A pioneering partnership between believe housing and RE:GEN Academy is helping to raise customer service standards in social housing through Beyond the Doorstep, an immersive real-world training programme.
The initiative was developed by RE:GEN Academy, an employer-led skills and training provider based in Sunderland, with believe housing, one of the North East’s largest housing associations. RE:GEN Group invested more than £89,300 to bring the training to life.
It helps office-based and customer-facing colleagues better understand customers’ experiences and build the confidence to respond with professionalism and care.
At the Academy, rooms from a typical home have been recreated to reflect real-life environments, allowing colleagues to explore situations they could encounter while carrying out repairs and other visits.
Using professional actors in the role of customers, participants work through a range of scenarios and interaction and come across signs of neighbour disputes, domestic abuse, poor physical or mental health, financial pressures or other challenges.
Cheryl Campbell, Director at RE:GEN Academy, said: “We’ve created an amazing immersive learning environment designed to reflect the real-life situations people face every day when working in occupied homes.
“Beyond the Doorstep is about giving colleagues the confidence and skills to engage with customers in the right way, particularly when conversations are challenging or when customers may need additional understanding or support.
“It’s about consistency, respect and helping to set a new standard for customer experience across the industry.
“We hope the programme challenges assumptions, starts important conversations and helps organisations think differently about how they support customers.”
Developed with social housing colleagues, contractors and customers, the programme focuses on communication, empathy and delivering positive customer experiences. It also helps colleagues recognise when someone may need extra support and connect them with the right teams.
More than 200 believe housing employees have completed the training and rated it an average of 4.8 out of 5. The programme is endorsed by NOCN, a leading awarding organisation for vocational and technical qualifications, and was developed in consultation with tenant engagement experts TPAS.
Participants reported greater confidence, stronger communication skills, and a better understanding of vulnerability, safeguarding and hidden needs. Many also said the training reinforced the role everyone plays in delivering a positive customer experience.
Feedback from the programme is already helping to shape future learning, including additional training around difficult conversations and de-escalation techniques.
Rachel Cox, Director of Property Repairs at believe housing, said: “We worked in partnership with RE:GEN Academy, our contractors, customers and the colleagues the training was designed for.
“By listening to their experiences and understanding what they needed, we created a programme that’s practical, relevant and grounded in real-life situations.
“That’s what’s made the difference. Colleagues can apply what they’ve learned in realistic situations, bringing the training to life. We’ve already seen the confidence it has given people.
“Repairs are about people as much as properties.
“Every day, our teams and contractors are welcomed into customers’ homes, and Beyond the Doorstep helps give them the confidence, empathy and communication skills to make those interactions as positive as possible.
“It also helps us all recognise when a customer may need additional support and connect them with the right teams.
“The initiative reflects our shared commitment to healthy homes and recognises that every visit to a customer’s home is an opportunity to make a positive difference.”
The organisations hope the programme will support learning across the housing sector by demonstrating how immersive training can improve customer service and help housing professionals respond confidently to complex customer needs.
