Innovative methods for collecting resident feedback are changing how privatized military housing providers deliver high-quality homes and industry-leading services for active-duty military families.
Residents now have more ways than ever to communicate directly with property managers, local housing offices, and installation command. Information on the resident experience – gathered using online tools, in-person and virtual events, and satisfaction surveys – is used to inform operational changes and improve services where they are needed most.
For example, each service branch administers an independent annual customer satisfaction survey that gives residents the opportunity to share their feedback on customer service, living conditions, maintenance, and community amenities at a local level.
The survey categorizes questions into three “Satisfaction Indexes” that provide a high-level snapshot of how a housing community or specific neighborhood installation is performing. The Overall Satisfaction Index includes the scores from each question of the survey, but does not reflect a percentile.
The most recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey (TSS) was conducted from December 2020 through January and February of this year. Air Force residents living across 68 locations scored privatized military housing projects an average rating of 77.2, a “very good” by industry standards and above the Air Force’s target metric. Navy residents across 47 installations scored an overall satisfaction of 77.0, while Army resident satisfaction scores increased to an average rating of 75.4, both “very good” by industry standards.
The TSS is one of the many tools used to gain insight into the resident experience. MHA member companies have used past annual survey results as a basis to improve the resident experience across their military housing portfolios.
In addition to the TSS, leading military housing providers deploy additional channels throughout the year to gain real-time feedback from residents on a consistent basis. For example, some MHA member companies send an automatically generated text message to residents after the completion of a work order, asking residents to confirm they are satisfied with the work performed with a simple “yes” or “no” response. A work order will be closed with a “yes” response. If they respond that they are not satisfied, the housing provider can immediately follow up to rectify the situation.
After a work order is closed, residents automatically receive a third-party SatisFacts survey to ensure services have been completed to their satisfaction. Residents also have the opportunity to complete a SatisFacts survey after each move-in and move-out experience to share their feedback on the process.
Virtual and in-person town halls also give residents the opportunity to communicate directly with installation command and housing providers about issues important to them. We encourage residents to take advantage of the various channels available to them to help shape their military housing experience.
We are determined to provide outstanding service for Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) residents and are grateful to everyone who participated in this year’s survey. Our members will work with their service branch partners to analyze the recent TSS data for ways to further improve the tenant experience for service members and their families.