First impressions count, and this is especially true with the way Action Housing & Support communicates with new service users when they join our projects.
Making a good impression at the referral and sign-up stage is tremendously important in setting the tone for a person’s engagement with the service. It is crucial to get the right messages across, explain what people can expect from us as well as what is expected of them.
A frequent comment from individual service users and the service user involvement (SUI) groups was that introductory resources and information were not as useful as they could be. They didn’t explain that people were joining an open and accessible organisation, they didn’t put people at ease and help calm nerves or tension, and most of all they didn’t explain anything from the service user perspective. What was needed was something from the service users, made by service users and intended for service users.
With this in mind, a SUI working group was established with a remit to examine everything that new service users receive when they join a project. In place of a stale and boring brochure and a thick pile of paperwork, the group agreed that a short brochure and a welcome film would be the best alternative.
Months of writing, editing, planning, filming and more editing followed, involving several dozen individuals and getting as broad a range of inputs as possible. The finished products are honest, hard hitting and yet welcoming.
As Andy Heyes, one of the clients involved with the project, said: “When I first came to Action I was not a confident person but with getting involved with this film has allowed myself to grow. Confidence is like the roots of a tree, if you water and feed them then they’ll keep growing”
Copies of the induction pack are available on request and are ideal for referral agencies and other stakeholders. Please email matt.barker@actionhousinguk.org to order a copy.
Alternatively click on the graphic for a downloadable version of the handbook.
