Success, Satisfaction and Scrutiny:
the Resident Engagement Toolkit
Allocate residents positions
on your board
Case study six:
AmicusHorizon’s
online opportunities
for involvement
Registered providers have a duty to “regularly
assess whether boards…have the right
competencies, experience, and technical
knowledge appropriate to the size, scale
and risk profile of the organisation” (HCA,
2015). The crucial thing is an appropriate
mix. Too few residents means neglecting
the views of the key stakeholder, denying
them an opportunity to influence governance
and strategic decisions. Too many means a
lack of specialist knowledge, the potential
attention is diverted disproportionately to
service delivery and the neglect of other
stakeholders including future generations of
residents. The result of both extremes might
be reduced investor and lender confidence.
Amongst the steps we’ve taken are:
zz O
ffering all residents on our Resident
Governance Structure a loan of IT
equipment to help perform their role
zz Creating an online portal called
‘My Account’ (developed with residents
through customer journey mapping)
where residents will be able to
access information about involvement
opportunities and comment on services
(including mystery shopping)
zz Introducing new Resident Involvement
pages on our website with our training
offer and routes to involvement brochure
zz Introducing regional Facebook pages
zz Introducing a Digital Champions
programme where residents are trained
to help other residents use the internet.
Our approach has been to reserve four out
of twelve board places for residents. For us,
this number, combined with the strong links
between our board and Residents’ Council (see
page 24), provides appropriate opportunities for
resident influence in strategy and governance.
Help residents share
their thoughts online
And in the pipeline is:
zz A
n AmicusHorizon mobile app to make
better use of mobile technology in
recording resident attendances, referrals
and queries while we’re out and about.
Giving residents the opportunity to get involved
via their smartphone, tablet, desktop, or TV is
a great way to broaden your offer and deliver
value for money. It means residents can:
zz h
ave an influence from the comfort of their
own home
zz participate at a time that suits them
zz pick and choose how they wish to be
involved.
Providing online channels for engagement
can also help engage younger generations
of residents, many of whom would rather
participate remotely than come to meetings.
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