1. HUD/PHA Partnership August 28, 2018
Click the hyperlink to access the Proposed Rule

2. HUD/PHA Partnership
"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." --Helen Keller

3. Agenda Customer Service Statewide Technical Assistance Contract
Asset Repositioning Discussion

4. Customer Service 4
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5. 15 Steps to Good Customer Service
Greet your residents with a smile.
Be civil and respectful.
Show empathy and understanding.
Respond promptly and accurately.
Explain the process in a manner in which is it easily understood.
Make information readily accessible.
Be the expert.
Have you heard the old saying you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar? Try applying it to customer complaints.
Yes, Ms. Gladys comes in frequently with complaints about why she has to pay a late charge, why she’s being charged $50 for parking on the grass, why she is being charged for the window her son broke, etc.
Yes, she’s complaining LOUDLY.
HOWEVER, it is your job to act professional and answer her questions in a pleasant, helpful manner.
Explain your PHA’s procedures and policies in a manner that is easily understood.

6. 15 Steps to Good Customer Service Continued
Anticipate the resident’s needs.
Look for ways to get to yes.
Ensure every encounter goes well by:
Establishing a rapport.
Recommending actions.
Obtaining an agreement
Determining the next steps.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted---Aesop
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money—John Ruskin
A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men—Thomas Carlyle
You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force—Publilius Syrus
Be kind to unkind people-they need it the most--Unknown

7. 15 Steps to Good Customer Service Continued
Have a system in place to contact every resident to make sure their needs are met.
Own up to your mistakes with humility (we all make mistakes).
Make relationships matter.
Your policies should require that you provide great customer service.
Remember growing up when you did something and you told your Mother that you didn’t? She found out you actually did do it and the fact that you didn’t own up to carried consequences.
The same is true in your work. It’s better to own up to a mistake and work on fixing whatever it was. Let’s say you misplaced a required piece of documentation for a tenant’s file. Wouldn’t it be better to explain to the tenant that it was misplaced and ask for another copy? Yes it would. Depending on the what the misplaced documentation was, it could be elevated to another level of review.

8. 15 Steps to Good Customer Service Continued
The link below is provided for easy access to great YouTube presentations regarding customer service. Get your staff together for a “brown bag lunch and learn” on providing good customer service!
A lunch and learn not only applies to your office staff but your maintenance men as well.

9. Customer Service Discussion
What areas do we, Public Housing, need to improve on to provide better customer service to you?
What are your training needs?
What discussions would you like to have?
What are your technical assistance needs?
Let me get you started – CORRESPONDENCE! We realize we have a problem with correspondence –
tracking what comes in
ensuring a timely response goes out
making sure findings are closed out timely
We’re making progress; however, we need you to let us know is it working, are you getting what you need, etc.
We need to know is it working for you, our customers.

10. Statewide Technical Assistance Contract

11. Technical Assistance for PHAS
Currently, 31.3% of our PHAs are Substandard, Troubled, or Near Substandard!
6 Substandard Management (Occupancy and Tenant’s Accounts Receivable)
3 Substandard Physical
2 Troubled (Physical, Financial, and Management)
14 Near Substandard Physical
13 Near Substandard Management
2 Substandard Financial
Near Substandard Physical is any PHA who receives a 29 to 25 on their physical inspections.
Near Substandard Financial is any PHA who receives a 19 to 15 on their financial score.
Near Substandard Management is any PHA who receives a 19 to 15 on their management score.

12. We requested and was approved a technical assistance contract for PHAs that are Substandard PHAS. Technical assistance will be provided in the following areas:
Financial
Management
Physical
The contract also include PHAS training for PHAs that are near substandard.
Our office applied for this technical assistance contract in December 2017 with no hopes of having it approved. Our contract request was approved!
The contractor will be working directly with our Substandard PHAs.
The contractor will be providing training plans, recommendations for improvement, policies, etc.

13. Asset Repositioning Discussion13
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14. Asset Repositioning Discussion
What are your thoughts on asset repositioning?
Are you interested?
Have you had discussions with your Board on this topic?
Are you ready to engage in a discussion on this matter?
Any concerns/obstacles?
What do you think the next steps should be?

16. THANKS 16
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17. Birmingham Office of Public Housing
Office of Public And Indian Housing Contact Information:
Birmingham Office of Public Housing
Velma Byron, Director
HUD Office: (205)