Services resource management overview

A service-based resource is defined as a value-added benefit or utility that is managed directly or indirectly by the housing organisation and which can be allocated to an applicant, typically as a chargeable and integral component of their rent e.g. lift maintenance, grounds maintenance, warden support, etc. A service could also be in the form of education, coaching or other guidance that is offered to better the life chances of social housing tenants e.g. professional training courses. The delivery of each course title – the tangible resource – can then be managed through a linked action plan. ‘Basic Home Maintenance’, ‘Saving Energy to Reduce Bills’, ‘Feeding a Family on a Budget’ could all form part of a housing partner's training portfolio, aimed specifically at tenants, and for which they can register their interest.

Service resources are maintained on the database as separate records and provide a significant contribution to the wider programme of customer engagement. The best method by which a service is made ready for the applicant is through an agreed action plan. Typically, the detail of this plan is well-defined and applicable to multiple services of the same type. Put simply, an action plan is a chronological list of events that should be undertaken in relation to the services resource in order to secure its readiness. For example, an event could be to reserve the training venue or to book the external trainer. Whilst a broad ranging action plan can be defined for the services resource type, it is then possible to identify a subset of key actions from the linked plan that relate to a specific resource, referred to as the critical or action path. For a training course, these might be focused on the training venue, the allocated trainer, access to the training materials, booking refreshments, submitting delegate joining instructions, etc. Once all critical actions from the active plan have been completed, the service is ready to be delivered and allocated to prospective tenants. As potential matches are identified and offers made in relation to the service, it is possible to review these directly through the resource record, crucially as suitable tenants are secured.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of services resource management, including:

• To create a new services resource
• To clone a services resource
• To add an action plan to a services resource
• To add an additional entry to a services resource action plan
• To view the allocation matches for a services resource
• To view the application offers for a services resource