Achieving a leaner fitter Back Office in turbulent times: 2009 Back Office survey results

 Download the results of our Back office survey (PDF - 2mb) 

Welcome to Baker Tilly’s Housing Association 2009 Back Office Survey and Back Office Benchmarking Programme results.

This is our fourth annual survey that we have undertaken and this year we have included Scotland and Wales making this we believe the first authoritative UK study. We undertook this year’s survey in February 2009 to establish the perceptions of senior housing executives on the issue of how well they believe their housing associations are delivering their back office services. This is matched with the empirical evidence that we have from our Back Office benchmarking (BOB) programme and practices being used in the commercial sector.

The survey covered the UK and included Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVTs) as well as Traditional Housing Associations. The majority of respondents came from mid-size Housing Associations with 5 - 10,000 housing units and average turnover between £11-25m. The bulk of the respondents were based in England, with 28% from Scotland. Typically, the organisations employed 300 people.

In the attached document we examine the perceptions/trends and take a view on some of the key results we have found. We have compared these with our BOB programme, as well as providing information on some of the best practices being delivered in the commercial sector.

In summary, the main findings show that:

• most respondents feel that their organisation's back office service is cost effective and delivering value. This is not always consistent with the results from our Back Office benchmarking programme
• value added is the number one priority, but our benchmarking programme and survey results show that most staff are undertaking mainly administrative tasks
• most organisations are investing in systems to try and reduce their delivery costs on average by 10%. Our benchmarking programme results indicate that this figure could be higher
• best practice in the commercial sector shows that Back Office costs are being reduced by 15% per annum, which is being delivered by standardising process, selective outsourcing and less but more highly skilled staff.

Contents

• Back Office - the voice of the sector
• BOB says... the results of our back office benchmarking club
• Conclusion
• Our 10 point plan for improving performance.

 Download the results of our Back Office survey 2009 (PDF - 2mb)