Empowering housing communities
Digital Unite’s Managing Director, Kathy Valdes, explains the importance of ensuring social housing tenants are supported during any housing association’s digital transformation.
The social housing sector is in a period of flux, facing up to the real threat of cash flow problems, housing associations are looking at the positive impact a digital transformation will have on their bottom line. For Digital Unite’s Managing Director, Kathy Valdes this transformation will only be effective if the tenants’ needs are put at the forefront of the conversation.
“At least one in five adults have poor digital skills and people with low incomes, low-level education and older people are those most likely to be digitally illiterate,” says Valdes. Noting that the people who are offline in 2016 are likely to be resistant to embracing the digital revolution, Valdes states this approach has a negative impact on the individuals concerned: “This mind-set feeds their insecurities and strengthens their resolve not to get involved.” She adds: “The challenge is to find innovative ways to encourage these people to embrace the digital revolution”.
Digital champions
Providing an example of ways to encourage the adoption of digital services among tenants, Valdes notes how a cookery class might encourage them to go online for more recipes.
“You start with something else and you bring digital into the everyday and this will move everyone along in the same direction,” Valdes states. She also highlights the fact that 90 per cent of people who embrace the digital revolution in this way, are using computers to access government services within 12 months.
Delivering targeted services is instrumental in encouraging the adoption of digital services, “residents are not interested in the latest board meeting, they want to know about online services that matter to them,” says Valdes. For those who need training and support to access these services Valdes believes the most effective solution is to provide authentic local solutions. People need support and they need to trust that support. A local person who can sit next to them and ensure them that they will get the support they need, when they need it, is key. This is why Digital Unite’s digital champions programme has been so effective.
“A frontline staff member may only help 10 people per year but if they start using digital services then that is a really good investment in one person,” states Valdes. The programme also works well with the current mobile revolution as digital champions can teach people how to use their own gadgets. The digital champions also benefit from such projects as it allows them to give back to their community, 20 per cent of champions have used skills developed through the programme to secure work.
At present there are over 1,000 digital champions spread across England, Scotland and Wales. Getting a digital champions programme off the ground requires a solid plan that has buy-in from all staff involved. Attention also has to be given to the needs of the champions as well – how are they trained and what is their reward.
Value for money
Recognising that many people who are yet to get online have concerns about their privacy and security on the internet, Valdes is confident that the benefits of internet access for these people will outweigh their concerns. Benefits to getting online include communicating with family members and buying goods and services. In 2014, 64 housing associations across Great Britain were asked why they wanted to get their residents online and many of the responses centred on the desire to support all residents equally and improve their life outcomes. The reduced administrative cost that is a result of a digital transition is also a high priority.
Encouraging these tenants to embrace digital will require substantial investment but ultimately, is it worth it? For Valdes and her team the answer is yes. “You might have to spend money training someone and buying them equipment but there are good long-term benefits for tenants and if their lives are better, the lives of the administrative staff will be better too,” states Valdes. “Online service delivery allows you to deliver a wide range of services to people through online channels.”
The benefits of online delivery are numerous and despite a large initial outlay, can result in large savings for each Housing Association. Using the example of housing newsletters Valdes notes that instead of printing and delivering these pages to residents, digital delivery can save up to £50 per copy per year. “If you are a large housing provider those savings soon stack up. However, if you want to bring services online you need to start looking at your residents and identifying why they are not online,” advises Valdes.
Recognising that the delivery of services offered by housing associations will change drastically over the next three years with many services moving online, Valdes notes the need for the supply of low cost hardware connectivity. Broadband packages are not as varied as mobile phone deals and in Valdes’ view this needs to change. “We have a collective of 16 housing associations working together to pressurise broadband providers to deliver deals tailored specifically for people with low incomes,” states Valdes.
“We can’t pretend that it is not going to happen, it doesn’t mean residents miss out, if there is an adequate investment in frontline staff.” Using the example of one council’s investment in frontline staff tasked with visiting residents on a one-to-one basis as often as needed, Valdes highlights the need for all housing associations to give serious consideration to the implementation of their digital strategies. “There will be lots of different ways to deliver services but digital will be fundamental and will impact every part of the business. It is time for the businesses to join up from repairs to rents and community investment because digital is a thread that runs through all of those things and a joined up approach will ultimately benefit tenants,” she concluded.
