Success, Satisfaction and Scrutiny:
the Resident Engagement Toolkit
Set clear guidelines for meetings
Resident meetings need clear boundaries and
guidelines to be effective. Our top tips are:
Key Recommendations
zz P
rovide a good induction for newly-involved
residents. Highlight expected behaviours and
examples of effective challenge
zz Agree a clear code of conduct. We worked
with a theatre company to recreate examples
of unacceptable behaviour and invited staff
and residents to challenge it and suggest
alternatives
zz Set clear terms of reference. This is
especially helpful in preventing residents
using meetings as an opportunity to air their
frustrations on a personal matter
zz Provide training on committee and
chairing skills to ensure terms of reference
are kept to
zz Encourage residents to challenge peers
when they raise issues outside the remit of a
meeting
zz Create clear pathways for residents to
escalate issues
zz Put in place dispute resolution procedures
zz Explain you won’t always say yes. If a
request would take a disproportionate
amount of time, explain your efforts to find
an answer wouldn’t offer value for money.
Where possible offer an alternative instead.
zz Agree service standards including deadlines
for papers, agenda items and dates by which
requests will be responded to
zz Coordinate calendars between different
meetings and events. Some residents will
be involved in various task groups, panels
and forums so try to avoid clashes. We’ve
created an online governance calendar so
staff can view meetings before scheduling
their own. We’ve also added an events
calendar to our website so residents can
organise their own diaries.
99 D
esign training packages tailored to
each component of your involvement
offer (i.e. one for mystery shoppers, one
for task groups…)
99 Let residents determine which bits of
the business they want to scrutinise and
when, collect their own data and help
determine scrutiny budgets
99 Recognise the strengths and
weaknesses of different sources of
resident input and cross-check them to
see if messages are consistent
99 Establish clear guidelines and service
standards for meetings
99 Supply meeting attendees with
information (surveys, consultation
findings etc…) to ensure decisions are
evidence-based.
Next steps
We hope this toolkit provides some useful
pointers on how to involve your residents
more effectively. While we’ve referenced our
approach throughout, we’re not suggesting
it forms a template for engagement. Nor
do we claim to have all the answers. If
nothing else, we hope the toolkit provides
food for thought, some inspiration about
what’s possible, and maybe a few ideas
you can implement straightaway.
We’re holding an event on
Friday 27 November 2015 to let
providers learn more about what we do,
network with likeminded staff and discuss
approaches to resident involvement.
For further information please contact
Charles Glover-Short on 0208 726 8656 or
[email protected].
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