By putting tenants first, Stadlander scores a customer satisfaction rate of 7.7

 

The housing association of today: with Einstein 1, Stadlander has a 360 customer view and personalised communications.

An 80% first-time resolution for tenants? Discover how Stadlander has modernised communications between tenants and landlords.

Around 75% of rented homes in the Netherlands are owned by housing associations. These organisations provide sustainable housing for people who cannot afford to live independently, and therefore have a large number of processes and stakeholders.

Stadlander is one such housing association, with 15,000 homes across West Brabant and Tholen. Its mission is for tenants to live comfortably, now and in the future. Employees across the organisation use Salesforce to efficiently do their jobs, from handling minor repair requests to assisting tenants with living arrangements.

The organisation has a diverse customer base with many different needs and communication preferences, so Stadlander took its contact centre omnichannel using Salesforce. Thanks to a 360-degree customer view and automated processes, tenant questions and requests can be handled smoothly, meaning that 70 to 80% of customer queries are answered the first time.

In addition, the team built a self-service portal on the Einstein 1 platform where tenants can view their contract and request repairs or new keys. As a result, customer satisfaction is between 7.5 and 8.

Good communication with tenants is essential. Creating a positive human experience is paramount for Stadlander. For example, if a tenant hasn’t paid their rent, the organisation sends a friendly email from Marketing Cloud first with a quick link and QR code they can use to pay, rather than less effective and inefficient letters and telephone calls. As a result, Stadlander now has to intervene less to ensure rent is paid.

In this story, we’ll take a closer look at how Stadlander is redefining the tenant-landlord relationship and getting more involved in the local community.
 
 
“Stadlander wants to be an ally for our tenants and Salesforce supports us in this goal.”
Henk Stoutjesdijk
ICT Manager, Stadlander
 
 
 

1.Getting to know tenants with a 360-degree customer view.

Stadlander needs to understand tenants’ needs to provide a seamless, more streamlined experience. But serving a diverse range of people of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds can make it difficult to engage.

“We needed a flexible, integrated system with omnichannel capabilities to give tenants the same streamlined user experience, no matter how they choose to connect,” said Henk Stoutjesdijk, ICT Manager at Stadlander. “Whilst tenants increasingly expect digital services, it’s also important that we have a physical presence in the community and understand what’s happening locally.”

Stadlander centralised processes and visualised customer data on Salesforce, which Stoutjesdijk explained is “secure, flexible, and simple to integrate with other systems.”

Today, 100% of the workforce use Salesforce on a daily basis, resulting in a streamlined, consistent experience for everyone.
 
”We wanted to understand what it feels like to be in our tenants’ shoes. With Einstein 1, we now have a good idea.”
Henk Stoutjesdijk
ICT Manager, Stadlander
 
 

2.Digitalising the tenant experience and hitting a 7.7 customer satisfaction rating.

Once, the tenant experience relied on paper. Today, it’s a fully digitalised journey built on Salesforce. Multiple teams are involved in managing housing, from admin and support to area managers and maintenance contractors, but automated workflows mean there’s no hassle and it takes much less time.

“We replaced a lot of paperwork and duplicated effort with a slick process in Salesforce,” said Eric Vermijs, Information and Functional Management Officer at Stadlander. “By integrating our ERP system with Salesforce, we’ve got full visibility of our real estate, tenant data, and processes in one place.”

For example, rental contracts are signed digitally and captured in Sales Cloud, and the tenant is guided through making their deposit and first rent payment. When handing over the keys to the new tenant, an area manager goes with them to answer their questions and take photos and an inventory of the property using the Salesforce mobile app.

From that point onwards, tenants have access to a self-service portal, built on Salesforce, to view their contract, get extra keys, give notice that they want to leave, or request a repair.

Stadlander closely monitors customer satisfaction to make sure it’s meeting tenant needs. It averages between 7.5 and 8 across repairs, the move-in process, and end of tenancy check out.

Results

 
 

7,7

customer
satisfaction rating

 

80%

first-time
resolution rate

 
 
“Accurate data is critical in the housing sector. It helps us respond to issues faster and improve our first-time resolution rate.”
Eric Vermijs
Information and Functional Management Officer, Stadlander
 
 

3. Faster repairs and an 80% first-time fix rate with smarter processes.

No matter the size of the repair, Standlander ensures it helps all tenants quickly and consistently. From the moment a tenant raises a case on the portal, it’s automatically routed to a repair director – each responsible for 5,000 properties – to assign a contractor or subcontractor. Each task is tracked via integration between Salesforce and the contractor’s system, giving much needed clarity around job status and making billing simpler.

Customer service employees handle approximately 1,000 customer questions per week with help from the omnichannel contact center. Messages from Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp are picked up in two hours, whilst emails are responded to within three working days. Tenants can also get support face-to-face at a helpdesk in their neighbourhood. Stadlander is also considering rolling out a chatbot powered by Einstein to provide a real-time first-line response.

Cases are triaged and routed to the right person or dealt with by the responder. Thanks to Salesforce, first-time resolution rate is up to 80%.
 
“Accurate data is critical in the housing sector. It helps us respond to issues faster and improve our first-time resolution rate.”
Eric Vermijs
Information and Functional Management Officer, Stadlander
 
 

4. Personalised payment reminders to collect missed rent.

One of the most sensitive issues that landlords deal with is late payments. Whilst life changes, unexpected bills, and societal issues can all affect a tenants’ income, rent still needs to be paid.

To manage the issue with more compassion, Stadlander built a Marketing Cloud journey to chase up late payments with a friendly SMS reminder and a personalised smart link to pay through. This automated workflow is triggered if the correct payment isn’t received on time, saving a member of staff from checking payments manually.

“Instead of a formal attitude with impersonal letters, we give people an opportunity to pay and remind them if they’ve just forgotten,” explained Stoutjesdijk. “Next, we’ll schedule a colleague visit to check in. The bailiff is absolutely a last resort.”
 
“Automated late payment reminders from Marketing Cloud are more effective and put less pressure on our tenants.”
Henk Stoutjesdijk
ICT Manager, Stadlander
 
 

5. Using real insights to address society’s most pressing challenges.

Smoother processes are essential to a tenant’s wellbeing, as well as to take the stress out of moving home, collecting rent, and repairs. Stadlander was keenly aware of economic and societal issues impacting tenants – such as soaring energy bills and the rising cost of living – and it needed real-world insights into how it could help.

As Vermijs explained, “Whilst Salesforce makes everyday processes easier, its real strength is in helping to anticipate issues relating to current affairs. For example, we built an app in a couple of days in response to the energy crisis. Staff use it when they visit tenants to look at where costs can be saved.”

The team received support from the Salesforce Premier Success team and partner, Appsolutely, to learn best practices, app development, and how to shape the platform to better serve low-income tenants.

 
“Through Salesforce training and support from Appsolutely, we learned how to be self-sufficient and evolve our Salesforce platform to meet future needs.”
Eric Vermijs
Information and Functional Management Officer, Stadlander

 
 

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