Thrive Annual Report

Annual Report
for Customers
2020-21

In this edition
03
Welcome
15
Who moved into our homes
during 2020-21
04 Your
home
06
Keeping you safe
& secure
16 Customer
involvement
17 Complaints
performance
08 Your
services
18
Compliments and
customer satisfaction
10
Improving our
properties
20
Shaping our
services for you
12
How rental income
is spent
21
Supporting our
communities
13
Providing more
homes
22
Our commitment
to the environment
14 A fair
landlord
24
Keep our
relationship going
> Contact us to request
a printed copy of this report!
Or click here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2102

Welcome to the 2020-21 Annual
Report for Customers
2020/21 was
a challenging year for
everyone. When we all
had to spend much
more time at home,
safety continued to
be our top priority.
On behalf of the whole Thrive team, thank
you for working with us through such
difficult times.
COVID caused various issues but we
strived to maintain our services, while
respecting the concerns you may have
had about people visiting your home.
We continued to deliver our repairs,
planned and safety works in a COVIDsecure
way by ensuring our teams
had personal protective equipment
(PPE) and observed social distancing.
We appreciate your support meeting
these important requirements.
Some work could not be carried out safely
so had to be delayed. We have since
worked hard to complete these jobs and
appreciate your understanding.
Thrive usually spends around £4 million
each year on major works such as new
kitchens, windows and roofs. Due to the
pandemic, some of our internal projects
had to be pushed back to 2021/22 and
we instead focused on external works on
our homes.
We continue to be living in uncertain
times, and whilst we will always do our
best to keep delivering our services,
there may sometimes be delays and
we appreciate your understanding
should this occur.
Your feedback helps us improve. Over the
last year customers worked with us to
make the myThrive hub easy to use and,
through our Service Shapers Group,
reviewed complaints and looked at how
we can do things better.
Our residents also shared their views
on cleaning and grounds maintenance
via our Question Time sessions, while our
Customer Experience Panel continued
helping us develop our services and
future plans.
The Customer Experience panel said they
want us to prioritise a review of options
to enhance our letting standard, which
included improving your homes’ heating
efficiency and sprucing up our communal
areas. So, we are now spending an extra
£1 million each year to bring all homes,
where possible, up to a ‘C’ energy
efficiency rating by 2030.
It is important to us that we hear the voice
of all our customers and listen to what
you have to say – whether you are a
Thrive tenant, leaseholder or shared
owner. So please, do get in touch and
share your views with us.
Elspeth Mackenzie
Chief Executive, Thrive Homes
> Did we hit the mark?
We want to share the things
you want to hear about.
Let us know here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2103

Your home
Hear from some of our customers...
Our annual Home Plan visits, which
we introduced in 2018, allow us to see
many more customers than we
could before.
This helps us get to know each other
better which benefits both customers and
Thrive Homes, and your feedback has
been overwhelmingly positive.
We carried out 752 visits during 2020/21,
including 454 virtually by phone or video
call when the pandemic prevented us
visiting in person.
Many customers appreciated us
contacting them to talk through any
issues they were having, especially some
of our older and more isolated residents
whose social networks disappeared
during lockdown.
Adrian Anstee
Customer Relations Team Leader (pictured above)
Watch Video
“Home Plan is a good way of Thrive getting
to know you, you getting to know Thrive.
It just gives me the security that Thrive
cares about me and cares about the home.”
Mark, Thrive customer
“The benefits of Home Plan are you actually
get to sit with a human being and tell
them what your needs are. It was through
that conversation that they actually
supported me a great deal. So I’m now
able to have a better quality of life.”
Martin, Thrive Customer
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2104

Benefits of Home Plan
Identifying any repairs
that need doing in your
home
Ensuring we have up-todate
information about
you and your household
Giving advice if you are
thinking about downsizing
or moving to a larger home
Helping you get any extra
support you may need
Checking that previous
repairs have been
carried out
Spotting and resolving any
health and safety issues
> Find out more about
Home Plan
Click here
Helping us deal with
repairs quicker, thanks
to photos of fixtures and
fittings taken during
these visits
Seeing the condition of
your home, so we can plan
when improvement work
needs to be carried out
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2105

