We love hearing your feedback, as the residents living in the homes that we manage, and the communities that they make up, it is important to us that you know that you have a voice that is being listened to.
Below are some great examples of how your feedback has helped to shape our actions and decisions, thank you for always helping us do better by sharing your experiences.
You Said... |
We Did... |
| You want clearer rent statements and better updates about planned works in your area. |
We used your feedback to shape our communication strategy - making sure the information we send is relevant, timely, and easier to understand. We are now working with a new resident Resident Editorial Panel to refresh our rent statements and make them clearer. We're also exploring better ways to keep you informed about planned works, with more consultation to come. |
| You like Insight magazine - but think it could be less corporate and more about real residents and real stories. | We created a resident Editorial Panel to help shape the magazine. Their ideas are already making Insight more interesting and engaging. |
| You want performance information to be easier to access - and for estate noticeboards to be updated more regularly. |
We've started sharing quarterly performance updates on noticeboards so everyone can stay in the loop. We are now reviewing our noticeboards across all sites to make sure they're clear, up to date, and full of useful info. |
| The Resident Engagement section of the website is easy to use, but there's not always enough up-to-date info - especially with focus group minutes. | We are setting up a new Resident Engagement Focus Group that will help us keep the website relevant, accurate, and up to date. |
| Repairs and communication are your biggest concerns. You want us to listen - and act. | We're working closely with residents and our repairs contractor on a service improvement plan. We're also making sure You Said, We Did updates are shared in Insight, so everyone sees how we're responding to feedback. |
| Don't just send letters - keep us updated in a variety of ways. | Your feedback helped shape our Communication Strategy, and we're committed to keeping in touch through a mix of channels. Many of you said you'd like texts - and we're actively looking into that. |
| You told us which performance indicators about ASB and Hate Crime matter most - and how you'd like to see them shared. | We're now including ASB performance in our quarterly updates - visible on noticeboards, our website, and social media. |
| You prefer the terms "resident" or "tenant" - not customer, which doesn't reflect your relationship with SEH. | We've shared this across SEH. We're updating our policies and communications to reflect your preferred terms. |
You Said... |
We Did... |
| You'd like to see more short surveys linked to services - and want your feedback to actually lead to change. | We've started rolling out transactional surveys for temporary accommodation and resident engagement - and more will follow soon across other services. |
| You told us you don't always feel safe living in your communities and that concerns about anti-social behaviour or even criminal activity can affect your ability to fully enjoy your homes and neighbourhoods. | We asked ATF (Achieve, Thrive, Flourish) to start working in several areas of Southend with a focus on helping young people, who might have been at risk of causing problems in their neighbourhood, to get involved and make a positive contribution to their areas. Through volunteering and accessing training, these young people have developed new skills and have gone on to secure jobs and 'pay it forward' by sharing their experience with other young people. |
| Residents in Shoebury told us you had concerns about County Lines | We worked in partnership with ATF (Achieve, Thrive, Flourish) to hold Positive Future Course at Shoeburyness High School, including 1-2-1 mentoring support with young people at risk of exploitation by gangs. |
| The Resident Engagement Team reached out to our Resident Advisory Panel (RAP) to gather their thoughts on the training opportunities provided by South Essex Homes for residents. We received an excellent response, with numerous valuable suggestions, including topics such as IT training, First Aid, learning English, Fire Safety, Recycling, and Health and Nutrition. | We sourced a variety of free online courses for our residents, covering many of these areas. These courses are now accessible through the South Essex Homes website: Resident Training | South Essex Homes |
| We need to ensure that our Resident Advisory Panel (RAP) represents the diverse communities within South Essex Homes. | We conducted an equality analysis of the RAP and identified an underrepresentation of younger residents and residents from diverse ethnic communities, as well as an overrepresentation of disabled residents. In response, we have actively promoted the RAP to underrepresented groups to encourage wider participation and ensure that all resident voices are heard. |
You Said... |
We Did... |
| Sending surveys to properties rather than to each household member felt unfair and meant fewer people could take part. | Moving forward, we will send surveys to each household member to ensure that everyone in your home can participate. |
| Having a welcome letter for new residents would be a good idea. We asked if residents would co-design this with us as current residents have first hand experience and insights living in Sheltered accommodation. | We are working with residents to design a 'Welcome Letter' that will provide an introduction to the Sheltered scheme for new residents helping them feel included and part of the community from the start. It will include details about communal areas, activities, and any support services. It will also include contact details for repairs and tenancy ensuring that residents know whom to reach out to with questions or concerns. We are working with residents in each scheme so that the welcome letter is tailored specifically to the unique characteristics of their scheme, ensuring that new residents receive relevant information that reflects their new community. |
You Said... |
We Did... |
