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Postal and communications strategies within Housing Associations.A White Paper from Neopost

Cut Costs

Improve Productivity

Communicate more effectively

Manage the mail process

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Postal & communication strategies within Housing Associations | White Paper

IntroductionPostal and communications strategies within Housing Associations is the latest in a series of white papers commissioned by Neopost to throw light on the postal strategies of public services providers as they contend with funding cuts and the need to provide value for money.

Housing associations play a vital role in the supply of social housing in the UK, providing affordable accommodation for low-paid workers and their families, as well as sheltered or temporary housing for those in need of extra support.

A combination of factors, including changes to funding arrangements, welfare reform and the UK's chronic housing shortage, is ushering in a period of great change for the social housing sector.

Initiatives, such as the Affordable Rent investment model, mean that in addition to their traditional role as providers of low-cost rental properties, housing associations are increasingly building homes to sell or rent out at commercial rates, with profits being used to fund additional affordable housing.

Welfare reforms are also having an impact. The so-called bedroom tax has already been blamed for an increase in rent arrears and many fear that the problem will worsen when housing benefit, which is paid directly to landlords, is replaced with a Universal Credit paid to tenants.

Meanwhile, housing associations themselves are under pressure from regulators to demonstrate value for money by delivering a high level of customer service and cost-effective service delivery, much of it web-based in line with e-Government aims.

Inevitably, these developments are having an impact on the way housing associations communicate. The need to fulfil social obligations, such as explaining Universal Credit to tenants, whilst also producing professional marketing material and reducing costs is a major challenge.

Modern postal communications technology can help housing associations balance these aims and free up resources that can be diverted to other initiatives. But to what extent is investment in the post room being integrated with these wider aims?

To help find out, Neopost commissioned the Government Policy Hub (GPH) to carry out an iGov surveys into postal communications within housing associations. Postal and communications strategies within Housing Associations is based on a survey of 158 organisations carried out by GPH in 2013.

Other Neopost white papers in the series include Postal and communications strategies within charities, Postal and communications strategies within the NHS, Postal and communications strategies within local authorities, Postal and communications strategies within higher education and Postal and communications strategies within central government.

The so-called

bedroom tax has

already been

blamed for an

increase in rent

arrears and

many fear that

the problem will

worsen...



To date, housing

associations have

been relatively

slow to adopt tools

and technologies

that could help

them manage the

transition to digital

communications...

Postal & Communications Strategies Survey 2013: Housing Associations

Executive Summary

Housing associations are undergoing a period of great change, as welfare reform, the push towards e-Government and changes to funding force them to act more like commercial organisations whilst still providing for some of the most disadvantaged in society.

The tension between these two imperatives – to be inclusive and provide value for money whilst developing a commercial offering with sophisticated marketing and greater personalisation of services – is evident in housing associations' approach to postal communications.

The continued importance of physical mail to housing associations is reflected in the fact that more than three quarters already have a postal communications strategy in place; physical mail is still the most widely used communication method in a majority of housing associations; and, unlike public sector organisations surveyed by Neopost, housing associations have not yet seen drastic reductions in mailing budgets – only 27% have reduced their expenditure on postal services in the last 18 months.

Nevertheless, cuts are on the way. The number of housing associations planning to reduce their postal communications expenditure over the next 18 months is more than three times greater than the number expecting budgets to remain the same; and 80% of respondents expect postal volumes to fall – despite the impact of Universal Credit, which more than one third of respondents believe will lead to an increase in messaging volume.

To date, housing associations have been relatively slow to adopt tools and technologies that could help them manage the transition from physical mail to digital communications. For example, only one in four has already centralised, or is in the process of centralising, paper-based and digital communications that would enable them to implement fully integrated workflows for electronic and postal communications.

The low uptake of such solutions suggests that electronic messaging is often provided as an additional layer of communications rather than as a replacement for physical mail, which could lead to duplication and unnecessary expense. Higher levels of engagement with providers of mailing solutions could help housing associations maximise the benefits of modern mailing technology, as they seek to balance communications effectiveness with value for money.

Postal Communications Strategies

The vital role of good communications in the work of housing associations is revealed by the fact that more than three quarters (77%) of housing associations surveyed have developed a postal communications strategy. This rate of adoption is significantly higher than public sector bodies surveyed by Neopost. Only the NHS and charities have a similar adoption rate. Even so, almost one in five (17%) is still operating without a strategy. Without clear purpose and direction, they are unlikely to enjoy the cost savings and efficiency gains that come from the adoption of modern mailing solutions and digital communication. Of those who do have strategies, four out of five have been written in the last three years against a backdrop of welfare reform, budget cuts and the promotion of e-Government.

