Case Study

How to successfully implement a Housing Management System

Read our 9 success highlights on what you should look out for when procuring and implementing a new system

In this short article we will highlight 9 key points that decision makers should be aware of for a successful housing management system implementation. As anyone who works in the social housing sector is aware, every organisation has unique practices and it’s vital that your chosen system works for you and not against you.

1) Integration capabilities

Is the system fully developed by the vendor? It’s quite common to find solutions that look like one seamless package, but under the hood it’s a mix of different applications.

So, what does this mean for the registered provider? It means that data integration between the systems may not flow as easy or as transparently as it first appears. Information and data integrity can therefore become compromised, with users having to look in multiple areas to get the true picture.

Unfortunately, this kind of compromise is accepted by many organisations when it doesn’t have to be the case. A truly integrated system will be able to provide your team with live information as soon as data is processed. For example, when a new repair/works order is processed, the information is reflected against the property, tenant and committed expenditure reports instantly.

Another consideration is third party applications and data integration. Many organisations adopt specialist software to meet the specific needs of individual departments. So, to ensure data integrity and provide seamless links between systems, it is essential that the core housing management system includes a library of Application Programming Interface (API) tools.

A system that has been entirely developed by a single vendor would be flexible enough to achieve most integration requirements. For example, one of OmniLedger’s customers uses an external contractor to manage repairs, whereby the PyramidG2 Housing Management system pushes information to the supplier at the point that the order is raised. Bi-directional links then seamlessly allow PyramidG2 to communicate with the contractor’s system automatically, which allows updates and completion details to be processed immediately. Key questions to ask include:

Is the proposed package one system or an integration of many? For example, from acquisitions?
Do you own 100% of the source code and are able to make software amendments on request? If so what are the development costs and delivery time?
Do you have standard API’s for third party integration? Is there a library of these available?
Are there additional costs for setting these up or are they plug and play?

2) Financial value

The bottom-line figure to implement a new system is a major factor in the buying decision. However, it is also important to identify the hidden costs and savings to determine overall value, as well as your ROI.

For example, how easy is it to generate reports in a variety of different formats? Some Housing Management Systems have little or no standard reports, and the vendor will charge for writing/developing reports. A system that doesn’t have comprehensive reporting or data extraction tools, could mean that there are significant hidden development costs, e.g. for creating new reports or providing the appropriate data extraction tools for meeting legislative and audit requirements.

Ensure guarantees are written into your contract to protect yourself from additional costs. It’s not uncommon to hear registered landlords sign up for a contract only to find key services or features were excluded and come at additional hefty costs. But at that point they’ve been locked into a 3 year contract. Key questions to ask include:

What are your daily rates for each service provided?
Are legislative required upgrades included with the package?
What annual increases are there?
What features aren’t included in the proposed package and what are the upgrade costs?
What is the minimum contract term and what are the get out clauses for failure to deliver?

Comparatively, the cost of sending a text message is as low as 8p per text. With this we can see that a text message is much more cost effective than sending a letter.

3) Achieving your objectives

When considering a new solution, you should identify a list of high-level objectives you wish to achieve. These can range from monetary and time savings, staff efficiency, data accuracy, automation and meeting regulatory requirements.

Objectives will vary with every organisation, but from a system perspective it always boils down to data integrity and availability. Ask yourself if the system allows you to record the information you need, can the data be extracted in a meaningful way, reported on, or pushed into applications such as PowerBI to create visualisations?

Identifying objectives is a comprehensive topic and annual performance audits will help you address this. There are numerous external consultants experienced in social housing that can help, but this can be an expensive option. Key questions to ask include:

Can the system record the data you need and can it output the required reports? (Data in and data out)
Does the system force your team to work in a certain way or can it adapt to your established processes?
What efficiency and due diligence tools are there to assist staff with their role? For example, alerts and automation.
What standard reports and dashboards are available? Are there costs for new reports or can you design your own? Are they compliant with regulation?

4) Does your supplier understand the sector?

You’re not just buying a new system; you need to develop a long-term partnership with the vendor. Therefore, it is vital that your vendor has an extensive knowledge of the sector, the legislation, audit requirements and an established customer base. This way you are safe in the knowledge that they understand your business process, the day-to-day challenges and comfort in the knowledge that the system will remain fit for purpose in the long-term.

The vendor should have an established user group to allow their customers to voice their needs/requirements, receive development updates from the vendor and to be able to influence the vendor’s development roadmap. This indicates there is forethought to the housing management system and that your investment is futureproofed. Key questions to ask include:

How many years experience do you have in the industry?
Do you hold regular user groups to discuss the current state of sector requirements?
What is your development roadmap for the next 5 years and how does this benefit the sector?
Do you have consultants readily available to help us meet new challenges?
How does your company keep up to date with sector developments?
Is the company a subsidiary or governed/owned by an outside body? What is their commitment for the next 5 years in regards to ongoing development and support?

