Bath and North East Somerset Council

Tenant and Property Maintenance Management

The Council owns, manages and maintains 1100 property assets.

Enquiries from occupiers (whether commercial, partners or corporate) relating to Bath and North East Somerset Council’s property assets are currently handled using a series of manual steps following receipt of the enquiry. Up to 350 enquiries a week are received. Assessment, cost calculation and contractor engagement is then primarily handled via email forms. The current system is based on manual handling of these enquiries and a range of systems that are not linked.

There is little systematic management information provided to the Council.  This leads to a reactive system with limited feedback to the Council on satisfaction levels and quality of repairs delivered.

Alternative digital channels could improve the tenant’s experience, introduce efficiencies for staff and contractors and reduce running costs.

Under its devolution deal, B&NES is participating in a Joint Assets Board with its neighbouring authorities and the West of England Combined Authority. Each authority has its own estate including enquiry handling.   While this has not yet been discussed at the JAB, there may be the potential in the medium term to join up back office helpdesk functions with one or more Local Authorities. This will be considered for feasibility – presenting an opportunity to further maximise efficiencies.

We want to carry out a Discovery project to understand the current tenant user journey

• We aim to:
  • Map the current tenant experience
  • Create an auditable approvals process for managing works
  • Carry out user research with users at each stage of the process
  • Produce a to-be journey map
  • Convey a shared understanding with key stakeholders