Tenants and residents of West Lancashire Borough Council are to reap the benefits of a new way of working which aims to deal with issues they raise more quickly.
Conservative controlled West Lancashire Borough Council has worked with Aareon UK and 1st Touch Mobile to introduce a computerised mobile working system for its housing officers in the Estate Management Team. This is helping deliver a faster and more efficient service to tenants and residents.
The team was picked to be the first to use the system because of the variety of issues they deal with across the Council’s housing estates. On any one day an officer can deal with many issues such as anti social behaviour, neighbour and boundary disputes, graffiti or fly tipping. The new system aims to significantly reduce response times and increase efficiency.
Mobile working will enable officers to access a wealth of information, normally only available back at the office, while out on the estates and in customers’ homes. This means they can answer queries from people living in the area, record issues and pass on information to other council staff immediately rather than having to wait until they return to their office.
Councillor Val Hopley, portfolio holder for Landlord Services, said: “The Council is constantly working to improve its services to tenants and residents and this new mobile working system will help us do that. Work can begin immediately on tackling issues raised by tenants rather than having to wait until staff return to their offices.”
Councillor Adrian Owens, portfolio holder for Housing (Finance), Regeneration, and Estates, said: “I am delighted the council has invested in this new system and I am sure tenants and residents will reap the benefits of it.”
The Council is planning for other officers such as those working in rents and property services to use the system in the future.
Robert Dent, 1st Touch Chief Executive Officer, said, “West Lancashire Borough Council has impressed us greatly with both their continuous improvement strategy and their innovative approach to tenant services. The Council has an on-going commitment to ensuring that their tenants and resident receive outstanding levels of support, care and service.
“Whilst though it is their housing officers that are using the latest mobile technology, it is ultimately the tenants that will reap the significant benefits available from its use and that is great news.”