Your feedback in action

We agree that this is important. We will highlight the following points to make sure contractors will be required to meet our communal area standards.

• Communication across all cleaning and grounds maintenance staff needs to be consistent so that the service standards and behaviours are consistent across all sites and visits.
• Structured training should be carried out for cleaning and grounds maintenance staff, including an induction and shadowing to make sure the standards on site are understood and being met.

There will continue to be quality assurance checks and spot checks from Thrive and the contractor to make sure the service is consistent and performing as it should. Customers are welcome to join these visits with us to discuss any concerns.

We know this is important and moving forward, we have asked that in the new contract:

• there is an effective use of technology for reporting on visits
• Thrive colleagues will have the ability to view photographic evidence of visits and the tasks that have been completed

online schedules must be made available to make sure customers are kept up-to-date if a visit is happening on a different day.

The length of time spent on site can depend on the type of tasks that are carried out and the season. This may mean that sometimes the contractors spend longer on site than other times.

The contractors will work to set working hours between 8am and 5pm. The tasks will be carried out between these times but will vary depending on the type of work being completed.

To help monitor this, Thrive will carry out random spot checks so that we can be assured the work being carried out is to the correct standard.

Contractors will continue to record the duration of their visit including how long they spent and the tasks they carried out so that Thrive can quality check this

We will also make sure there is clear communication with customers if visit dates are changed. This will be done using our online schedules.

When we employ a new contractor, it’s important that they follow the same behaviours and principles as our own , and this is an important part of the tender process.

To help make sure this happens there will be:

• an induction for all current and new contractor employees
• continual training and refresher sessions with training on new products for the cleaning and grounds maintenance staff
• sharing of information like Thrive’s policies to be understood and followed by all employees
• uniform and ID badges to be worn by all employees of the contractor on site.

Thrive will also have the right to remove an operative from sites if their behaviour is not appropriate.

We know this can be a problem across some sites. When we identify an issue, we increase our inspections and communications with customers.

It’s important you let us know if you suspect someone is fly-tipping and if the bins are becoming overfilled. This way we can help get this cleared and investigate the fly-tipping to keep the area clean and safe.

To help support Thrive, we have emphasised the importance of evidencing items that have been fly-tipped so we can monitor if there is a particular problem at a site.

The cleaning contractor will continue to remove any rubbish or fly-tipped items that are causing an obstruction and will have agreed timescales that this needs to be completed by.

We require our contractors to fully train their colleagues and make sure they understand the use of the equipment and chemicals they are using.

If you are concerned about the use of products, please let us know. A breakdown of these can be provided if required.

This is important and moving forward we will continue to monitor sites using estate inspections to keep track of visits. We will also carry out spot checks and quality assurance checks where this is .

It’s important for you to let us know if there is a problem, you can do this by rating the visits on our website so we can make further checks if they are required.

Making sure contractors evidence their visits with photographs is important and this will be emphasised in the contract moving forward. By doing this, Thrive can have a greater oversight of the tasks being completed and monitor the standard is being met.

This related particularly around bedded areas, shrubs and making sure grass is not strewn across buildings.

To make sure this happens, we have included:

• the ability to assign operatives to specific sites where possible so they become familiar with the area
• training on any new requirements on the site

the correct horticultural knowledge of beds and shrubs for grounds maintenance.

Whilst we want customers to enjoy their outdoor spaces in communal areas, we wouldn’t expect you to maintain the green areas. This does come at a cost, and we want it to be kept to our current standards by the contractor.

Thrive Customer Voice is a great way for you to get involved in our services. We run a number of activities including surveys and workshops to help improve our services.

Sign up to be a member to see how you can get involved.

If you would like to join us on an estate inspection, click here.

We carry out quality assurance checks at least every three months as part of our estate inspections. Where we have identified issues, this will be more frequent.

As part of these inspections, we check that all routine tasks have been completed to a satisfactory standard, and rate the service as either ‘good enough or ‘not good enough’. This includes things like:

• checking the entrance to your building is clean and tidy and free of cobwebs and dust
• making sure the floor and walls are free of major marks
• checking that the windows that are accessible are clean
• and much more!

When we identify problems with any of these, we discuss this with the contractor and ask them to re-attend to resolve the issue. We’ll then monitor the works through to completion by carrying out more frequent site visits.