Q. Has your organisation/department developed a communications strategy?



Yes: 44 (29%)

Yes: 149 (77%)

No: 74 (48%)

No: 33 (17%)

1-3 years ago: 114 (80%)

Don’t know: 36 (23%)


Over 3 years ago: 16 (11%)


Q. If yes, when was it written?

Q. Has or will your organisation/department use external expertise to develop your communications strategy?



Postal Services BudgetsHousing associations, like other organisations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, are under pressure to reduce postal budgets. However, they have implemented cuts much more slowly than healthcare, education and government bodies. In the last 18 months, just over one quarter (27%) of housing associations have cut expenditure on postal services, compared to almost half (47%) that have kept budgets the same. However, this pattern is set to reverse over the next 18 months, as three times more housing associations plan to reduce postal services budgets than keep them the same.

Q. What has been the effect on postal budgets over the last 18 months?

Our organisational postal services budget has remained stable: 72 (47%)

I do not plan to reduce my postal services budget: 23 (15%)



Our organisation is working with a reduced postal services budget:

42 (27%)

I plan to reduce my postal services budget:

80 (52%)

Q. What are your plans for postal budgets over the next 18 months?



Q. How many items of inbound mail does your organisation/department receive annually?

Q. What types of inbound and outbound communication do you mainly send and receive?

Q. Roughly speaking, what would you say is the proportion of physical, as opposed to digital items?

Less than 10,000: 14 (10%) 10,001 – 50,000: 30 (21%) 50,001 – 100,000: 19 (13%) 100,001 – 200,000: 12 (9%) 200,001 – 500,000: 7 (5%) 500,001 – 1 million: 4 (3%) 1 million & above: 4 (3%) Don’t know: 51 (36%)

Letter: 129 Email: 131 SMS: 64 Web-hosted: 74 Telephone: 122 Don’t know: 3

Less than 25% is physical mail: 21 (16%) 26 – 50% is physical mail: 26 (20%) 51 – 75% is physical mail: 42 (32%) Over 75% is physical mail: 25 (19%) Don’t know: 18 (14%)

Less than 5,000: 10 (8%) 5,000 – 25,000: 37 (28%) 25,000 – 50,000: 12 (9%) 50,000 – 100,000: 6 (5%) 100,000 – 250,000: 2 (2%) 500,000 & above: 5 (4%) Don't know: 60 (45%)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0 30 60 90 120 150

0 10 20 30 40 50

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Digital & Physical CommunicationsHousing associations use diverse methods to communicate with tenants, suppliers, developers, funders, regulators, Government, staff and potential customers. Letters, email and telephone contact are much the most popular options, though almost half of respondents also make use of SMS messaging and web-hosted self-service options. Physical mail is still the most widely used communication method in a majority of housing associations: 51% of respondents said that it accounted for more than 50% of their output, compared to 31% that mainly used digital channels. Reflecting the increasingly commercial nature of housing association activity, including property sales, one in two respondents uses communications channels to market their products and services as well as for transactional purposes.

Q. Approximately how many items of outgoing communications does your organisation/department send annually?



Mail Volumes

Physical mail remains a vital part of the communications mix employed by housing associations, particularly when communicating with tenants who may be excluded from the digital revolution, such as the elderly. Despite fears that some welfare reforms will add to the communications burden by causing more people to fall behind with their rent, which automatically triggers a warning letter, four out of five housing associations expect mail volumes to fall over the next 12 months, with just 2% of respondents predicting an increase.

Q. Does your organisation/department plan to increase or decrease outgoing mail over the next 12 months?

Q. Mainly what types of communication do you send?

Transactional: 51 (45%) Marketing: 3 (3%) Both: 51 (45%) Don’t know: 9 (8%)

Q. Does your organisation/department plan to increase or decrease incoming physical mail over the next 12 months?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Increase: 2 (2%)

Increase: 2 (2%)


Don't know: 53 (41%)

Decrease: 105 (80%)

Decrease: 75 (58%)



Mail & digital communications

Housing associations must balance their desire to save money and reduce postal expenditure with the need to communicate effectively with tenants. Making greater use of digital communication methods has the potential to cut costs, but at the moment housing associations' social responsibilities are limiting their impact. The need to reach the digitally excluded means that digital methods are often supplementary to, rather than a replacement for, physical mail. Centralising physical and digital mail so that communications are automatically routed via electronic or hard copy means, according to each recipient's preference, enables organisations to maximise cost savings without compromising communications effectiveness. The fact that only one in four respondents has either already centralised, or is in the process of centralising, physical and digital mail indicates that housing associations are not yet making full use of technology to reduce costs and improve customer service.

