Leading property services contractor Kinovo accelerate business performance with MRI Repairs Web

Overview

Kinovo PLC Group is a leading property services specialist firm and parent organisation, made up of three smaller businesses; Dunham’s, Purdy and Spokemead. With over 100 field-based operatives driving reactive repairs and maintenance services, they work closely with social housing providers and Local Authorities, including Popla Harca, Peabody, Hyde Housing, The Barnet Group, London Borough of Enfield and Haringey, Hackney and Greenwich Councils. Purdy Contracts and Dunham’s who are part of the Kinovo Group, have been in partnership with MRI Software for sixteen years, and with Kinovo’s recent move to MRI Repairs Web, this has unlocked greater automation and functionality for the team, as they centralise their systems. This has allowed Kinovo to streamline their repairs processes, achieve compliance and elevate customer service all round. By securing a future-proof repairs software solution, Kinovo have been able to rapidly improve the efficient service they offer their long-standing clients in the social housing sector.

• Immediate 5% reduction in call handling times, thanks to the improved navigation and user-friendly environment of MRI Repairs Web
• Improved customer service
• Reduced no access rates and fewer unnecessary operative journeys, thanks to MRI Find my Engineer, helping Kinovo achieve their ESG commitment targets of 50% reduced emissions by 2030.

The Change

Kinovo receives around 20,000 jobs each month and approximately 500 calls per day, spread across 50 diverse clients, so call efficiency is key. With the switch over to MRI Repairs Web and its new user-friendly environment, customer service representatives can log jobs for scheduling with speed and ease. Effective call handling is thanks to fewer screen and process clicks to navigate the system. With an initial 5% reduction in handling times from the speed of the team, more jobs are being handled and residents are no longer being held up in lengthy call queues.

To allow for a smooth transition to MRI Repairs Web, MRI offered a middle ground hosted migration environment, which gave Kinovo time to acclimatise before going fully web-based. Kinovo’s first intentions were to move contracts across as a phased approach, however, this process was actually sped up due to positive responses from the Kinovo teams on seeing the new environment. The transition time was ultimately around three months, ahead of expectation.

As well as the security, back-up and accessibility benefits wrapped around a hosted solution, the move to Repairs Web has meant that Kinovo could take advantage of the latest modules and functionality releases which their previous on-premise solution did not deliver. Namely, the compliance module and ability to track data with reports and dashboards have been the biggest areas of improvement. Jake Clarke, Head of Support Services at Kinovo explained;

At a click of a button we’ve got the data, we’ve got figures, we’ve got costs, we’ve got everything we need without the need for manual intervention. This increased efficiency means that Kinovo staff members don’t have to spend as much time manipulating data or doing admin tasks, and can instead focus on other areas of customer service and take on more work. Additionally, the implementation of the Repairs product has given us a stable, scalable solution that has enabled us to grow our business.

Training and Investing in People

When migrating across to MRI Repairs Web, Kinovo found that training was required for their staff and in hindsight, more upskilling across more team members would have been beneficial. MRI offers a variety of options, including an intensive training day, so that staff can learn everything they need in an interactive, dynamic environment. This makes the team feel supported and helps ensure the transition to MRI Repairs is as smooth as possible. Kinovo firmly believe in developing and investing in the talents of their workforce. This is best exemplified by Kinovo’s current Chief Operating Officer, Lee Venables, who originally started as an apprentice within the company. Pippa Pang, Kinovo’s Social Value and Marketing Manager, commented;

From Kinovo’s point of view, it’s all about developing talent and letting people run with it. Kinovo strive to be an employer of choice and attract skilled employees, as well as giving our current workforce the best possible experience. Tied into this is ensuring our teams are well equipped with the right resources and are confident using our systems. This helps us get more efficient at every step of the process, as our staff are trained and empowered.

What’s next for Kinovo?

When it comes to bidding for new contracts, moving forward Kinovo will be able to offer enhanced services such as the MRI Repairs Client and Sub-contractor Portals. This will have huge appeal due to the real-time updates the client will be able to receive, with the ability to go into the solution dashboards to see their own reports. Other operational efficiencies will include speedier auditor cash cycles, which will save many hours of manual administration and speed up payments for sub-contractors.

Another exciting new addition is the launch of ‘Find My Engineer’. This is part of MRI’s innovative suite of solutions that will enhance customer service by giving residents a digital way to track their jobs, view the operatives expected time of arrival, make changes and even provide customer feedback once the job is complete. Jake adds;

As well as the savings we anticipate from the reduced no access rates, the other element is improving the customer journey, so residents receive the full end-to-end service that they should be receiving.

The launch of Find my Engineer is expected to support Kinovo’s published ESG commitments. With operatives making less unnecessary journeys, this will help contribute to Kinovo’s target of reducing their emissions by 50% by 2030, and attain net-zero by 2040. The net-zero target by 2040 is ahead of the UK government plan “Build Back Greener” by ten years and exemplifies Kinovo’s commitment to play its part responsibly in proactively reducing our impact on our planet and the lives of the people living on it. The Kinovo plc Net Zero Report – Carbon Reduction Plan 2022 has been published and can be viewed here.

Working in partnership with MRI

When reflecting on the project, Kinovo spoke about the support and adjustments offered by MRI each step of the way. This started with daily learning and training calls, which Jake and the team felt were immensely beneficial;

For anyone making this transition, investing in MRI’s time and skillset to guide you through is invaluable. MRI Professional Services felt like a fourth member of the team, any questions we posed were met in a professional manner. They have the ability to take all the technical jargon out and simplify things to help the customer understand. Those types of people are rare.

Overall, Kinovo have found the transition to MRI Repairs Web successful. Through a future-proof platform, they are improving resident experiences, driving down costs and building greater efficiencies with process automation.