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How the Hyde Group gave housing officers more time for residents
Facing rising demand, the Hyde Group piloted Notes to reduce the admin pressure and improve day-to-day work for housing officers.
More than 1.3 million people are currently on waiting lists for social housing in the UK, and the number continues to rise. Housing associations are supporting more people than ever, but many are struggling to keep up with demand.
Industry best practice suggests a case manager should handle around 12–15 high-needs cases to provide quality support. But in reality, many are juggling 35–50 cases at once. The impact is being felt across the sector, with 57% of frontline staff saying they are at high risk of burnout.
The Hyde Group, which provides housing to more than 350,000 people, wanted to ease the pressure on its frontline teams. They trialled Notes to see whether reducing the admin burden could help housing officers spend less time on paperwork and more time supporting people.
The challenge
Too much admin
From gathering witness statements to supporting tenancy sustainment, officers were spending a large part of their day on admin. Recording conversations, updating systems, and writing up case notes were essential tasks, but they were time-consuming, and increasingly taking up the working day.
Less time with residents
The admin burden meant less time to support residents. During meetings, officers often found it difficult to remain fully present in the conversation, due to requirements for thorough and accurate documentation.
The approach
Hyde piloted Notes with housing officers from their Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and Tenancy teams. Officers used it to support everyday documentation, including witness statements, ASB reports, interview summaries, and case notes.
The impact
Getting on top of admin
Writing up notes became much faster and easier. The average time to complete appointment notes fell from 33 minutes to just 9 minutes, a 74% reduction.
For many, this meant fewer evenings spent catching up on paperwork and more control over the working day. 60% said they were better able to stay on top of their workload.
“Since using Notes, I am able to stay on top of my admin better than I could previously”
More focus on residents
With less time spent writing notes during meetings, officers could give residents their full attention. Conversations felt “more natural” and 67% said the quality of their interactions with residents improved.
Officers noticed the difference this made to the people they support. When residents felt listened to, they responded more openly and positively.
“I listen more instead of trying to write down key points of discussion. I give them my full attention and empathy. You can see the difference in their reaction as I was giving them my full attention.”
Better quality notes
Reducing the pressure to capture everything manually also improved the quality of documentation. 67% of officers said the quality of their records improved, with notes that were better structured and easier to review.
Higher morale
Work began to feel more manageable for officers. With less time spent on admin and more time supporting residents, 67% said they enjoyed their role more.
“Notes is fantastic, everyone should be using it. It’s good that we can set our own templates and this will be such a good time saver for lots of different roles”
Give housing officers more time for residents
See how Notes can reduce admin and help your team focus on supporting people.
