SLIDE 1
Ian Watts Managing Director Paragon Community Housing Group
SLIDE 2 Who are Paragon Community Housing Group?
- Formed in 2007
- Elmbridge Housing Trust & Richmond Churches Housing Trust
- 9000 properties
- Work across 10 local authority areas located in South West London
& Surrey – generally ‘perceived’ as a wealthy area
- General Needs, Sheltered, Supported Housing, Care Homes, Key
Worker, Leasehold
SLIDE 3
Paragon Community Housing Group Wise Money Campaign
SLIDE 4 Wise Money Campaign
January 2011
Financial Inclusion Group Welfare Reform Group Group includes staff from:
- Tenancy
- Income
- Welfare Benefits
- Resident Involvement
- Communications
- Finance
- IT
- Leasehold
- Directors
SLIDE 5 Wise Money Campaign – June 2012
Decided who our audience was
- Household Details Form – ‘Tenant Census’ 86% completed
- Affected / not affected / maybe affected
- Affected by bedroom tax – 467 Tenants
- Affected by benefit cap – 23 Tenants
- Employees
- Needed to understand our residents better, e.g.
- Access to IT 54%
- Have a Bank Account 94%
SLIDE 6 Wise Money Campaign – June 2012
Key Decisions on how we would communicate
- Make it personal – Intensive use of 1:1 contact by phone and in person
- Make contacting the right people at Paragon as easy as possible
- Make it clear that changes are being made by Government
- Paragon is supporting you – significant investment in resources
- How we can help
- What we couldn’t do
SLIDE 7
Established a Communications Plan – July 2012
SLIDE 8
Established a Communications Plan – July 2012
SLIDE 9 Branding our Wise Money Campaign
- We wanted an image that residents would associate
with help / assistance / advice Watson the Owl!
- Differentiate advice and support from arrears
recovery
SLIDE 10
Initial Contact with Residents – July 2012
Article in our Resident magazine
SLIDE 11
1st Local Providers Meeting – July 2012
Getting PRs & others together to discuss approach
SLIDE 12
Mutual Exchange Events
SLIDE 13 Internal Communication – August 2012
Communicated to staff:-
- Discussions at Staff / Chief Exec Briefings
- Told staff about work done by the Welfare Reform
Group
- Guide for staff to use when talking to residents
SLIDE 14
Welfare Reform Leaflet – Sept 2012
SLIDE 15 Annual Report – October 2012
Branded envelopes
- Contained information
- n Welfare Reform
- Use of different colours
/ designs
SLIDE 16
Other ways of delivering the message
SLIDE 17
Paragon @ the Pictures – Dec 2012
SLIDE 18 Our New Website Launching later on today!
- Engaged residents in the process through user
testing
- Strong emphasis on functionality on any type
- f screen (responsive design)
- Majority of graphics created in-house
- Rent payments & Welfare Reform section
combined
SLIDE 19
SLIDE 20 Other ways of getting the message out
- Changed our telephone greeting
Highlighting Welfare Reform
- Made Welfare Benefits Option 1
SLIDE 21
Housing UK Campaign of the Year For Wise Money
SLIDE 22 Some of what impressed the judges
Before cuts to housing benefit were introduced Paragon started its campaign to educate residents and staff about the changes Campaign publicised via mailshot to residents, pop-up on Paragon’s website and staff briefings 15 per cent increase in residents seeking help from Paragon’s Welfare Benefits Advisors Prompted rise in referrals to the advisors from other staff Three quarters of those attending the cinema event said they heard about the changes through wise money Judges impressed that the campaign had reached so many people and by the growth in residents seeking advice as a result
SLIDE 23
What else?
SLIDE 24
What else? Jobs Clubs
SLIDE 25
What else?
Taste Testing Sessions
SLIDE 26 What else?
- Lean Review of Arrears Procedure
- Ability to pay rent from start of
Tenancy
- Rent Statements to look like invoices
- Process based on amount owed not
weeks of rent owing
SLIDE 27 What else?
- Working with those affected by the
Bedroom Tax
- Working with those affected by the
Benefits Cap
- Money Management courses
- Increase payment methods
- Improving links with Credit Unions
- Staff skills audit
- Collecting additional data held on
residents
- Refreshing data held on residents
- Review of key jobs @ Paragon
- Consolidation of Housing
Management
SLIDE 28 What next?
October / November
- Start to work with those who may be
affected by Universal Credit
- Reviewing Vulnerable Residents
Procedure
- Next Local Providers Forum
- Next MX Event
- Issue Annual Report
December / January
- Next Issue of Resident Magazine
- Review of Job Clubs
- Estate Day Promotions
- Review Welfare Reform Action Plan
- Reviewing our Communications Plan
- Digital Inclusion Work
SLIDE 29
Ian Watts Managing Director iwatts@paragonchg.co.uk