Safety first
Thrive’s aim – to provide secure, wellmaintained
homes – became even more
important during the coronavirus crisis.
Colleagues and contractors worked hard
throughout the pandemic to keep you
safe in your home while continuing to
deliver vital services.
No one at Thrive was furloughed and
our teams adapted rapidly, with some
colleagues temporarily taking on
different roles to maintain essential
services – especially where contractors
had to furlough, such as our grounds
maintenance service
When our engineers needed to visit,
with your support, they followed safe
working practices
We kept you informed of any service
changes on our website with regular
emails or letters, as you asked us to
You could check the latest updates on
demand, using the new ‘option 4’ on
our phone system
We worked with customers to resolve repairs
remotely where possible, with the help of
photos and video calls
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2106

Keeping you safe in your home
In 2020/21:
99.97% 99.19% 100%
323
of homes had a
valid gas safety
certificate 1
of electrical tests
were carried out 1
of emergency
repairs were
completed
on time
fire doors
were replaced
(bringing the
total to 531 since
our programme
began in 2019/20)
Going the extra mile
Our colleagues regularly look for ways
to support our customers.
“A landlord inspection today presented
another aspect of my job. The customer
had very recently lost his wife and was
understandably down. It was really
touching when he was so appreciative
his boiler had been serviced and repaired,
which was one less thing for him to worry
about before winter. People often think
we’re just here to fix the boilers,
but we’re so much more than that.”
Ian Lewis, Thrive Homes gas engineer
> Read more about a typical week for Ian
Click here
1
At the end of March 2021, one property did not have a valid gas
safety certificate. If customers will not let us into their homes for gas
and electrical checks, we take legal action to gain access.
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2107

Your services
Hear from some of our customers...
We constantly strive to provide quality
services which achieve good value
for money.
As such, we appointed MCP Property
Services to support our repairs and
maintenance service in November 2020.
Whilst the contract initially experienced
issues, we’ve worked hard to put these
right with MCP.
“More communication and when people
come out to do work to make sure they
know what they are coming for and have
the parts.”
Thrive customer, Croxley Green
We’re pleased to have since received
more positive feedback from our
customers. We’re continuing to monitor
the performance of the contract and
always encourage customers to give
feedback.
“His attitude was fantastic, as was the
quality of work he carried out. He was polite,
clean and tidy and engaged in a way that
made me feel valued and understood
as an elderly person with dementia.
He was simply marvellous.”
Thrive customer, Mill End, Rickmansworth
“I had to call the emergency out-of-hours
service after the lock on my front door
broke. Telephone support was very good
and the man who came to help was
absolutely brilliant. He fixed the door
and made it safe quickly and efficiently.
He also wore a mask. Excellent service
all the way round.”
Thrive customer, South Oxhey
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2108

We’re listening, learning
and improving
To improve our grounds maintenance
service, we consulted with customers
about what aspect of this work was most
important to them.
Your feedback helped us choose a new
contractor, which resulted in Chequers
taking over in April 2021. There have been
some issues early on in the new contract,
and we will continue to monitor their
performance and keep you informed of
any changes as the contract progresses.
“I can’t see what I am paying
for and I don’t see that they’re doing it
(grounds/internal maintenance etc).”
Thrive customer, High Wycombe
You said... We have...
You weren’t sure what to expect from
the service
Created a quick link to this
information on our website, so you
don’t have to search through lots of
documents at:
thrivehomes.org.uk/communalstandards
You want to know when visits are due
Started pulling together this
information and looking into ways
of making it available to customers
online
> You can rate a Thrive service in less
than 60 seconds at
thrivehomes.org.uk/rateaservice
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2109

Improving homes
During last year’s pandemic, we
continued our ongoing improvement
programme to ensure Thrive’s homes
remained well maintained and up to date.
To keep everyone as safe as possible we
suspended some internal work, such as
kitchen and bathroom replacements,
but stepped up external projects which
included fitting new roofs, windows
and doors.
We also installed more fire doors as part
of our replacement programme.
We spent £3.5 million replacing
1,496 parts of our homes in 2020/21
compared to £3.7m in the previous year.
This spend was in line with our annual
planned budget for improvements, which
fluctuates each year depending on the
forecasted needs of our properties.
We seek to ensure such work delivers
long-term improvements along with the
best value for money – such as boosting
energy efficiency with insulation and from
2021, we’ve been installing shower screens
rather than curtains.
Every five years, as part of our annual
Home Plan visits, we carry out an in-depth
survey of each property to assess its
condition and decide when we should
carry out its next upgrade – such as a
new kitchen or bathroom.
Breakdown of
components
replaced: 2020/21 2019/20
Bathrooms 6 57
Boilers & Heating
Systems
309 261
Kitchens 17 64
Roofs 156 93
Windows 263 58
Doors 250 70
Fire Doors 323 161
Electrical Works 81 182
Fire Safety Works 3 18
Door Entry Works 46 1
Flooring 11 14
Environmental
Works
Major Aids &
Adaptations
6 6
25 39
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2110

