Success, Satisfaction and Scrutiny:
the Resident Engagement Toolkit
Introduce some fresh perspectives
Capture lessons when
residents leave
Longstanding involved residents are typically
highly trained, engaged, experienced, and
knowledgeable. With a ‘foot in both camps’
many will also be tremendous advocates of
your work. You need to weigh these qualities
up, though, against the need to hear fresh
perspectives and provide opportunities
for others. Maximum terms can help. We
feel we’ve struck an appropriate balance
by introducing maximum terms of:
There are valuable lessons to be learnt each
time a resident decides to no longer be
involved. Exit interviews can help capture
personal reasons for dissatisfaction or any
broader trends influencing the success of
engagement. Even if a departure is down to
reaching a maximum term, it’s still worth taking
on board residents’ feedback. Their prolonged
participation will mean they’ve valuable
insights into what works and what doesn’t.
zz nine years for Area Panels
zz four years for chairing roles across our
Resident Governance Structure.
In applying such limits avoid forcing involved
residents to leave en masse. Some continuity
in membership means experienced residents
can help guide, train and mentor new recruits
before they leave. Our nine year rule applies
to all new Area Panel members. We’ve
granted members elected prior to August
2015 an extension of three years (taking their
maximum terms to 12 years) to allow for a
robust succession plan to be put in place.
Key Recommendations
99 D
emonstrate engagement is valued,
meaningful and has tangible outcomes
both for yourselves and residents
99 Establish a ‘talent bank’ of involved
residents to help with succession planning
99 Make recruiting residents the responsibility
not only of resident involvement staff, but
of all their customer-facing colleagues
99 Offer ‘taster’ opportunities for curious
residents to see what involvement is all
about
99 Monitor the diversity characteristics
of involved residents to ensure they’re
representative of your broader resident
population
99 E
ncourage underrepresented groups to
participate by creating dedicated forums or
targeting events
99 Tackle some of the practical barriers to
attending meetings such as travel and
childcare costs
99 Use financial incentives sparingly and
particularly incentivise contributions which
change the way you work
99 Introduce maximum terms
99 Capture lessons through exit interviews
when residents leave.
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