By Kevin Hornsby, Director of Customer Services at Ongo

At Ongo, we believe that the best ideas come from the people who live in our homes. That’s why, when tenants told us they wanted more visibility, better communication and a stronger sense of connection with their housing teams, we didn’t just listen, we acted.

This year marks the biggest shakeup in our history, and it’s all thanks to the voices of our tenants. We’ve launched a bold new ‘Neighbourhood Delivery model’ that puts people first, strengthens local relationships and ensures our services are more responsive than ever. And I genuinely believe this change will make a real difference.

Why change was needed

Over the past few years, we’ve heard consistent feedback: “We don’t see you enough”; “I don’t know who my housing officer is”; “You don’t respond quick enough.” These comments weren’t just isolated frustrations – they were a clear signal that the way we were working needed to evolve.

We’ve looked at successful models across the sector which have seen an increase in tenant satisfaction. Their approach, bringing specialist colleagues together, improving visibility and building trusted partnerships, resonated with us. It showed that you don’t need to go back to the 1990s to deliver local services. You just need to be smarter, more collaborative and more focused on what tenants want.

What’s different now

Our new model is built around locality, accountability and integration. We’re making sure tenants know who to contact, when we’ll be around, and how we’re working to improve their homes and communities.

Under our new approach, key changes include:

  • Three new regions – made up of 29 neighbourhoods, each with around 400 homes, allowing for more localised and tailored services
  • Three regional managers and six neighbourhood managers –focused on improving local communities and inviting tenant input to shape future improvements
  • Dedicated neighbourhood officers –merging tenancy and lettings officer roles to give tenants one consistent point of contact from the moment they sign up for their home
  • Regional repairs and maintenance teams – reducing travel time and increasing efficiency, meaning tenants will see familiar faces when reporting repairs
  • Specialist housing team – dedicated to supporting customers across sheltered schemes, dementia services, and their homelessness provision
  • A newly formed customer hub –taking on administrative tasks and advertising homes, freeing up neighbourhood officers to spend more time in the community
  • Income collection team –providing specialist, financial advice and support to customers.

Each of the three regions will have a team, including a neighbourhood officer, antisocial behaviour officer, support officer and wellbeing officer, all overseen by a regional manager and a repairs and maintenance service dedicated to that region.

The neighbourhood services team will also continue the great work they do in keeping communities and communal spaces clean and safe.

We’re also using data more effectively – stock condition surveys, tenant feedback and regulatory changes all inform our decisions. This means we’re not just reacting to problems; we’re anticipating them and planning smarter.

Why listening matters

None of this would be possible without listening. Real listening. Not just surveys and tick boxes, but meaningful conversations with tenants about what matters to them and building on track record around tenant engagement.

We’ve made it easier for tenants to share their views, and we’re acting on what they tell us. Whether it’s improving repairs, tackling damp and mould, or making communities feel safer and more cared for, we put tenant voices at the heart of everything we do.

And it’s working. We’re already seeing improvements in satisfaction, stronger relationships with tenants and better coordination across our teams.

Looking ahead

This isn’t a one-off change – it’s a new way of working. We’ll continue to test, learn and adapt. We’ll expand the model to new areas, refine how we integrate repairs and keep pushing for better outcomes.

I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but I’m even more excited about what’s to come. Because when you listen to tenants, trust your teams and commit to doing things differently, you don’t just improve services, you build stronger communities.

And that’s what Ongo is all about.