Radius Housing has become the first recipient of the Gold Award for Tenant Engagement on the island of Ireland. This is the highest standard of Tenant Participation Accreditation awarded by Supporting Communities, and recognises Radius’ continued commitment to engaging with their tenants and the recent audit and assessment process.
The accreditation framework comprises ten core standards that Supporting Communities identifies as central to effective tenant engagement and involvement. It identifies how and where Radius has applied good practice, supported by its own Tenant Engagement Strategy, in relation to the core standards and competencies required to attain a Supporting Communities’ Tenant Participation Accreditation Award.
The Independent Panel Chair, Sheenagh McNally from Supporting Communities, said, “I am delighted to have awarded Radius the Gold Standard, the first of its kind on the island of Ireland. Radius continuously strives for better even as it attains this high level of recognition. The team’s hard work, commitment, and dedication have set the bar high for tenant engagement in Northern Ireland and further afield.”
In the report, the awarding panel commented, “Radius has a clear engagement strategy in place, which is not only visually attractive and easy to read but also shows reflection on their previous strategy and is a clear progression.” It goes on to say, “There are clear structures in place to deliver on their commitments and a ‘Menu of Engagement’ that offers a variety of options for tenants to get involved outlining the time required from individuals to do so.”
In addition, the report identifies areas and opportunities for improvement, which will form an integral part of the Radius Tenant Engagement Strategy and process, ensuring continual improvement over the next three years.
The report went on to highlight, “There is clear evidence that TP is embedded into the culture of Radius, and there are many examples of tenants influencing decisions and making a change. Staff are keen and enthusiastic and see TP as a huge benefit to the organisation—more importantly, this comes from the top and is embraced by everyone we met.”
Overall, the Assessors were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, commitment, and understanding among participants in the various focus groups. This brought to life the documentation submitted and confirmed the implementation of the strategy across the organisation. They also acknowledged the organisation’s continuous learning and willingness to improve service delivery where needed.
Speaking about the Gold Accreditation, Loma Wilson, Radius Director of Communities said, “It is an incredible achievement for everyone at Radius to achieve Gold Accreditation, the first on the island of Ireland to attain this standard. When we first went through this process and were awarded silver level we took on board all of the recommendations and improvements suggested in the previous report and made a concerted effort to implement them. This effort has allowed up to bring real improvements to the services we bring to our tenants, and making our whole organisation work more efficiently with better outcomes for all.
“A huge collective effort has gone into this success and we wish to pay tribute to all the staff involved, and in particular Lesa Kelly and Ashleigh Mulgrave, who are dedicated to this aspect of our business on a day-to-day basis.”
One ‘stand-out’ from the report was providing sufficient resources and support to enable Tenant Participation. In addition to two Tenant Engagement Officers, a budget is provided within each area housing team for small projects and initiatives that help develop tenant engagement in Radius communities. Other resources include a variety of targeted information leaflets, good digital support, and partnerships with other organisations to deliver multiple events and initiatives.
The report also highlighted how Radius has developed mechanisms, structures, and scorecards that allow tenants to scrutinise and monitor landlords’ performance and provide easy-to-read, jargon-busting reports and documents. Additionally, Radius provides high-quality, clear information on how it spends its money. For example, the Customer Performance Report is bright and easy to understand, showing a simple coin graphic to demonstrate spending and a supporting leaflet to explain service charges.