Tech For Good: How Automation Can Improve Job Satisfaction
Automation has revolutionised various industries, and social housing is no exception. By leveraging automation tools such as Mobysoft’s Intelligent Automation, social housing providers can significantly enhance job satisfaction across different functions. This article explores the core areas where automation can positively impact job satisfaction for social housing staff, including income officers, income team leaders, directors of finance, and directors of housing.
Income Officer
Frees Up Capacity:
Automation removes repetitive and menial tasks from an income officer’s workload, allowing them to focus on more complex cases. This increased capacity leads to better customer service and a higher level of attention to individual cases.
Career Advancement:
With time freed up from mundane tasks, income officers have the opportunity to develop and grow in their roles. This can lead to career opportunities and professional advancement, ensuring they don’t feel stuck due to an overwhelming workload.
Improved Morale:
Automation reduces stress levels by eliminating excessive workloads. As a result, income officers experience increased job satisfaction and are more productive and happier in their work, leading to higher-quality outcomes and ultimately benefiting the tenants the organisation serves.
Income Team Leader
Performance Improvement:
Automation positively impacts the team’s performance as a whole, which directly affects the organisation’s bottom line. By streamlining processes and reducing manual errors, automation ensures higher efficiency and accuracy in financial management.
Customer Service Enhancement:
The improved morale and reduced workload of income teams result in better customer service and increased Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores. Automation’s impact on enhancing customer interactions leads to improved relationships and loyalty.
Reduced Resourcing Issues:
Enhanced job satisfaction among income teams through automation decreases the likelihood of turnover, absenteeism, stress, and time off work. This stability can make hiring new talent easier as it reassures potential candidates as to the nature of the role and department as a whole, and also reduces resourcing issues, ensuring the team can consistently deliver results.
Arrears Level Improvements:
The positive impact of automation on income officers’ workload and morale will be reflected in improved arrears management. With more time to dedicate to each case, income officers can proactively address arrears issues and mitigate risks.
Director of Finance
Return on Investment (ROI):
The director of finance role has the organisation’s bottom line as its primary focus. Automation must demonstrate its impact on financial performance and justify the costs involved. By reducing manual work and increasing efficiency, automation contributes to cost savings and improved financial outcomes.
Managing Growth:
Automation becomes essential when social housing organisations are expanding or building new homes, resulting in increased tenant numbers. Without automation, an understaffed income teams may face overwhelming workloads, leading to stress, high staff churn, and high absence rates through illness. Automation ensures the organisation can handle the growth without compromising employee well-being.
Efficient Resource Allocation:
Automation helps optimise resource allocation by reducing the need for additional staffing. By automating repetitive tasks, the director of finance can allocate resources strategically, focusing on areas that require specialised attention and expertise.
Director of Housing
Smooth On-Boarding Process:
Directors of housing can leverage automation to ensure smooth transitions for new tenants. Automated systems can deliver warm, positive messaging, helpful advice, and support to new tenants, creating a positive first impression and fostering a sense of belonging.
Environmental Impact:
Concerned with green targets and sustainability, directors of housing can use automation to reduce paper waste by implementing electronic communications. Automation can also minimise physical visits by providing self-service options, thereby lowering carbon emissions and overall environmental impact.
Digital Transformation:
Directors of housing understand the importance of staying relevant and meeting the modern needs of tenants. Automation plays a vital role in digital transformation efforts, enabling organisations to adopt technology-driven solutions that streamline processes, improve efficiency, and enhance tenant experiences.
The Bottom Line
The operating environment for social housing providers has changed beyond recognition over the past 2-3 years owing to the lingering effects of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Tenants’ ability to pay has been negatively impacted meaning there has been a knock-on effect for the income collection functions of many social landlords as arrears cases have markedly increased.
The resulting challenges, compounded by the staffing and recruitment crisis currently being experienced within the sector, has seen many providers turn to technological solutions to drive efficiencies and circumnavigate this new, testing landscape. The specific benefits of harnessing automation may not be immediately apparent to social landlords looking to adopt the technologies but, as you’ll have gathered from this article, they are many and varied and can positively impact numerous job roles within the sector.
If you’d like to learn more about how Mobysoft’s Intelligent Automation platform can benefit your organisation then then fill out our contact form and book an appointment with a member of our team.
- Tech For Good: How Automation Can Improve Job Satisfaction - May 17, 2023