As we've done several times before, we hosted a Virtual Residents Call on 8 September, but this time there was twist!
Rather than it being in the evening, as is the custom, this event was held at lunchtime during the working day at our Bede Island office (between 12.00pm and 2.00pm – with the call itself accounting for the second hour).
This time, we also had 15 residents attending in person, which added to the lively and friendly atmosphere in the office on the day. They arrived from 12.00pm, enjoying some light refreshments such as sandwiches, crisps, and cakes as they spoke to a range of managers and colleagues from around the business – raising issues in some cases, but also sharing positive experiences.
One resident said that she called Service 24 one evening about a leak from the flat above, and a plumber attended within a couple of hours. While he was there, the plumber offered to call an electrician as the leak had come through the light fixture. The electrician also arrived to fix it that evening. She was delighted! Similarly, another resident, Manjula, shared how much she enjoyed her visit with us, saying that she enjoyed speaking to Mike, our Chief Executive and posing for a photo with him.
Then, at 1.00pm it was time for the call to begin, with directors and our visiting residents taking their seats in The Galleries. Serg, our Income Manager, took charge of hosting and reading out questions for Mike and the directors while Linda Gray, Chair of our Resident Assembly, explained what the group do and the importance of residents being involved.
We had 136 individual accounts join online, but that isn't counting residents who were sat with our Neighbourhood Coordinators at independent living schemes, watching in communal areas.
In the room next door, we had colleagues from IT, our Digital Team, Comms, Service 24, Customer Services, and Resident Involvement who were on hand to support and to test the call as it was live. They also helped to answer and deal with the queries raised by residents on the Q&A and get cases raised on our system where needed.
Here’s a few more pictures from a very successful and productive afternoon!
