8x8 and Social Telecoms recently joined industry leaders at Housing Technology 2024 to discuss the future of AI across the housing sector.

During the three-day conference, housing associations and industry experts discussed the challenges CIOs face and the technologies set to make a positive impact on improving the delivery of tenant services and safer homes.

The information-filled agenda highlighted challenges around property maintenance, cyber security threats, and how to effectively manage data to protect tenant privacy and support the use of innovative technologies including AI, Video, IoT (Internet of Things), and omnichannel.

Human change supported by digital transformation

Housing associations are by nature people-centric organisations. The opening keynote addressed the fact that technology alone will not make housing associations more effective. Improvements require a cultural shift, and staff need a single source of information that can provide everyone with the resources they need to share responsibility for outcomes.

According to the keynote address, there is a need to remove the barriers to connecting with tenants to improve tenant satisfaction—and that sits across the whole organisation, not just with the contact centre.

For example, when data management allows for a a single source of information to provide engineers with interaction history they can better identify recurring issues, understand tenant emotions, and highlight unreported situations that don’t look right—all key to identifying potential complaints before they happen.

Video and AI are key for leading housing associations

Video technologies such as 8x8 Remote FixTM are making an impact in delivering property maintenance. One housing association attending the Housing Technology event shared how using video for reporting and triaging repairs has yielded 15% improvement in repair completion.

8x8 took the stage alongside our partner Social Telecoms, a PfH supplier, Richard Harvey of Housing Solutions, and Leanne Thistle of Beyond Housing to discuss the future of AI in the housing sector.

Advancements in the right direction

The audience was captivated by the panel discussions and live demonstrations that showed how 8x8 Intelligent Customer Assistant, an AI-powered chatbot, improves tenant experiences and enables self-service to effortlessly answer FAQs, book service visits, provide tenants with ‘how to’ video guides for call deflection, and deliver out-of-hours support when offices are closed. Panel participant Beyond Housing noted that the use of a chatbot has deflected 20% of their calls to the contact centre.

8x8 demonstrated how easy it is to initiate a video interaction using Remote Fix to assess a remote situation, as part of an AI-powered chatbot conversation. Panel participant Housing Solutions then explained how they use 8x8’s AI-powered Speech Analytics to identify trends and proactively reach out to tenants with relevant information such as tips on how to protect homes from damp or to keep warm as outside temperatures fall.

Beyond Housing shared how these valuable insights have also enabled them to redefine IVR routing to improve operational efficiency.

IoT is also assisting with monitoring and resolution

Other topics discussed at Housing Technology 2024 included using IoT to monitor statistics and support preventative maintenance. Also discussed was the need for a well-executed omnichannel strategy to expand touchpoints, enhance tenant accessibility, and deliver consistent customer experiences.

With so many demands on housing providers, prioritising and identifying what will make the biggest impact proves to be the biggest challenge for CIOs.

Want to learn more? Download the 8x8 guide 5 Ways Conversational AI Can Help Housing Associations or get in touch.

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