Acuerdo sobre Bases para la Incorporación de la URNG a la Legalidad

In the BSC, customer related objectives and measures help identify whether an organisation’s strategy, implementation, and execution are contributing to the needs of customers (Kaplan & Norton 1996). According to Niven (2006), in order for a non-profit organisation such as an RSL to achieve its mission, it must primarily determine whom it aims to serve and how requirements can best be made. Unlike the private or business sector where fiscal responsibility and stewardship are the primary factors to meet financial growth, the non-profit sector performance is dependent upon meeting the mission statement. In the case of RSLs, the main focus is to serve the affordable housing needs of the community. The detailed background of customers - who make up the main RSLs clientele, was discussed in Chapter 2. Kaplan & Norton (1996) explain that improvement in performance is achieved when the clientele of the organisation is identified. After this has been done, it is essential that organisations understand their clients so that the programs and services offered are aligned with their specific needs and is responsive to their local environment so that they have the ability to deal with external opportunities and limitations (Wylde 1986, 1996). Hence, it is important to develop open and honest communication, for needs to be recognised and addressed through service delivery and inviting tenants’ participation during all crucial stages of the service delivery.

108

Customer factors and service delivery hinges on many interrelated variables and factors, mostly associated with customers' aspirations, expectations and needs, their demographics, and the environment (such as geographical setting, and financial and political situation and support). Social housing provision therefore does not follow a single approach or solution because each tenant base, community, the environment and the regions are different.

Within the customer perspective, asset managers need to fully understand the issues underlying their customers as well as the wider social housing issues before making appropriate decisions. Hence the RSLs through the asset managers need to share a commitment to preserving, delivering, and developing affordable housing through innovative and creative efforts (Gilliard 2011). Kaplan & Norton (1996) and Niven (2006) indicate that the identification of needs allows for the development of programs and services that achieve the mission.

The challenges of the customer’s perspective were detailed in the previous chapter. However RSLs and their asset managers need to fully understand the gap that may exist between customer service delivery and customer expectations / perception. According to Parasuraman

et al. (1985, 1986, 1988) the gap may arise from the following:

1. The Customer Service Gap - The Gap between Customer Expectations and Customer Perceptions:

The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions. Customer expectation is what the tenant expects, according to available resources and is influenced by cultural background, family lifestyle, personality, and experience with similar affordable housing with other social housing providers. Hence customer perception is totally subjective and is based on the customer’s interaction with the accommodation and the services provided by the RSL’s. Hence perception is derived from the customer’s satisfaction of the specific accommodation and the quality of service delivery. The customer gap is the most important gap and in an ideal world the customer’s expectation would be almost identical to the customer’s perception.

109

In a customer orientated strategy, delivering a quality service should be based on a clear understanding of the customer needs. Knowing customer expectations could be the best way to close the gap.

2. The Knowledge Gap: The Gap between Consumer Expectation and Management Perception:

The knowledge gap is the difference between the customer’s expectations of the service provided and the RSL’s provision of the service. In this case, social housing providers and their asset managers are not aware or have not correctly interpreted the customer’s expectation in relation to the social housing provider’s services or their assets. If a knowledge gap exists, it may mean that RSL’s are trying to meet wrong or non-existent consumer needs. Hence, in a social housing, where the services are focused on the customer it is important to have a clear understanding of the consumer’s need for service. To close the gap between the consumer’s expectations for service and management’s perception of service delivery will require comprehensive market research.

3. The Policy Gap: The Gap between Management Perception and Service Quality Specification:

According to Kasper et al. (2006), this gap reflects management’s incorrect translation of the service policy into rules and guidelines for employees. However, the pilot study contained in Chapter 5 highlighted some of the difficulties faced by RSL’s in translating consumer expectation into specific service quality delivery. This can include poor service design, failure to maintain and continually update their provision of good customer service or simply a lack of standardisation. This gap may compel the customers to seek similar affordable housing with better service from other social housing providers.

4. The Delivery Gap: The Gap between Service Quality Specification and Service Delivery:

110

This gap exposes the weakness in employee performance. RSLs with a delivery gap may specify the service required to support customers but have subsequently failed to train their employees to put good processes and guidelines in action. As a result, employees are ill equipped to manage the customer’s needs (Parasuraman et al. 1989, 1991, 1993a, 1993b, 1994). Accordingly, to Brink & Berndt (2008) some of the problems experienced if there is a delivery gap are:

• Employees lack product knowledge and have difficulty managing customer questions and issues

• Organisations have poor human resource policies • Lack of cohesive teams and the inability to deliver

5. The Communication Gap: The Gap between Service Delivery and External Communication:

There may be some cases where promises made by organisations through advertising media and communication raise customer expectations. When over- promising in advertising does not match the actual service delivery, it creates a communication gap (Brink & Berndt 2008). The customers may become disappointed because the promised service does not match the expected service and consequently may create dissatisfaction with the RSL and may seek alternative social housing providers (Medley 2013b).