You can be involved as much or as little as you can commit to – from being our eyes and ears out in the community to attending meetings such as STAR One Voice Forum and Customer Scrutiny Panel or just doing something with a spare five minutes at home – a snap survey or answering a sounding board text.
It’s entirely up to you how you want to have your say and make a positive difference to our housing services or your neighbourhood!
The STAR Board is made up of 12 members, 3 of which are tenants. As a Tenant Board Member of STAR, you will represent the views of other residents and help make decisions that improve housing services and the community. You’ll work with other board members to ensure customers’ needs are herd and help shape the future of the homes and communities that STAR manage.
Time Commitment: High. Approximately two days per month. Board and subcommittee meetings are usually held in Shrewsbury during the working day.
Our Customer Scrutiny Panel is made up of between 6 and 10 STAR Housing customers.
The purpose of the scrutiny group is for customers to have a say in decision-making that affects them and to ensure that they are able to independently scrutinise performance and hold STAR to account for the decisions that affect the quality of the homes and services we provide.
The Customer Scrutiny Panel has a direct link with our Board and senior staff to ensure that customers are heard and represented at every level in the organisation.
Time Commitment: Medium. The panel meets on average once a month, typically for a few hours, plus additional time for preparation and review of documents.
Should you wish to join our One Voice customer forum, you be invited to join one-off projects with staff or receive opportunities to join ‘pilot groups’ to test out and provides feedback on new services or products such as the online customer portal. We will advertise these opportunities through our Facebook page, on our website and via our newsletters. By joining, you'll help shape the housing services you receive; your input has already influenced key areas including Housing Management Policies and how we deal with damp and mould. Soon, you'll be helping us with our Customer Service Charter.
Time commitment: Low. As a task and finish group, the time commitment can range from just 1 hour to a full day per topic. The best part is, you can participate as much or as little as your schedule allows.
We are excited to announce the formation of our Customer Procurement Panel. By joining this panel, you will work closely with our Procurement Lead and receive specialised training on how we select and manage contracts. Your role will be crucial in making sure that customer perspectives are considered at every stage. Training will be provided by the Procurement expert, with additional support from our Customer Engagement Manager. Your participation will help shape the future of our contract management practices, ensuring they reflect the needs and views of our community.
Time commitment: Low – Medium. Initial training will be required followed by involvement as and when the contracts are up for renewal.
Mystery Shopping - We occasionally ask STAR Housing customer to make a phone call, write an email or do an inspection of their block, in a 'Mystery Shopper' style exercise. These exercises help highlight areas that we can make service improvements for every single one of our residents.
Time commitment: Minimal – after completing the activity, you'll only need to fill out a brief feedback form.
As part of our commitment to involving you, our tenants, in everything we do, we often use consultations and surveys to run any proposed changes to services by you. Surveys are a great way for those with busy lives to have their say. Survey responses really help inform our services and show us where we need to improve.
Time commitment: Minimal – as and when it suits you.
Community champions work closely alongside our Engagement and Neighbourhoods teams to complete inspections to help us promote local activities and support neighbourhood improvements.
Time commitment: Minimal – approx.. 1 hour per month
Estate Walk Abouts, commonly known as estate inspections, take place on a regular basis.
These walks are carried out to highlight areas of concern and to make sure that the general appearance of your estate is satisfactory. They are an important way of monitoring and improving standards in your neighbourhood and an opportunity for you to get involved and have your voice heard. The estate inspections are carried out in partnership with other agencies such as the Police, Shropshire Council and local ward councillors. By using a partnership approach we are able to work together to tackle problems on our estates such as antisocial behaviour, environmental problems and crime and nuisance.
You can use the links below to find out when the next Estate Inspections are happening in your area.
For more information about any of the above opportunities or if you wish to get involved in your next Estate Inspection, please contact the Customer Engagement Team on 01743 210204 or at imvolvement@starhousing.org.uk.
