8x8 has launched Active Assessor, a solution that enables landlords to proactively engage tenants, meet legal requirements and ensure homes are compliant with health and safety standards.8x8 Active Assessor enables landlords to quickly identify and resolve potential property faults and hazards, such as damp, mould and other issues.
Landlords can arrange remote fixes or schedule home visits, if required, potentially reducing the time between reporting, assessing and concluding repairs from weeks to hours.
Its release follows the launch of 8x8 Remote Fix, which enables contact centre agents to securely put real-time tenant interactions on video to visually address and resolve housing issues.8x8 Active Assessor integrates several 8x8 products, using its single platform to address the specific needs of UK housing associations.
Built on 8x8’s AI-powered messaging platform and native video escalation functionality, the solution is designed to gather, store, and sort data to prioritise situations that need immediate action. It can prompt tenants to schedule evaluations online or connect with a contact centre agent, either via messaging, voice or video. Additionally, landlords can bypass labour-intensive and time consuming processes, such as property visits and repairs, to gain up-to-date knowledge about the condition of their properties.
Benefits of 8x8 Active Assessor include:
• Enhanced tenant engagement through SMS messaging.
• Improved tenant satisfaction by taking a proactive approach to identifying potential issues and maintaining homes.
• Faster and smarter evaluation of early warning signals and issues using video technology to reduce costly site visits and prevent conditions from becoming hazardous and expensive to repair.
• Trackable and traceable information to provide for evidential purposes according to social housing regulation standards.
• Intelligent and automated data collection and reporting using the self-service conversational AI capabilities of 8x8 Intelligent Customer Assistant to efficiently obtain and compile relevant information from tenants without requiring agent interaction.
With 8x8 Active Assessor landlords will be aided in meeting their requirements for reporting tenant satisfaction measures under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and also their legal duties under Awaab’s Law, where landlords must begin investigating known or reported hazards within 14 calendar days and carry out repairs to a defined schedule.
“8x8 Active Assessor makes it quick and easy to gather essential information to report on the quality of our homes, improve property management, and reduce costs,” said Rich Harvey, director of digital transformation at Housing Solutions. “The proactive approach of the solution makes it really attractive in providing a high level of customer service.”
Russell Tilsed, vice president of sales, EMEA at 8x8, said, “It’s a challenging time for the UK housing associations trying to navigate property management, data and regulatory requirements, all while ensuring tenants’ safety and wellbeing requirements are met. With 8x8 Active Assessor, we’re providing landlords with an easy-to-use solution that enables them to meet many of their obligations in a quick and efficient manner, while also promoting maximum tenant engagement.
“The quicker a message is received and property visually inspected, via remote video or in person, the quicker it can be acted on, potentially saving landlords up to thousands of pounds and minimising distress for tenants.”
8x8 is currently used by more than 50 housing associations across the UK, some of which are included in the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations.