General update for Scottish customers April 2025

At Home Group Scotland we regularly assess and monitor the quality of services that we provide to our customers which includes a large-scale satisfaction survey carried out every three years. Our most recent survey was carried out in late 2023 and included feedback from 902 customers.  

Customer feedback is invaluable to us, and we have spent the past year developing and implementing an action plan to address the areas customers highlighted for improvement.   

We are pleased to share a number of the key changes we are making to better serve our customers and communities. 

A key change is the creation of a dedicated Scotland team within our customer contact centre. Starting on April 7th calls from our Scottish customers are automatically be routed to this dedicated team.

• Specialised support. The team will consist of colleagues who have received advanced training in Scotland-specific areas, such as factoring, and will have detailed knowledge of our homes and local teams.
• Local expertise. While the team will be based within our existing contact centre in Newcastle, they will have the skills and knowledge to provide tailored support for our Scottish customers.
• Seamless experience. You can continue to contact us in the same way you do now. Our technology will ensure your call is routed to the correct team.

In addition to the new Scotland customer service team, we have implemented a range of other improvements based on your feedback, including:   

• Complaints process. A new process for handling Stage 2 complaints has been developed to ensure a more efficient and effective resolution.
• Reduced wait times. We have reduced wait times in our contact centre to make it quicker and easier for you to reach us.
• In-person events. We held events in Dundee and Glasgow to engage directly with our customers and hear your views. There will be further opportunities to come.  
• New Scotland website. A dedicated Scotland website has been produced to provide you with more relevant and accessible information. 
• Ongoing feedback measures. We are rolling out ongoing customer satisfaction measures to gather your feedback throughout the year, complementing our larger survey carried out every three years.  
• Improved communication. We have increased feedback on important issues, such as the rent consultation, by sharing information via text and email, in addition to the postal copies we are required to send for regulatory reasons. 
• Expanded maintenance team. We have increased the size of our maintenance team within Scotland to improve service delivery.   
• ASB process review. We have reviewed our Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) process to incorporate learnings from recent cases.  
• Joint estate visits. We have implemented joint estate visits between housing and maintenance colleagues to ensure a more coordinated approach to addressing issues.   
• Improved transparency. Your feedback is valuable to us and we want to share the feedback we receive with all customers, as part of this work you can read a summary of our recent rent consultation.

You will also see we are using new branding and the name ‘Home Group Scotland’.  

This change has been introduced as of March 2025 following feedback from customers stating the use of our legal name registered with the Scottish Housing Regulator of ‘Home in Scotland’, as being confusing when we use our wider ‘Home Group’ branding. 

For now, in everything but legal documents we will refer to ourselves in all documents and communications as Home Group Scotland. 

The new logo has been developed and will be incorporated into all documents and publications going forward. However, to minimise waste, we will continue to use existing printed materials with the current logo and phase in the new branding gradually. As a result, customers may still receive documents with the previous branding for a short time. 

This change doesn’t impact the delivery of our services to customers, our team and commitment to delivering for our customers and communities remain the same. 

We will shortly be recruiting a community connector who will take on the customer involvement work for Scotland as well as work closely with the wider communities in the areas where we have homes. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list for involved customers, please contact us at scotland@homegroup.org.uk and we will be in touch when our new colleague has joined us. 

These changes reflect our commitment to listening to you and continuously improving our services. We are confident that these updates will enhance your experience and provide you with the high-quality service you deserve.   

If you have any questions or would like further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch.