants who need personal attention.”
Originally published in Corporation Gids 11/2023
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