For more than 10 years, Feeddex has been the customer satisfaction partner of Wonen Zuid, the housing corporation in central and southern Limburg that manages about 14,000 homes across ten different municipalities. We talk about the cooperation with Rob Stofberg (Manager Service Team).
To provide good service to tenants and keep them satisfied, Wonen Zuid depends on suppliers for various processes. Think of contractors, painting companies and heating installers. A few years ago, Wonen Zuid worked with more than 200 contractors in the repair request and changeover process. 'That created difficult communication, complex administration and you saw big differences in customer satisfaction with these suppliers,' says Rob Stofberg. 'We wanted to make this process easier, clearer, simpler, cheaper and faster through chain cooperation.'
To provide good service to tenants and keep them satisfied, Wonen Zuid depends on suppliers for various processes. Think of contractors, painting companies and heating installers. A few years ago, Wonen Zuid worked with more than 200 contractors in the repair request and changeover process. 'That created difficult communication, complex administration and you saw big differences in customer satisfaction with these suppliers,' says Rob Stofberg. 'We wanted to make this process easier, clearer, simpler, cheaper and faster through chain cooperation.'
Wonen Zuid then issued a tender and subsequently selected four main contractors. Of course this took some getting used to for all parties, because 'where contractors used to get a few hundred to a thousand repair requests in a year, these contractors now suddenly got 4000. They suddenly had a lot more volume coming at them,' says Rob, 'and of course you're not prepared for that all at once.'
Monthly meetings with contractors
To improve the cooperation in the chain between Wonen Zuid and the contractors and to share experiences, Wonen Zuid has monthly consultations with the chain partners. In these meetings, customer satisfaction figures are discussed and points for improvement are named.
"Based on the results at the measuring points of the customer journey that a customer goes through with us when he goes through a repair request, we identify moments where improvement is needed. We work from two streams, the first focusing on short-term actions of manageable size. The second stream focuses on issues arising from our vision of chain cooperation such as system integrations and intensive, integrative forms of cooperation.'
"Based on the results at the measuring points of the customer journey that a customer goes through with us when he goes through a repair request, we identify moments where improvement is needed. We work from two streams, the first focusing on short-term actions of manageable size. The second stream focuses on issues arising from our vision of chain cooperation such as system integrations and intensive, integrative forms of cooperation.'
Small working groups
'If there are areas for improvement, we first work out a solution in a small working group with one or two contractors and test whether the adjustment works in practice,' says Rob. 'If it then turns out to work we inform the other contractors at the monthly meeting and introduce new working methods chain-wide.'
Can you give an example?
'Yes, the customer feedback showed that we scored poorly on the appointment making component. Consider, for example, a tenant who calls to request repairs. They expect understanding and to be helped quickly. Previously, the Wonen Zuid service team would do the customer intake, make a work order for the chain partner and then contact the tenant to make an appointment. 'It sometimes took days before the tenant was called back,' Rob says, 'so that sometimes the tenant would call us back two or three times that an appointment still hadn't been made.' That had to and could be improved. 'Now we make sure that during the intake of a repair request we immediately fill in a work order and immediately put the customer through to the chain partner. That way the tenant is helped much faster. We first tried this with one contractor. With this approach, the contractor improved his customer satisfaction score enormously within a few months. Last year they were dangling somewhere at the bottom, but now they are one of the leaders.'
'Yes, the customer feedback showed that we scored poorly on the appointment making component. Consider, for example, a tenant who calls to request repairs. They expect understanding and to be helped quickly. Previously, the Wonen Zuid service team would do the customer intake, make a work order for the chain partner and then contact the tenant to make an appointment. 'It sometimes took days before the tenant was called back,' Rob says, 'so that sometimes the tenant would call us back two or three times that an appointment still hadn't been made.' That had to and could be improved. 'Now we make sure that during the intake of a repair request we immediately fill in a work order and immediately put the customer through to the chain partner. That way the tenant is helped much faster. We first tried this with one contractor. With this approach, the contractor improved his customer satisfaction score enormously within a few months. Last year they were dangling somewhere at the bottom, but now they are one of the leaders.'
"The customer satisfaction score is a determining factor in our contractor selection.
Giving suppliers access to their results
'Customer satisfaction scores have become a determining factor in working with contractors,' Rob continues. 'That's why I think it's essential to give contractors themselves access to their own satisfaction scores, so that they also feel more involved and accountable.' Feeddex then ensured that contractors themselves have real-time access to the results that matter to them. 'In the dashboard, contractors can compare and benchmark results with other contractors.'
Tighter on satisfaction scores
'When we started with the chain cooperation, we were even less strict about meeting the customer satisfaction targets we had set. At that time we assumed that every contractor had to have at least a 7.5. If the 7.5 was occasionally not achieved, it was discussed and action was taken, but the main focus was on issues such as price, internal handling and mutual efficiency. We thought from within the chain cooperation to the outside.
This has now changed. The target for 2021 is an 8. If a contractor does not achieve this target then an improvement plan must be submitted with actions. The chain partner then has an agreed time to achieve the standard again. If he does not succeed in scoring above the standard within the agreed conditions, then terminating the cooperation is one of the possible sanctions. In doing so, we also look strictly at our own role within the chain. It is our joint responsibility and performance.'
This has now changed. The target for 2021 is an 8. If a contractor does not achieve this target then an improvement plan must be submitted with actions. The chain partner then has an agreed time to achieve the standard again. If he does not succeed in scoring above the standard within the agreed conditions, then terminating the cooperation is one of the possible sanctions. In doing so, we also look strictly at our own role within the chain. It is our joint responsibility and performance.'
About the partnership with Feeddex
I really enjoy working with Feeddex. When I look at the market, Feeddex stands out in terms of flexibility and thinking along with us. For example, a questionnaire must also be adaptable to the KPIs that we as Wonen Zuid have. Our goals and KPIs are central to Feeddex's approach and the surveys also move with the times. I only have to ask a question or they will think with me and look for a solution. It's also great to see that the Feeddex products continue to evolve, such as the supplier reports.