It is expected that the different parts of our
homes will last at least this long:
60 years Roofs
30 years Bathrooms
30 years Central Heating Systems
15 years Central Heating Boilers
30 years Windows
20 years Kitchens
30 years Electrical Works
80+ years External Structure
> You can ask when your home
is due for an upgrade during
your Home Plan visit
Find out more here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2111

How we spend your rent
Average rent by property type
£151.20
Our average rent is around £106 per week
£119.85
£130.64
£86.24
£97.48
Studio
1 Bedroom
2 Bedroom
3 Bedroom
4 Bedroom
This is a breakdown of how we spent
our average weekly rent in 2021 & 2020:
£7.63
Management Costs
Repairs &
Maintenance
£10.56
Major Works
Interest Costs
Other/Development
£28.46
£28.75
£33.36
2021
£30.87
2020
£21.83
£19.73
£15.25
£16.64
Safety considerations due to COVID
affected how we spent our money on
major works in 2020/21. Some jobs had
to be re-scheduled for 2021/22, while still
ensuring we maintained our properties
to the national Decent Homes Standard.
> Want more detail? Check out
our Annual Financial Accounts
Click here
We spent more on repairs and maintenance
during the pandemic, due to the extra safety
measures needed to carry out the work.
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2112

Building homes for the future
This past year, when staying
at home was more important than
ever, highlighted the pressing need
to provide more families with
a safe place to live and thrive.
We are keen to play our part in
building high quality, affordable homes for people
struggling to rent or buy on the open market – not just
for today’s residents, but to support future generations.
Our aim is to double the number of properties that we
own and manage to help meet the high demand for
such homes in our region, which includes some of the
country’s most expensive places to live.
Jack Burnham
Executive Director Growth & Investment, Thrive Homes
Despite construction site closures due to
the pandemic, we built 81 new homes
across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and
Oxfordshire in 2020/21 (compared to 134 in 2019/20):
We also purchased land
that can accommodate
230 plots
for future homes
51 18 12
for affordable rent for shared ownership for social rent
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2113

A good landlord
We pride ourselves on being a fair
landlord, offering a variety of types
of home – for affordable rent, shared
ownership or market rent – to meet the
different housing needs of local people.
Our aim is to ensure people have the
opportunity to stay in the area where they
grew up or where they work, so they and
their communities can flourish.
Thrive was especially pleased to be able
to offer key workers from our communities
(such as NHS staff, police and teachers),
who played such a crucial role during the
pandemic, an affordable place to call
home through shared ownership.
With the help of our Home Plan visits, we
are keen to understand the specific needs
of each of our customers so we can help
you with the right services and support.
For instance, by letting us know if you have
a disability or mobility issue, we can notify
the local fire service so they are aware of
your circumstances which will enable
them to put in place and record a fast
and appropriate management or
evacuation plan.
> Update your household details
today on the myThrive hub
or by clicking here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2114

Who moved into
our homes during
2020-21?
Gender
91
Female Male
Age
15
Under 26
26-35
36-45
46-55
56-65
Over 65
56
20
35
17
16
43
Nationality
Ethnicity
122
4
4
UK National
resident in UK
137
White
British
White
Other
White
& Asian
UK National returning
from residence
overseas
1
1
1
1
Poland 5
Indian
Pakistani
Caribbean
Slovenia 1
Other 2
1
6
2
Black Other
African
Other
Data available where customer has opted to provide information.
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2115

