Welcome to our Annual Report to customers. Before you explore the different sections of the report, please read these short introductions from Terrie Alafat CBE (Group Chair) and Victor Andrews (Chair of Riverside Customer Voice Executive) who talk about what kind of things are included in the report and why customer involvement is so important in improving our service.

Terrie Alafat CBE, Group Chair, introduces the Annual Report for Customers

Hello and I hope that each of you are navigating your way through a tough period for our country with inflation, interest rates, energy costs and cost of living generally taxing us all. I am so proud that as a result of our merger with One Housing Group last December 2021 we have been able to put £2.5 million into tenancy sustainment and community projects. Please check this out on our website if you think you might need some help from us.

As we get into what looks to be a wet winter, I am also very proud of our homelessness and wider care and support services. Thank you to all the colleagues who make such a difference here.

I’m sorry that this year’s newsletter performance review doesn’t make better reading.  We were still recovering from Covid and recruitment gaps when we were hit by a malware attack which took our systems down making it difficult to deliver services to our customers. I know this was hugely frustrating for all of you. The good news is that we have improvement plans in place which are starting to make a positive difference and customer satisfaction is rising again. You can also watch this improvement journey through our quarterly publication of performance information; the indicators have been chosen by the Riverside Customer Voice Executive – thank you to them and all involved customers for the difference they make and the support to help us keep improving.  A final thank you to all the colleagues at Riverside for what they do on behalf of you – our customers. I hope you enjoy the report.

Victor Andrews, Riverside Customer Voice Executive Chair

The Annual Report to Customers remains such an important read for Riverside customers, as it provides an overview of the performance of our landlord.

As many of you will feel, I am disappointed to see falls in performance and satisfaction levels across a number of areas.  However, for me, this also highlights the importance of customer involvement.

The more customers that get involved in developing, reviewing and shaping services, the greater impact it will have.  I am so pleased that Riverside respects and values the voice of the customer at all levels throughout the organisation, including the Board, where most decisions take place.

Over the last year, the Riverside Customer Voice Executive (RCVE) has been involved in so many projects, that I know will have positive impact on customers, including the development of a new app, and helping to shape the new performance information which is published on a quarterly basis. Most recently, it led an assessment against the Together with Tenants Charter. This assessment found a number of areas where improvements are needed, and I expect these will be implemented by Riverside.

We are confident that both the RCVE and wider customer base will drive forward a number of other improvements over the next twelve months and would really welcome your participation. Please look at our webpage for information on the various opportunities to get involved, from completing surveys, becoming a customer inspector to serving on a committee.

I would like to end by thanking Riverside for recognising the importance of the work that the RCVE undertakes and the staff that continue to support us through what is a challenging period for everyone. I look forward to the next 12 months, and the work to further improve services for all customers.

All Riverside performance figures in this report relate to the financial year ending 31 March 2022. They do not include Home Ownership data.