Tower Homes receives highest rating from Audit Commission
February 15, 2007
Tower Homes has secured an historic achievement by receiving a coveted three star rating from the Audit Commission. Tower is the first London and only the second ever housing association to be awarded the Audit Commission’s top rating of three stars with excellent prospects for improvement. Tower is the home ownership and intermediate market specialist within the L&Q Group.
Steve Walker, Chief Executive at Tower Homes, said: “The award of a three star rating is a fantastic endorsement of the commitment of my staff and the Tower board to delivering excellent customer service and continuously improving every aspect of our business. We are currently the country’s Number 1 Best Small Company to work for, as recognised by the Sunday Times. This latest achievement shows that engaged, positive staff who love their job, deliver great results and customer service. This is another example of Tower staff wanting to go from good to great as an organisation. Our next goal is to ensure that every part of our service gets a 95% customer satisfaction rate.”
Audit Commission Chief Executive, Steve Bundred, said: “This is great news for the residents of Tower Homes. Not only do they receive a high quality, customer-focused service, but performance across a range of service areas is some of the best we have seen. Tower Homes takes great pride in the quality of the services it provides to residents and has clear ambitions to improve services further."
Steve Walker continued: “We were the first low cost home ownership (LCHO) housing association to receive the Charter Mark for customer service, the first to win London Evening Standard awards and What House awards for design and have now won more than 20 recognised design awards. We won the last 'Best of the Best' national home ownership award but the Audit Commission rating is up there with the Sunday Times award because it’s about people and customers.
“We have achieved a stunning set of results, been consistently top of the benchmarks for performance and received some of the highest Housing Corporation allocations in the country. Given that we are a subsidiary, it is even more remarkable because most parent organisations do not recognise the different needs of LCHO customers and business needs; indeed, many are asset stripped and marginalised.”
He added: “L&Q should be praised for capitalising on the extraordinary positivity and diversity that LCHO can bring to a group structure if encouraged and developed. The L&Q Group has a commitment to quality, customers and staff, which help to make effective, long lasting organisations and help us create places where people want to live.”
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