Living with us

We understand the importance of using money wisely and minimising waste.

We understand that it is your money we spend and we have a responsibility to you to use it carefully and efficiently. We also understand that we cannot stand still, achieving value for money is about always looking at ways to improve, by learning from others and to listening to you, our customers, to deliver the service that you want from the income that we receive.

What does value for money mean?

Getting value for money is part of our everyday lives. We make decisions about how to spend money all the time. When money is tight it is even more important to make your money go further. We use the three E’s as a simple guide to explain value for money:

Economy - value for money is about money and how much something costs.

Efficiency - value for money is about processes and how well we use the money.

Effectiveness - value for money is about satisfaction and asking ourselves did we get what was expected?

Here is an example of how we achieve value for money when doing a repair to one of our properties:

Economy - What is put in, for example labour and materials

Efficiency - The process, for example how the repair was carried out? How quickly? Did we get it right first time

Effectiveness - The results, for example was the customer satisfied with the repair?

We make sure we get value for money by:

• Comparing – We compare or benchmark our costs to similar organisations to make sure they are competitive.
• Staff training - We make sure all staff understand and appreciate the importance of spending your money wisely.
• Monitoring - We keep a check on how we are doing and publicise our findings.
• Maximising our income - We look at areas where we can do this through improving performance. For example, when a home becomes empty we have developed ways to let the property to a new tenant more quickly, so our rental income is increased.
• Using our buying power - We use the size of our organisation to increase our buying power to get lower prices

How can you help us to achieve better value for money?

Opt for a rent payment method which is less expensive for us to process. A direct debit payment is considerably cheaper than a cheque payment. If you wish to pay by direct debit please contact us for more details on 01323 875240. It also helps if you pay your rent on time as then we do not have to contact you and this saves money.

We're keen for residents to be involved and there are opportunities for you to share suggestions and feedback. Please let us know if you have any ideas which could save money. Phone us on 01323 875240 or email office@sussexhousing.org.uk