Your voice
The Customer Experience Panel (CEP) continued
to meet online throughout the pandemic.
This was challenging but enabled us to achieve
various successes.
We hosted a Question Time event about
the cleaning and grounds maintenance
service, attracting a record number of
questions. Resulting feedback influenced
the contract and specification to procure
our new grounds maintenance contractor.
Every year the CEP assesses Thrive’s
compliance against the Regulator of
Social Housing’s consumer standards and
devises detailed action plans.
This year’s plans targeted areas requiring
closer consideration or where we thought
alternative approaches might help Thrive
do things differently to improve the
customer experience, such as lettings and
the Decent Homes Standard.
The CEP also reviewed and updated the
Customer Involvement Statement,
renewing our commitment to developing
a pool of involved customers and
introducing an online platform to increase
engagement. The Panel is keen for Thrive
to engage with as many and varied
customer as possible and there are lots of
ways to get involved.
We welcomed publication of the Social
Housing White Paper, ‘The charter for
social housing tenants’, in November 2020.
The charter is the Government’s longawaited
response to the Grenfell tragedy.
In addition, the new focus on consumer
regulation will help strengthen the
customer voice and make our role
easier to perform.
Andy Sage
CEP Chair, Thrive Homes
Meeting the consumer standards - our key highlights
With the CEP, we have created a
way to capture lessons learned
and improvements made following
customer feedback. Find out more
at: www.thrivehomes.org.uk/
yourfeedback
CEP members assessed how we
organise, and quality check our
aids and adaptations work, and
were happy with how we do this.
On reviewing promotion of mutual
exchange, we found 10% of Thrive
customers are registered with
Homeswapper, compared to the
national average of 5% due to
demand for homes in our areas.
Together with the CEP, we have
enhanced the standard that new
homes are let such as upgrading
components that are in need for
replacement. For example, mitred
worktops and shower screens
instead of curtains
> Learn more about our ambitions
to involve residents here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2116

What you told us
Listening to and learning from your feedback
is how we improve.
Our Service Shapers Group (made up of
colleagues and customers) has been analysing
feedback and reviewing complaints over the last
year, to see how we can do better.
Complaints
2020/21 2019/20
196
Complaints
151
Complaints
20
Cases escalated
to stage two of our
complaints process
14
Cases escalated
to stage two of
our complaints
process
1 Cases referred
to the Housing
Ombudsman*
14.49 Average
days to reply
0 Cases referred
to the Housing
Ombudsman
16.61 Average
days to reply
*This complaint, about anti-social behaviour, was not upheld as the Housing Ombudsman decided we handled the case fairly,
you can read more about this here. It highlighted the fact that we have separate processes to deal with anti-social behaviour
reports and complaints about our services.
Complaint themes
Complaints spiked when we changed our
repairs contractor. They were mostly
about not keeping customers up to date
with what was happening and when, so
we have set target times for our
colleagues to reply to help improve this.
We also identified a number of
complaints where customers felt they
were waiting too long for us to resolve
issues. This was sometimes due to
impacts of the coronavirus pandemic,
and we are now being clearer when
setting timescales.
After assessing us against the Housing
Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling
Code, the CEP helped us develop a more
efficient and effective way of dealing with
complaints. This has speeded up the
process and driven service improvements.
> For more information and
to give your views about our
complaints process: click here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2117

Compliments
Most compliments were about us doing a good
job, being tidy and listening to customers.
“I called to report my shower was
faulty. The lady who dealt with
this was professional, friendly
and efficient. Thank you to all
involved in such prompt and
professional service.”
Thrive customer, South Oxhey
86
compliments
2019/20
132
compliments
2020/21
> Find out how we are learning from your feedback: click here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2118

How we are doing
Over the last year we have been establishing a
vision of the experience we want you to have
when you deal with us.
We ran two online workshops to pinpoint what
you value and how we can better deliver
what you want – good quality service.
In 2020/21:
75% 92.4% 78.5% 89.3%
of customers
were satisfied with
their experience
of Thrive
were satisfied
with our lettings
process
were satisfied
Thrive provides
a safe and
secure home
were satisfied
with our repairs
service
We are looking to improve in these areas:
After moving in, only
32% of customers
felt outstanding
repairs were dealt
with well*.
32% 60.5%
We are reviewing
our aftercare
process and will
implement changes
following the review.
60.5% of customers
were satisfied we
listen to their views
and act upon them.
We are capturing
customer views
and creating action
plans – this can be
viewed at:
thrivehomes.org.
uk/yourfeedback
> Check out our latest performance: click here
* This is based on 92 responses where customers opted to provide feedback.
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2119

Shaping services
We want to make it easy
for you to get in touch
and deal with us.
Looking at how you
choose to contact us and
what you tell us, we have seen a growing
demand for instant access to our services
so we are working hard to achieve this.
As part of this work we launched the
myThrive hub in 2020 to better meet our
customers’ needs. The Hub enables you to
manage your account online and use our
services at times most convenient for you.
Anne Bijum
Assistant Director Customer
30%
of customers
registered on the
myThrive hub*
87%
of queries
were resolved
straight away
In 2020/21:
*This has increased to 40% as of September 2021
60%
of customer
contact was
digital (compared
to 8% in 2016/17)
87%
of phone calls
were answered
“They take about 20 mins to get through
to them on the phone. They could do
something about that.”
Thrive customer, Mill End, Rickmansworth
Shifting to digital
Customers shifting to digital contact free
up our phone lines so we can answer
more calls from people who do not
have online access.
Watch Video
“Digital is the way forward. With the digital
portal, you can do a lot online. I always
know that Thrive are there to help me,
which is cool.”
Richard, Thrive customer
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2120

