Civica right at home in Hackney

Software and services outfit lands £1.9m deal with council home management body

Software and services firm Civica has bagged a £1.9m deal to overhaul the IT operations of council housing management organisation Hackney Homes.

Hackney Homes is a not-for-profit Arm's Length Management Organisation which works in partnership with Hackney Council to manage and maintain council properties and collect rent. Civica will be providing new contact centres, online services, analytical software, mobile working systems and products to track incidents of anti-social behaviour across council properties in the borough.

The deal is a shared risk and reward agreement in which Civica has committed to helping Hackney Homes deliver quantifiable improvements to its service. Progress will measured by customer satisfaction scores and improvements in the star rating of Hackney Homes Audit Commission.

The contract was awarded in May and the project will take two years to complete. The first phase, which includes the installation of anti-social behaviour solutions, is expected to reach completion next month.

Trish Haill, head of ICT services at Hackney Homes, said: "Rather than update existing systems we wanted to start afresh, implementing the latest technology to deliver a cutting-edge service to tenants and an improved working environment for the Hackney Homes team. This partnership with Civica has already delivered far more than software and services; their input on the strategic direction of Hackney Homes has proved invaluable.”

John Hood, Civica's managing director of housing, added: “As housing organisations are under increasing pressure to deliver outstanding customer service to tenants, Hackney Homes has seized the challenge with gusto to introduce an outstanding array of tenant-based services. We are looking forward to the project as it unfolds over the next two years.”