Muir Group News
18th March 2010
Residents help seal the deal for housing group
RESIDENTS of a housing association have helped influence the decision to award a contract worth over £1m.
Muir Group Housing has signed a five-year deal with Hi-Spec Services and Sodexho after asking its customers what services they expected from the landscaping and grounds maintenance experts.
Sam Scott, Muir Group’s director of housing, said: “Very early on in the process we asked our residents what was important to them in the delivery of this service.
“Since then our residents have been very heavily involved in selecting the best contractor for Muir Group Housing and we are keen to ensure this doesn’t stop now that the contract has been awarded. Residents have a key role to play in monitoring the performance of our contractors.”
From April 1, Hi-Spec and Sodexho will provide services ranging from grass and hedge cutting, shrub bed maintenance and weed control to the upkeep of paved, flagged and concreted areas for Muir Group Housing’s properties and schemes across the country.
Featuring in the recent Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For and rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Best Companies, Muir Group Housing owns nearly 5,000 properties nationwide.
During a six-month procurement process, the views of residents were sought at every stage.
This involved a variety of consultation methods from an initial ‘Hearts and Minds’ workshop where residents and stakeholders were asked to help establish the key points of the tender to representation at a mid-tender brief and a site visits to both contractor’s projects they felt best illustrated their suitability.
Sam Scott said: “Our aim is to improve the services to our residents and demonstrate that we are getting value for money.
“We are entering into a long-term partnership with Hi-Spec and as a result we will be able to improve the appearance of our neighbourhoods, enhance services to our residents and demonstrate that we are getting value for money.”
Other aspects of the contract include ongoing staff training and the development of IT systems to monitor residents’ feedback on how the contractor is performing.
Following the initial five-year contract Muir Group Housing will have the option to extend the service for a further five years.
