Bromsgrove District Housing Trust
Keeping 98% of calls answered by taking post off the phones
BDHT is a Bromsgrove based housing association managing 4,500 homes and supporting residents through a busy contact centre. But manual post was pulling frontline teams away from their most important KPI: answering and managing 98% of calls. By moving to Postworks, BDHT now sends time critical letters digitally, with proof of postage, less admin and more time for the residents who need them.
The Challenge
Manual post was pulling teams away from residents
Around 550 letters were being sent every month, including complaints responses that needed to be handled within ten days, gas certificates and other time critical resident communications. Each letter had to be printed, folded into window envelopes, franked, sorted and taken to the post office. Even using the printer added extra friction. Staff had to scan their ID cards just to release documents, then sort outgoing letters into colour coded bags before they could be posted.
The process took around an hour a day. Across a month, that added up to at least three working days spent on printing, folding, franking and post office trips.
That time mattered. Every hour spent dealing with post was time not spent answering phones, resolving resident queries or supporting the contact centre’s 98% call handling KPI. There was also risk attached to the process. Some letters were time sensitive, and delayed deliveries could cause complaints to escalate. Without reliable proof of postage, BDHT had less visibility and reassurance when important letters had been sent.
A closer look at the results
98% call handling KPI protected
Phone teams are no longer pulled away from residents to manage manual post.
550 letters sent digitally each month
Time critical communications are now uploaded and sent through Postworks.
3 working days reclaimed every month
Removing manual postal tasks saves around an hour a day.
The Turning Point
When Covid made manual post impossible to ignore
Before Postworks, post was already slowing the team down. During Covid, it became a much bigger problem.
The executive support PA had to travel into the office every day to collect inbound post, open it, distribute it across the business, prepare outgoing letters and carry them to the post office. A process that had already been time consuming now created health risks and made hybrid working harder to manage.
BDHT needed a digital solution that could support the organisation in the short term, but also make everyday operations easier in the long term.The team found Postworks online and quickly saw that it matched what they needed. The platform was simple, practical and ready for a housing environment where letters need to be sent quickly, securely and with proof.
With Postworks, staff can now log in, upload a letter and send it from their browser. There is no need to print, fold, frank, sort or make a trip to the post office. Important letters can be sent digitally, and proof of postage gives the team confidence that each item has gone.
“From a housing perspective, you have a service that is just ready to go.”
Dan BolscherIT Project Officer, BDHT
The Outcome
A quieter, easier way to manage time critical post
With Postworks in place, BDHT has turned a daily manual task into a simple digital workflow that supports customer service instead of competing with it.
Key Results
☎️ Call time protected
Post no longer pulls frontline teams away from the phones, helping BDHT protect its 98% call handling KPI.
📮 Time critical letters backed by proof
Complaints responses, gas certificates and other important resident communications can be sent with clear proof of postage.
⏱️ Post sent in minutes, not hours
What once took around an hour a day now happens through a few simple steps in the Postworks portal.
✅ Less admin for frontline teams
Removing printing, folding, franking and post office trips gives staff more time to focus on residents.
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