It’s important that we work with the contractor to bring the area up to standard. If they fail to resolve this then we may claim credits to recover the cost of any missed visits.

If there is a problem at your block, we’ll make sure to keep you updated with any changes.

Quality assurance checks happen at each block at least every three months. Where we notice a problem, we request information on specific sites from our contractors to carry out a cross check against our communal area standards.

We will visit your blocks and check on areas for improvement and make sure contractors are working in line with our standards. If these are not being met, we will discuss this with the contractor.

As well as this, contractors carry out their own quality assurance checks which we oversee. We may visit your building with them to carry these out and make sure they are working to the agreed standard.

It’s important that you let us know if you feel the cleaning or grounds maintenance is not up to standard so we can visit your building more frequently to inspect it.

We carry out an estate inspection of each block every three months. Where there are problem sites, we increase these inspections to monthly or weekly where necessary.

We are happy for customers join us on site visits where we can. This way we can address your concerns whilst we’re on site.

If you’d like to join one of the team on their visit, simply let us know and we’ll let you know when we’re popping by.

Customer feedback has highlighted that this is important to you. Looking forward to the new contract, you will have a deep clean of your block twice a year.

We will include what is involved in this within our standards and you will have more awareness of when they will take place. We will also be able to monitor these more closely.

Until the contract is renewed, there will be no major changes to the service. We’re still working hard to meet our service standards by focusing on:

• quality assurance and spot checks of sites
• recalling contractors when there have been missed or poorly completed visits
• having regular meetings with contractors to tackle any issues and keep you informed early on.
• getting more information from contractors on their visits to monitor them more closely.

By using your feedback, we can make sure that we consider your views when working to get these new contracts in place.

Rating our service after each visit helps us to keep track of this and arrange spot checks where you have noticed an issue.

At Thrive, we use variable service charges, so you only pay for the services you receive. To make sure you get the best value, we resolve any issues as soon as we know about them.

By addressing problems quickly, we give contractors the chance to fix them, making sure you receive both quality service and value for your money.

We proactively check that cleaning and grounds maintenance contractors complete their scheduled visits. If any visits are missed, we will arrange additional visits or request credits for those missed visits. There are no extra costs for recall visits.

Our estates team will be responsible for monitoring all sites. They carry out estate inspections of every block, every three months to check everything is in working order and the standard is being met.

If we do notice a repeat problem, we will increase our visits and carry out joint visits with the contractor to find out what’s going wrong.

It’s important that you let us know if there is a problem quickly so we can arrange a visit to check. You can do this on our website, by rating the visit that’s taken place.

If you’d like to join us on one of our estate visits, get in touch and we’ll let you know when our visit is taking place.

Our cleaning and grounds maintenance contracts are large and affect many of our customers. We follow the Public Contracts Regulation 2015, to make sure we employ a contractor who offers value for money and customer service in line with Thrive’s expectations.

Because of both the scale and length of the contracts, we must allow applications to be submitted by the wider market. Within this there are five stages:

1. Assessing the criteria and accreditation of contractors who apply.
2. Evaluating their experience and knowledge.
3. Evaluating their price and costs.
4. Assessing their method statement and scoring a questionnaire they submit on their service.
5. Interviewing the contractors.

As customers pay for both the cleaning and grounds maintenance contract, we are also required to complete formal consultation with customers to let them know we intend to enter a new contract and to outline estimated costs. We ask for our customers comments on this so we can ensure we take these into consideration when arranging a new contract.

Once all of these steps have taken place, we then need to make sure our service standards are agreed with the contractor in order for them to start working with us.

Both contracts will be reviewed annually by Thrive Homes to make sure the contractors are working to our agreed service standards. The contract will run for three years with the option to extend for a further two years.

Seeking a longer contract allows the contractors to become familiar with the cleaning and grounds maintenance requirements to keep it to the standard, which leads to better long-term service. It also allows us to achieve a better price for the service and gives us the option to terminate the contract if the contractor is not performing.

There is a transition period where the new contractor will be working behind the scenes while the current contractor is still in place. This will make sure they are familiar with the sites, the requirements each need and any additional works that may be required to bring them back up to standard. Any additional charges will not be passed onto customers.