A Midlands-based housing provider has gone live with new digital technology that they hope will ‘transform’ its ways of working and improve customer experience.

Futures Housing Group has launched new customer relationship management (CRM) software, which will enable its customer service team to instantly see all relevant information when dealing with enquiries.

While their previous system meant staff had to navigate multiple pieces of software, the new system provides an overall view of customer data so colleagues can answer questions straightaway, instead of having to check with other teams.

By providing a single platform for colleagues to see information, the goal is for the system to improve efficiency and customer service but also make it easier to add to and update its records. Futures worked with digital transformation partner Blacklight Software to implement the Microsoft Dynamics system, which went live in February.

Angeline Ellson, CRM implementation project manager at Futures, said: “Ultimately, we’ve launched this to improve customer service. Our corporate plan sets out a clear vision to deliver great services, and our digital revolution is a major part of that.

“The new system will transform the way our colleagues work by allowing them to easily see what stage a customer query or request is at. This will save time for both our colleagues and our customers, which is a massive benefit both internally and externally.

“I’m so pleased with how the project has rolled out and how well everyone at Futures has embraced it. Blacklight have been amazing to work with and they’ve supported us through this whole process.”

The project also involved working with Manifest Software Solutions, which provided support in transferring data and integrating it into the new system.

Chris Haskins, project manager at Blacklight, said: “We’ve had a very collaborative relationship with Futures, and we’ve worked with lots of their employees throughout the project to make sure everything goes smoothly.

“It’s been so positive how well the team at Futures has got on board. Sometimes people are resistant to change but nobody was – in fact, their employees wanted us to do even more, so the project has become bigger than planned. They understood the benefits of the project and were really engaged.”