Does the Ombudsman have anything to say about Housing Association Technology?
Unlike previous Spotlight reports, which have concentrated on … service provision, this report focuses on an underlying reason that services end up failing.
The correlation between poor knowledge and information management and delay, poor communication, financial uncertainty and poor complaints handling, and the human consequences of that, are evident…
Successful knowledge and information management …. needs to be centrally led, with senior leaders clear about the importance of knowledge and information management, and their standards and expectations.
“For landlords, this can feel like another thing on an already impossible to-do list, but poor information management is such a strong and recurring theme across service areas that it is the closest thing the sector could get to a silver bullet.
Housing Ombudsman Press release 23 May 2023
Well said Richard.
It is shocking that 93% of HAs in a consultation told the Ombudsman that have problems accessing and using data. 82% admitted that they don’t have the right information to properly respond to complaints. Two thirds of the complaints the Ombudsman upholds have an issue with data and getting the correct information out. This underlying system failure leads to delays, costs and detriment to residents, especially those who are less able to challenge due to their age or disabilities. Clearly, information management (KIM) is absolutely key to getting the job done well.
There are some good recommendations in the report including a suggestion that HAs produce a Knowledge and Information strategy, set key data recording requirements, and ensure systems can talk to each other, As Richard says: “The complexities of this housing crisis require modern and agile services”.
The report is good at indicating how bad some of the biggest HAs are when it comes to data management and dealing with case work and complaints (full disclosure – NHG is named and shamed). And the Ombudsman helpfully offered a webinar to discuss the findings of the report. But it would have been good to hear of any HAs with an exemplary approach to record keeping, data management, fantastic systems and great technology.
Maybe there isn’t anything good to say.