Home improvement agencies play a leading role in providing support for people who need to make major adaptations to their home.
The majority of funding for this work will be from the local authority's Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) budget and the home improvement agency will need to have a close working relationship with the local authority in order to progress grant applications through their system as smoothly as possible.
The combination of having a disability and facing the prospect of major building work taking place can put extra stress upon a client, so it is essential that the work is handled as sensitively as possible.
The DFG process is complex and in many areas the speed at which cases progress can be affected by short-term shortages of grant funding, resulting in delays and queuing taking place. Therefore, it is essential that home improvement agencies are able to address the individual needs of each person they seek to support, and to progress the required work as quickly as possible at the least cost to the client.
The agency can play a central role in delivering a local authority's adaptations policy, combining its casework and technical skills and linking into other services the agency provides, such as handyperson services.
The focus of this module is the manner in which the client is progressed through the system and whether they feel positive about the experience. As DFGs move accross into individual budgets it will be important for home improvement agencies to demonstrate that their services are effective and of the highest possible quality.
Areas covered in this module:
The client journey
Access to the service
The assessment visit
Maintaining contact and communication
Adding value
Risk planning
Closure and follow-up
Technical issues
Good systems
Strategic engagement
The home improvement agency as a strategic hub
Managing performance
Performance benchmarking (this is optional).
An overview form is available as a PDF download here.
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