Q. Has your organisation/department completed, or is it investigating, the centralisation of physical and digital mail?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Yes, completed: 14 (12%)

In the process of centralising: 14 (12%)

Gaining insight: 33 (28%)

No, will not centralise: 21 (18%)




Challenges & Priorities

As they seek to cut costs and reduce mail volumes, housing associations face a number of challenges, some of them the result of welfare reforms. Increases in rent arrears caused by the so-called bedroom tax generate additional costs for housing associations as warning letters are automatically triggered when a tenant falls behind on rent. In addition, the introduction of Universal Credit, which consolidates multiple social security payments into a single credit, has the potential to increase mail volumes as housing benefit will no longer be paid directly to landlords but must be collected from tenants. Many housing associations will produce mailings to explain the changes, adding to the communications burden. About one third of respondents expect Universal Credit to generate additional communications requirements (35%) and increase staff workloads (30%). Another area of concern for housing associations relates to data accuracy and security. Almost two thirds (62%) of respondents are either concerned or very concerned about maintaining and protecting customer data. Managing contact databases properly will protect housing associations from fines and bad publicity caused by data breaches and eliminate the waste and expense of mailing items to incomplete, inaccurate or duplicate addresses.

Q. How concerned are you about data security and inaccurate tennant details?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Very concerned: 37 (32%)

Concerned: 35 (30%)

Slightly concerned: 34 (30%)

Not concerned: 4 (3%)


Additional communication: 40 (35%)

Increased payment processing: 13 (11%)

Further credit control requirements: 10 (9%)

Increased staff workload: 34 (30%)

Don't know: 17 (15%)

Q. Do you anticipate an impact on your communications processes with the imposition of universal credits?



Procurement

Framework agreements that reduce the complexity and cost of procurement are housing associations' preferred means of acquiring goods and services. Sixty per cent of respondents who expressed a preference said they favoured framework agreements. The best known, by a considerable margin, is Government Procurement Service. With 40% of respondents who ventured an opinion choosing alternative purchasing routes – about the same number who had not heard of any of the framework agreements listed – clearly more could be done to promote the latter. Royal Mail is the preferred source of advice on mailing technology and solutions.

Q. Please select all the framework agreements your organisation/department is aware of.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Royal Mail: 40 (25%)

TNT Post: 27 (17%)

Pitney Bowes: 14 (9%)

Neopost: 19 (12%)

FP Mailing: 6 (4%)


Q. Where available, are framework agreements your preferred procurement route?

Q. Which providers has your organisation talked to with regard to innovations in communication?

Government Procurement Service: 42 (28%) Government Procurement Service (Hybrid Mail): 12 (8%) Pro5: 7 (5%) ESPO: 10 (7%) None of the above: 28 (19%) Don’t know: 49 (33%)

0 10 20 30 40 50

Yes: 40 (33%)

No: 26 (21%)




About NeopostNeopost is the UK’s and Europe’s Number One supplier of mailing solutions. Our products and services are sold in more than 90 countries and in 2011 we recorded sales of more than 1 billion euros.With expertise in traditional and digital communications, Neopost supplies the most technologically advanced solutions for franking, folding/inserting, addressing, logistics management and traceability, plus a full range of services including consultancy, maintenance and financing solutions.We are the only manufacturer from the postal solutions industry to have served local authority purchasing consortia, central government and the wider public sector on successive framework agreements for over 15 consecutive years.Neopost is an approved supplier to the National Franking Machine Agreement (NFMA), which gives higher and further education institutions across the UK access to Neopost’s extensive range of franking machines, consumables, maintenance and associated products at competitive rates.

What Next?To help housing associations identify how they can improve their mailing processes, Neopost offers free, no obligation audits from which we are able to develop bespoke communications solutions and strategies.

For more information, please contact Antony Paul on 01708 714576 or email [email protected].

