We’ve redesigned the way we approach repairs procurement to offer greater accessibility to residents involved in evaluating contractors.
We are in the process of reprocuring our main tier 1 contracts, responsible for the majority of repair work for the 67,000 homes we own and manage. This new approach will see us partner with a larger number of contractors across our regions to drive healthy competition between them and allow us to move repairs between contractors and regions when necessary.
Contractors interested in bidding for the opportunity were asked various questions to determine the quality of service they can provide, with their responses evaluated by Notting Hill Genesis teams and some of our residents.
In the past residents have told us they would appreciate greater accessibility and would like to see video submissions with subtitles as an alternative to traditional written submissions. We used this procurement as an opportunity to have them evaluate video responses from contractors. To design the approach we took, we asked residents at a series of events across London what they would like the video to demonstrate, and many wanted to see ID badges, tidy vans, and PPE for example.
Those who then evaluated the video submissions gave lots of useful feedback, with one resident who had scored written submissions previously telling us it was a welcome change and much more engaging.
Oufa said: “The process was an interesting one. I found that because we were able to see the faces of each company, it gave me a better sense of what they stood for and helped me to score them more fairly.”
Fellow resident Ben added: “This was an ideal way of assessing different contractors against an objectively set criteria. The only challenge I'd envisage is where smaller/startup companies don't have the requisite recording equipment available to ensure that their submissions are sufficiently polished. However, I feel this is a minor point and doesn't impinge enough on the ability to assess.”
The process of selecting our tier 1 contractors is ongoing, but once we are ready to introduce them to a wider audience, their video submissions will be published for residents to watch.
Brett Hohls, director of repairs, said: There is more work to do to make customer engagement with our procurement exercises truly accessible, but this feels like a move in the right direction. Residents also told us these video gave a greater depth of insight than written submissions, regardless of accessibility needs.
“Being able to share these videos with our residents when the time is right will help them ‘put a face to the name’ and give us a head start when it comes to mobilising these new contracts.”