5) User buy in

It is imperative that frontline users buy into the solution from day one and have a positive approach in adopting a new system. If there is discontent and frustration from the outset, this will lead to challenges later down the line. For example, staff retaining old working habits instead of adopting the system, will mean that data will become fragmented and spread across disparate system.

Start by listening to all your staff and examine their needs and requirements, outlining the current challenges they face to achieve their tasks. Do not be hesitant about running through important scenarios that you have identified during a product demonstration.

If the system achieves the tasks you’ve outlined in the least number of steps in an easy-to-understand framework then it’s an indication that the system has good User Experience Design, (UXD), which is key to your team adopting any new solutions in a positive manner.

Users will primarily buy into a system that looks and feels easy to use, has the functionality they need and will make their lives easier.

Regardless of solution, you will only get out what you put in, and its frontline staff who will be responsible for collecting and processing most of it.

Managers are also key to motivating positive change. Those who are involved with the procurement process can create a positive frame of mind by proactively informing their team about the benefits and savings any new solution would make. The new solution is there to make their lives easier. Key questions to ask include:

What is the design philosophy behind the user interface of the system? How has user experience been put at the forefront?
What user experience testing and revision processes are there? How is this handled internally?
If a process is revealed to be clunky, is there a way to provide feedback and will there be fixes implemented? Is there a cost to us for this?
Are the regular system updates? Is there downtime or costs associated with updates?

6) Ongoing support

What happens if something goes wrong? When deciding to work with a Housing Management System provider, it is essential that they have the right support systems in place. It’s all great when things are working fine, but what matters is how the provider handles the situation when things do go wrong. You need a vendor that provides a service level agreement where they measure their resolution times, not their response time. It’s no good if you can log a problem, which is acknowledged immediately, but not resolved for days or weeks.

Identify what the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is and ask for references from existing clients, as well as their own performance reports. If such reports aren’t available, then alarm bells should be ringing. Key questions to ask include:

What is the service level agreement for support? Is this metric for “Response” or “Fix”?
What are the stats for your support team meeting the SLA set out? What happens if the SLA isn’t met repeatedly?
When is support available and how does our team get in touch with them?
What type of support is included as part of this agreement? When does an support enquiry become training and chargeable?
What additional costs are there is any?

7) Network infrastructure considerations

Network infrastructure and user distribution are key factors in deploying a system in a cost effective and efficient way. You may have dispersed offices, mobile operatives, hybrid workers, and any new system will need to take this into account, along with complying with your IT policies and procedures.

With on premise systems, the solution will be contained within your own network and easily controlled, but your team will be responsible for all the maintenance associated with it. What training and skill sets will they require to do this?

With software as a service (SaaS), all the networking requirements will be taken care of for you, it is essentially a completely managed service.

Typically, the system will be available 24/7/365, but ask the vendor for uptime statistics and identify where the datacentre is located to ensure it complies with your data security and processing requirements. In addition, identify how subscription fees are levied and if there are any inflationary uplifts in subsequent years, to avoid unnecessary budgetary surprises in the future. Key questions to ask include:

Can the system cater for all the different types of users you have (office based, mobile working and remote)?
What are the price points for the different licences and recurring commitments?
What security features are there to ensure data is safe? Does it conform to industry standards? Are there annual audits?
Does security features conform to internal policy guidelines?
Is system uptime expected to be 99% or higher? What protection/disaster recovery is in place to protect system uptime? Is there compensation for downtime?

8) Training system

Ensure that you have a training environment available and that it is a copy of your live system. This will enable colleagues to explore the system, expand their knowledge and can be used to train new starters, without the risk of amending or compromising your live system. Key questions to ask include:

9) Training resources

Examine your initial and ongoing training requirements, and if possible, identify one or two system champions, to help and support your users. Most vendors will have a training team, so let them know in advance so that you can secure the training resources you require. For example, if your organisation is recruiting, you will want any new starters up and running as soon as possible. Inform your vendor during the recruitment process so they can accommodate your training requirements.

Ask what self-service options are available. Vendors should provide an online training and support portal. Whilst some are just a repository of training manuals or videos, some of the more advanced ones include interactive courses that allow new starters to learn the system in a structured manner, without the need to purchase additional training. Key questions to ask include:

What is the availability of trainers on average? i.e. what notice period is needed to guarantee new starter training?
Are there online training resources available to staff?
Are there regular/seasonal classroom training sessions available? i.e. financial year end and rent adjustment sessions?
What is the daily rate and what is included with training?

If you found this article useful and would like to learn more on how to make your housing management system implementation successful, then please send any enquiries or request a free consultation session to sales@omniledger.co.uk.

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