| You preferred the use of 'temporary accommodation' to the term 'hostel'. You felt that residents entering temporary accommodation may carry a stigma associated with transient or temporary living situations. | This was raised at one of our Staff Briefings so staff are aware to be mindful of the language they use and to communicate in a way that respects residents' dignity which can help shift perceptions. We are sharing more positive outcomes and success stories from residents living in temporary accommodation. We have set up monthly coffee mornings, and held a workshop around positive affirmations for new art work in the communal lounge. |
| Residents asked if the communal lounge could be painted so that there is a space for adults as well as children, somewhere to sit and relax. | We reached out to one of our contractors, Bell Group, who were happy to start working on this project. We set up coffee mornings with the contractor and residents to discuss the paint colours, adult and children's furniture options, layout and other elements of the communal lounge. We asked the children for their ideas and they asked for a rainbow, and each child to have their handprint on the wall! We held a workshop where residents worked together to create pieces that reflect their individual stories making the space truly represent the residents who live there. The redecoration was a success and residents now have a welcoming space to relax in and to come together for events. |
You Said... |
We Did... |
| You citied health concerns as a major issue on some estates and one resident suggested a diabetic drop-in clinic. | A drop-in clinic was set up in partnership with the Queensway Matters Group, local charitable organisation Vineyard (who operate the Storehouse) and local GP (General Practice) surgery to deliver diabetic checks. |
You Said... |
We Did... |
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Following feedback from residents in the Planned Maintenance Focus Group, we've worked with them to develop a survey, like our You Said, We Did updates on the website. |
The survey will be sent to all residents on completion of works to help us improve our services. Residents can complete it online or via paper, with support available if needed. |
| You'd like to see the Leaseholders Focus Group promoted more widely and suggested creating a new poster to help raise awareness. | We are designing a new poster using ideas from residents, which will be displayed on noticeboards in areas where leaseholders live and shared on our social media channels. |
| With the winter months coming, it might be helpful to hold leaseholder meetings online, as this could also increase attendance. | We'll be trialling an online format and will gather feedback from leaseholders afterwards. |
| There aren't many stories aimed at leaseholders in Insight. | We featured a Day in the Life of a Leaseholder article, which received excellent feedback. |
| It would be helpful to understand why members join the Income Focus Group. | We published an article in the Summer 2025 edition of Insight, where Terry shared his experience of joining the group. |
| Residents would benefit from face-to-face support with Universal Credit and other services. | We held a pop-up session at Sandpiper on 3rd September 2025. It was well attended and residents told us they'd like more sessions across the city - which we are now planning. |
| Annual rent letters can be confusing and cause worry, especially as they don't explain which benefits residents are receiving. | We are arranging a workshop to prepare support for residents. We will also publish clear, easy-to-understand articles in Insight in January and April to help explain the letters. |
| The Complaints Review Panel suggested that new residents should be informed about their option to apply for a water meter to help manage utility costs. | We have included this information in the new property welcome packs, ensuring all new residents are aware of this option from the start of their tenancy. |
| More and more residents were wanting to buy a mobility scooter but they were not sure of the rules around owning and storing one in their Council home. This was a very important issue for many residents as having a mobility scooter allowed them greater independence but suitable storage and charging facilities are a challenge. | The Disability Focus Group worked with SEH to create a policy and agree the application process for keeping a mobility scooter. We agreed that SEH would not refuse a resident permission to have a mobility scooter, as long as we are sure that it can be kept safely and would not put themselves or another resident at risk, particularly if there was a fire safety risk. The Focus Group also asked that we provide a customer friendly leaflet to explain the policy simply to anyone thinking of buying a scooter, which was produced and is available either in paper form or on our website. |
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The Income Focus Group reviewed the Specialist Income Management Service standard. The group recommended combining the two documents into one streamlined and easy-to-use version to improve transparency. |
Following these suggestions, we have fully revised and merged the documents into one clear and easy-to-read version, incorporating the group's ideas. With the updated service standard document to be shared with the group at the next meeting. |
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We need clearer records of key actions from focus group discussions to track progress and outcomes. |
We started recording key actions in all focus group minutes to ensure transparency and demonstrate the outcomes of discussions, helping to drive real improvements. |
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The noticeboards in some areas were not well-maintained or kept up to date. A resident offered to assist in keeping the information current. |
The Chair of the Disability and Carers Focus Group passed this feedback to the Resident Engagement Officer, who contacted the resident. The resident has now been given a key and is actively helping to keep their noticeboard updated. |
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Members of the Responsive Repairs Focus Group said that the welcome box would benefit from including a cleaning cloth. |
We spoke to the contractors, and a cleaning cloth has been added to the welcome box for new residents. |