North Star Launches New Customer Involvement Structure

We're excited to launch our new and improved customer involvement structure. At the centre of this is our new group, The Tenants' Voice (TTV), which plays a key role in our wider customer network, Your Voice.

Any customer can join the Your Voice network to influence what we do at North Star in different ways. This may be joining meetings, completing surveys, and being members of involvement groups, including the Policy Group, Customer Communications Group, Performance Group, Consumer Standards Group, or Task and Finish groups. We open up applications before each meeting so everyone has a chance to join in.

TTV is a big part of the Your Voice network. Since December, the group has been meeting regularly, taking part in training, and helping us build a more organised and responsive approach to customer feedback.

'Task and Finish Groups' are set up on a short-term basis to look at specific areas.

TTV sits at the heart of the other customer involvement groups (as shown in the diagram above).

We were delighted to have had over 70 applications to join TTV. We used a sortation process to select a group that reflects the diverse communities we serve; a mix of geographical locations, ages, genders, and ethnicities.

The TTV members have received specialist training from Claire Blacka of Tentacles Consultancy and started working with our two Board members responsible for customer engagement. Each member is also part of at least one other Your Voice group, helping share ideas and feedback across the network.

TTV will take on important tasks, including setting up Task and Finish Groups to review specific areas of the customer experience—for example, one is currently looking at complaints. They'll share their findings, make recommendations, and ensure real changes are made. They'll also report directly to the Board, so the customer voice is always heard at Board level.

Following an internal vote, we're pleased to announce Paula Rogers as Chair of the group and James Cosslett as Vice Chair.

Carole Richardson, Executive Director of Customers at North Star, said:

"This structure is a powerful step forward in customer influence. By placing The Tenants Voice at the centre, and embedding customers into every aspect of our governance and decision-making, we're creating a model that's responsive, representative, and genuinely led by the people we serve."

We're proud of this refreshing new way of working in partnership with our customers, and we're looking forward to what North Star staff and Board, TTV and the other involvement groups can achieve together.