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Fifteen years ago the first frameworks redefined the nature of procurement, protecting and promoting the interests of housing associations and helping them realise savings and efficiencies through collaboration. But that was just the beginning: procurement has now entered another stage in its development. Continue reading “How providers become partners”
Article on PfH’s recruitment framework
With continuing pressure on funding, housing associations aren’t always able to offer high salaries, but there is much they can do to entice the cream of the crop. Continue reading “Six Steps to Successful Recruiting”
Dan Gibson works with members to enable them to gain a deeper understanding of their materials management and spend with a view to developing solutions that will reduce waste, increase productivity and transform their business.
In this blog he explains how to ensure your materials contract is used to its full potential. Continue reading “Is it time for a materials review?”
Leading expert Steve Parrington explains how to ensure your repairs provision strikes the right balance between value for money and excellent service
A quality repairs service is one of the most important offers a landlord provides.
It is one of the biggest costs a landlord faces, but also the service that sees the highest rates of direct interaction between the provider and customers.
That is why the balance between achieving great value for money and first-class customer services is so important – and why we at ForWorks pride ourselves on getting jobs right first time.
Innovative procurement is playing a key role in helping landlords drive efficiencies while maintaining a high-quality service.
Here I set out my tips on the best ways to improve efficiency in repairs and maintenance services.
Generally, the longer a job takes to complete, the more costs rise. That’s why we adopt a ‘right first time’ approach to all of our work.
By dramatically cutting down on repeat visits to jobs, we are keeping prices down for landlords. Too many providers still spend too long on repairs jobs. It’s not good for customers and it’s not good for the bottom line.
For in-house teams, there is a lot to be learned from the approaches adopted by private contractors. Resources are often limited, so we must deploy them in the right way.
We dedicate time to planning jobs in advance and have the systems, process skills and equipment in place to adapt to any situation. Through our mobile platform, operational staff use electronic PDAs – this allows us to pass real time information to our systems maintaining key communication directly with customers, and keep satisfaction levels high.
Culture is king. Organisations that think and act like a commercial business will naturally drive up standards and reduce costs.
They are the firms that will embrace new and better ways of working, and will develop lasting relationships with clients.
In some cases, this may require training and development of staff – and it will not be achieved overnight.
Some DLOs and former in-house services treat their parent company differently from any other clients they have. You should never take them for granted – this promotes the wrong message to staff.
An ethos of treating all your clients equally and striving to provide excellent customer service and satisfaction to each, and every client is essential.
A healthy line of communication with clients is important. Openness and transparency builds trust which improves service efficiency. It also makes potentially tough conversations easier.
Keep a close eye on budgets and if costs could go up for any reason and an overspend is on the horizon – that is the nature of the business sometimes – flag this up as early on as possible.
It’s important to keep tabs on spend, but also record the value you deliver. You should be able to show clients that value outstrips the cost.
Work with clients or contractors to review market intelligence and see if it’s possible to trim costs further by doing things differently.
At ForWorks we review business reports every month that evidence how much each job costs and how much was recovered. If there is a surplus where we have made efficiencies, we can go back to the client to see what that extra spend could be used for.
Seek out and share best practice and move with the times. New innovations and ideas are being brought forward all the time. It’s important that you are not late to the party.
At ForWorks we make good use of the Direct Work Forum to share intelligence and learn from other companies. Looking at ways to continuously improve what you are doing drives efficiency and ultimately cost savings.
Some organisations take the attitude ‘this is how we have always done things’. They are the organisations still likely to be using outdated paper-based systems rather than more efficient electronic ones.
If new ideas lead to a better service then we must embrace them.
It’s dedicated to helping asset managers deliver their strategic objectives with access to a wide range of products and services that are flexible.
To find out more visit http://www.procurementforhousing.co.uk/frameworks/materials or call 01925 282 398.
What a year it’s been. In the time since LeasePlan published its last annual fleet funding and taxation guide in association with Deloitte, the British public has voted to leave the European Union; a new Prime Minister has moved into Number 10; the Conservative Party has lost the slim majority it had in Parliament; a new Air Quality Plan has been published to tackle diesel emissions; and there have also been various smaller, more specific changes that will nevertheless have profound implications for fleet professionals.
The quick and long-term answer is yes.
One of the biggest issues facing social housing providers is fuel poverty. In England alone last year there were more than 2.3 million families living in fuel poverty. Solar PV is an effective way to combat this. Continue reading “Is it still worth considering solar following the cuts to the Feed-in Tariff last year?”
Preparations are really gearing up for this year’s PfH Live event which is 27th – 29th June at Manchester Central and we’ve already got some great speakers confirmed including: Continue reading “PfH Live 2017”
PfH are excited to announce we will soon be launching our contract management system!
Some of the Key features and benefits will include:
If ever there’s a time to really get to grips with understanding your supply chain, this is it. Brexit, a weak pound and concerns about labour shortages have created a climate of uncertainty in the construction industry. But one thing is certain – costs are rising.
Continue reading “Price rises from suppliers should be challenged”
If you are a commissioner of TEC services we want to hear from you. What is your current approach to procuring telecare and telehealth? How are you purchasing TEC services to re-design the delivery of health and social care services? What is your experience of the purchasing process from developing a specification right through to contract management?
PfH Blog 