Practical Partnering

It is all very well to talk about the theory of partnering. But what about in practice?

Collaborative working is at the heart of partnering. In practical terms we are working with our partners at Bournemouth Council, Charter Housing and Hinckley Borough Council in practical ways such as:

•  Shared appointment and scheduling systems

•  Working with the in-house DLO

•  Sharing offices with the client's Housing Department

•  Leading a team of other contractors to coordinate works for client

•  Working with other contractors on projects they lead

•  Working with client department Tenant Liaison Officers

•  Sharing offices with the client

The full open book accounting systems that we operate with our partners gives them all the information they need. Transparency is guaranteed. Throughout our systems we can drill down to cost per job level and be totally answerable to client queries. Demonstrable access.

On the IT side, we have moved to electronic invoicing, appointment systems, work instructions and collation of KPIs. This gives out clients immediate access to vital information such as the number of tickets issued, complaints, customer satisfaction, priority jobs, appointments to name a few.

Partnering works in all directions and we often have partnering agreements with our suppliers. We make a point of including smaller, local suppliers and involving them in larger contracts if possible.

Our own Tenant Liaison Officers are briefed that their job includes not only the collation of customer feedback, but also a pro-active approach where they put the tenant at ease, explain the work and promote the client in a professional way.

Partnering works in practice.