Supporting our communities
Our commitment to providing homes
where people can thrive extends
to supporting projects which make
a positive difference to customers
and their wider communities.
We gave grants to these
organisations in 2020/21:
Thrive’s GIVE Grants scheme offers
funding to local charities and community
groups so they can provide more services.
In 2020/21 we awarded £40,000 of grant
funding to initiatives which bring people
together, improve health and wellbeing,
offer money advice and provide training
or employment.
Our colleagues’ volunteering days had to
be suspended due to COVID restrictions,
but our contractors continued to support
local communities by donating funds to
food banks, which were a lifeline to
struggling families during the pandemic.
> Find out more: click here
“Our debt and budgeting advice helps Thrive
customers resolve any issues with paying
rent at an early stage, so they can
successfully maintain their tenancies.”
Peta Mettam, Chief Officer,
Citizens Advice Service in Three Rivers
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2121

Caring for our environment
Throughout
the pandemic
we provided
more of our
services
remotely, to
allow for lockdown and social
distancing restrictions while
keeping you safe in your home.
These services included
introducing virtual repair
inspections, Home Plan visits and
viewings of homes to let.
We will continue providing some
services digitally as this way of
working is more convenient for
many customers, more efficient
for us and kinder to the
environment – while still
delivering the same results.
Jo Barrett
Executive Director Operations
In the year ending June 2020 we
produced 56.5 tonnes of CO2, 15.2% less
than the previous year.
As part of our commitment to reducing
Thrive’s environmental impact, we plan to:
57
tonnes
offset
Be a certified carbon neutral
business by the end of 2022.
We cannot achieve this
solely by cutting carbon
emissions, so we offset
them by supporting climate action
projects which reduce, remove or avoid
greenhouse gas. In the year ending June
2020 we offset 57 tonnes of carbon by
supporting Amazon forest conservation
projects in Brazil and Peru.
135
new
trees
Promote tree planting,
conservation and
biodiversity.
We have committed to
plant a tree for every new
home we build. In 2019/20, for example,
35 trees were planted at a Croxley Green
development site and 100 trees were
planted in association with the One Tree
Planted Project.
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2122

Greener homes
We strive to reduce our homes’ carbon
footprint by making them more energy
efficient. This makes them warmer and more
comfortable to live in, while enabling
customers to better manage their fuel costs.
In 2020/21 we installed:
221 energy efficient
(A-rated) boilers
Energy efficient
emergency lighting
Extra insulation
when replacing
roofs
Where possible, we
also fit dual flush
toilets and
thermostatic mixer
valves on taps or
showers to save
water
Looking ahead
To meet national environmental targets
and new building safety requirements, we
plan to spend £46 million on major
improvements to our homes.
This will include:
upgrades to ensure homes achieve
the Energy Performance Certificate C
rating
improved kitchen and bathroom
fittings, such as replacing shower
curtains with glass screens
enhanced communal areas in and
around our buildings.
Due to the way they were built, a small
number of our homes will not be able to
achieve future environmental standards.
Keeping our customers’ comfort and
value for money in mind, instead of reletting
these properties when tenants
move out, we will look to redevelop or
refurbish them for shared ownership so
we can build more homes which meet the
standards.
> You can read more about this
here
Annual Report for Customers 2020-2123

Building our relationship
We want to strengthen our relationship with you, our customers,
so we are always keen to hear from you.
You can do that in lots of ways, including:
• the myThrive hub at www.thrivehomes.org.uk/mythrivehub
• live chat on our website at www.thrivehomes.org.uk/talktous
• emailing enquiries@thrivehomes.org.uk
• giving feedback any time at www.thrivehomes.org.uk/feedback
• your annual Home Plan visit. Find out more at:
www.thrivehomes.org.uk/homeplan
If you can, we prefer you to use our digital services so we can keep phone
lines free for essential calls. But, if you aren’t online, we’re always on the end
of the phone – just call us on 0800 917 6077.