A1 Housing Bassetlaw Ltd A2Dominion Housing GroupAbbeyfield Abertay Housing Association LtdAdvance Housing and Support Ltd Alliance HomesAmicus Horizon Group Apna Ghar Housing AssociationArgyll Community Housing Association Ltd Ashton Pioneer Homes LtdAspire Housing Ltd ASRA Housing GroupB3Living Barnet HomesBeechwood and Ballantyne Community HA Bield Housing Association LtdBlackpool Coastal Housing Bolton at HomeBracknell Forest Homes Bridgewater Housing Association LtdBromsgrove District Housing Trust Ltd Bron Afon Community HousingCadwyn Housing Association Calico Housing LimitedCartrefi Conwy Cartrefi Cymunedol GwyneddCheltenham Borough Homes Christian Action Housing AssociationCloch Housing Association Clwyd Alyn Housing Association LtdClydebank Housing Association Ltd Clydesdale Housing Association LtdCo-op Homes Coast and Country Housing LtdColne Housing Society Ltd Community GatewayCymdeithas Tai Eryri Dalmuir Park Housing Association

de Monfort Housing Society Derby Homes LtdDerwent Living Drum Housing Association LtdDrumchapel Housing Co-operative Limited East Boro Housing TrustEast Lothian Housing Association Ltd Eastlands Homes Partnership LtdEPIC Housing Estuary Housing AssociationFife Housing Association First WessexFoundation Housing Four Housing GroupFreebridge Community Housing Gateway Housing AssociationGloucester City Homes Golden Gates HousingHabinteg Housing Association Halton Housing TrustHexagon Housing Association Homes for NorthumberlandHomes In Havering Homes in SedgemoorHousing Solutions Group Hyde Housing GroupHyndburn Homes Inquilab HA LtdISOS Housing Group Kendoon Housing Association LimitedKirklees Neighbourhood Housing Knowes Housing Association LtdLanarkshire Housing Association Ltd Livin Housing AssociationLonghurst and Havelok Homes Longhurst Group LtdLoreburn Housing Association Ltd Marches Housing AssociationMerlin Housing Society

Merthyr Tydfil Housing AssociationMerthyr Valleys Homes Mid-Wales Housing AssociationMid-Wales Housing Association Ltd Monmouthshire Housing AssociationMount Green Housing Association Ltd Newport City Homesng homes North Hertfordshire Homes LtdNorthwards Housing Nottinghill Housing GroupNPT Homes Octavia Housing One Housing GroupOrbit Group Origin Housing LtdOrwell Housing Association Ltd Peaks & Plains Housing TrustPhoenix Comm unity HousingPoole Housing Partnership Poplar HARCA LtdRadian Group Red Kite Community HousingRichmond Housing Partnership Riverside Housing Group Rykneld HomesSadeh Lok Housing Group Ltd Sanctuary GroupSanctuary Housing Association Saxon Weald Homes LtdScottish Borders Housing Association Selwood HousingSoho Housing Association Ltd Solon South Wes t HA LtdSouth Essex Homes South Lakes HousingSouth Shropshire Housing Association Ltd South Yorkshire Housing Association

Southern Housing Group Southway Housing TrustSouthway Housing Trust Ltd Spitalfields Housing AssociationSt. Leger Homes Stafford and Rural HomesStockport Homes Ltd Sussex Housing and CareSutton Housing Society Limited Symphony Housing GroupTaff Housing Association Ltd. The Heantun GroupThenue Housing Town and Country Housing GroupTransform Housing & Support Trent & Dove HousingTrent and Dove Housing Ltd United Housing AssociationUnited Welsh Housing Association Ltd Viewpoint Housing Association LtdWaltham Forest Housing Association Watmos Community HomesWDH Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing TrustWeslo Housing Management West Kent Housing Association West of Scotland Housing Association LtdWestfield Housing Association Wherry Housing AssociationWilliamsburgh Housing Association Ltd Windsor HousingWishaw and District Housing Association Ltd WM Housing GroupWorcester Community Housing Worthing Homes LimitedYarlington Housing Group Yorkshire Coast Homes Ltd

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Survey Participants

Neopost and Government Policy Hub (GPH) would like to thank the following organisations for taking part in the Postal & Communications Strategies Survey 2013: Housing Associations, with special thanks to those who took the time to offer further insight through additional comments and observations.