To ensure it offers the best services and support to its customers, effective communication is required to drive engagement and inform customers. Its communication strategy pulled upon a range of channels including print and post and digital delivery, depending on customer preferences and legal requirements.
With a dedicated inbound communication provider, Beyond Housing required an outbound communication provider, who could become its partner for transforming the management and sending of printed communication across the housing association. The provider needed to work with its inbound communication management partner, as well as meet the demands of its customers regarding the timely communications it is expected to send.
In addition, the new solution time scale coincided with the adoption of remote working, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore needed to be easy to implement and efficient in its delivery.
After being awarded the partner of choice, through a tender process, CFH Docmail Limited identified two core communication solutions that supported the sending and management of customer communications for Beyond Housing. Both solutions are secure, easy to use and work seamlessly with existing processes and third-party software for ease of adoption.
CFH Managed is the bespoke communication process set up, that enables organisations to send data files and postal templates straight to CFH through a secure SFTP connection. It provides complete end-to-end outbound communication management, whilst being supported by industry technologies and security. The print process offers a bespoke control and an error-free way of engaging with audiences, with the peace of mind support from a dedicated account manager who focuses on your account and the communications you send.
Docmail hybrid mail is the online, self-serve communication solution that enables organisations to send individual and bulk-printed letters from their desktop or PC, straight to their end audience. The solution can be utilised across a whole organisation, with corporate structure set up, bespoke invoicing and template libraries for complete communication management. Docmail is designed to streamline the whole communication process, whilst providing time and cost savings that can be reinvested into other core activities within a business.
Working together the two CFH solutions were implemented into Beyond Housing seamlessly with the dedicated support of a team of experts.
CFH Managed was set up per its requirements and enables Beyond Housing to send printed bulk communications through a secure SFTP connection, straight to CFH’s secure print facilities. The impressive IT print software receives documents and data files and securely produces these within one of three production facilities across the UK, before providing to Royal Mail for final mail delivery.
The process allows for multiple communications to be consolidated into one mailing to streamline large bulk communications into one secure process. Beyond Housing simply supply its data file and template, and CFH produce the mailing based on the pre-agreed SLA requirements.
The Managed Service offering is supported by a dedicated account manager, who is on hand to answer questions, provide updates, suggest improvements and ensure all printed items are produced and dispatched on-time, without any errors.
Whereas Docmail hybrid mail was rolled out within the organisation to help manage the everyday communication requirements for the organisation. This included a bespoke corporate structure being set up within Docmail, that allowed for 342 users to access the print and post solution, under their department structure.
The initial set-up included a series of online training sessions, delivered by a Docmail expert that provided the opportunity to ask questions whilst seeing a complete overview of the system. From the start the solution enabled the effective and easy sending of A4 simplex and duplex letters including maintenance updates, arrears, legal notices and repair appointments.
The solution offers a built-in library where pre-printed templates, questionnaire templates and over 25 business reply envelopes can be added to orders on demand, as well as leaflets and additional inserts.
The users of Docmail simply log into the system, upload their documents and select any additional inserts required, before approving the mailing to be sent out. The account structure was further set up with manager approval for any bulk mailings.
The solution has become a vital communication tool for the organisation, with its easy-to-use adoption and processes.
In addition to these solutions, Beyond Housing has utilised the hand enclosing services of CFH for a separate hygrometer project that is being used to target specific households within its area. These mailings included a letter and leaflet and the hand enclosing of the hygrometers by CFH’s finishing experts before being sent to the customer. This additional project, reflects the proactive relationship between CFH and Beyond Housing, helping the housing association with driving effective engagement within their communities.
Since working with CFH Docmail, Beyond Housing has transformed its outbound communication management with the utilisation of industry-leading solutions. Its once manual process is now completely streamlined. The solutions offer impressive time savings as well as a straightforward way of working, that manages all the printed communication requirements of its customers.
The solutions are agile, flexible, and easy to use and provide the ability to send bulk and individual communications on-demand and pre-planned with the knowledge of knowing these will go error-free and on time, whilst managed by a team of experts.
The teams at Beyond Housing now recognise themselves as experts of CFH, with bespoke guidelines for Docmail being created in-house to support any new members joining the team.
In total Beyond Housing has sent over 65,000 documents through the managed service and over 84,500 documents through Docmail hybrid mail.
The partnership is on the path to continue its steady growth with Beyond Housing looking to transition more of their bulk and automated communication from Docmail to CFH’s managed service solution and API software integration as well as Dotpost the digital delivery platform, for its next steps in driving effective engagement.
Together the partnership continuously looks for new ways of developing and improving, which not only supports the sending of its effective communications, but the communications of other organisations that CFH work with.
Our relationship with CFH has enabled us to transform the sending and management of our customer communications. Its solutions are flexible, seamless and offer us a secure way of driving effective communications, whilst benefitting from time and monetary savings.
The CFH team are knowledgeable, helpful and is always able to recommend new processes that we can benefit from. The solutions are full of potential opportunities for us, and we look forward to the next steps on our communication journey in partnership with CFH
Service Improvement Lead, Beyond Housing,
