Cooperation and engagement with our tenants and other stakeholders is an essential part of our sustainability strategy. We firmly believe that we can achieve the most by working with all our clients and other stakeholders, sharing ideas and devising innovative solutions to the challenges we all face.
Tenant engagement and satisfaction
| | 2017 | Benchmark IVBN 2017 |
Satisfaction residence | 7.5 | 7.3 |
Satisfaction living environment | 7.6 | 7.6 |
Satisfaction property manager | 6.7 | 6.4 |
Handling of repair requests | 7.2 | 7.0 |
Complaint handling | 4.8 | 4.8 |
Respondents | 939 | 1,994 |
In 2017, we again conducted a tenant satisfaction survey to identify our tenants’ concerns and priorities. The survey covered topics such as the service level of the property managers, quality of the properties and the living environment. In 2017, we chose another company to conduct the survey. As the survey itself also changed, a comparison with the previous year is less relevant. Of the tenants that were asked to participate, 42% responded. The overall satisfaction score declined to 6.8 (2016: 6.9) but outperformed the IVBN benchmark (6.6).
We use the result of the surveys to draw up improvement plans. These plans may be specific action plans for a single property or aimed at improving overall satisfaction. In addition, we send our tenants a letter with information on the outcome of the survey and the specific actions the property manager and our financial service department plan to take to improve service levels. Tenant satisfaction is an integral part of the service level agreements with our property managers.
Procurement
Bouwinvest has Service Level Agreements with its property managers, who are assessed each quarter on topics related to administrative management, technical management (including sustainability), commercial management and tenant satisfaction.
To promote and increase sustainable procurement, we launched a project with IVBN (Association of Institutional Property Investors in the Netherlands) and a number of fellow fund managers to engage and assess the Fund’s suppliers using a sustainability web tool. Current and future suppliers will be assessed on their sustainable commitments, policies and behaviour.
Safety
The Residential Fund applies ‘Bewuste Bouwers’ sustainable building criteria to all new-build projects and redevelopments. These criteria ensure that the contractor deals with the concerns of local residents, and addresses safety and environmental issues during the construction phase.
Community and stakeholder engagement management
What do our tenants want? Are they happy to live in our homes? Now, but in the future too? A home is more than bricks and mortar. We are more than happy to listen to our tenants, to learn about their needs and requirements, for now and in the future. One of the ways we do this is by conducting surveys via our regular tenants’ panel, a panel of 1,700 residents who rent from Bouwinvest. The aim of these annual surveys is to gain insight into what is on their minds right now, but also what our (potential) tenants’ wishes are.
Surveys conducted in 2017:
Mobility: parking wishes for cars, bikes, electric vehicles and car sharing.
Living in the city: how small a residence does our tenant want and what are the requirements?
Customer journey: the customer journey of someone looking for a home: what steps do they take to find a home, what are positive and uncertain aspects of that journey, and who plays a key role in this?
All these surveys provided us with greater insight. We use the results to optimise our processes and products and that in turns helps us create added value for home-seekers and tenants, and all our stakeholders.