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Service for membersTenants Union in Copenhagen

IUT-board meeting june 2005

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How many?

• 6.000 personal members

• 600 local tenants unions– In private dwellings (19.000 tenants)– Social housing (4.000 tenants)– Cooperatives (2.000 members)

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Who?

• We have no statistics, showing the socio-economic conditions of our members, but a pretty good feeling for it:– Many with low incomes, few with high

incomes– The elderly: Tradition (citizenship)– The young ones: Consumers

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Our economic scope

• Typical membership fee - 300-600 DKK (40-80 euro)

• Annual income of Lejernes LO i Hovedstaden DKK 11 mio.(1,5 mio euro)

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Who produce the service?

• 19 employees, 16 full-time jobs

• 3 lawyers (not qualified for the bar), 1 master in socio-economics, 2 engineers, 3 bachelors (property management) , 3 students (law), 1 marketingcoordinator, 2 administrative employees, 1 bookkeeper, 1 IT-coordinator, 1 manager, 1 chairman

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Values in our membership-service

• We must provide our members with the service they want from us. That is, we have to ask them

• We must establish a relationship with our members, based on equality

• We must work with our members, not for them

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The service

• Legal aid - counselling in legal matters, representation in administrative courts

• Organisational counselling for the local tenants unions

• Education in legal and organisational subjects

• Sending out magazines (4 t/year, producing newsletters (3t/year)

• Discount on different consumer goods

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How is the councelling done?

• 5.000 personal counsellings face to face a year

• 30.000 counsellings by the phone a year

• 10.000 counsellings by mail a year

• 2.000 new cases in the administrative courts a year, 6.000 running cases

• 500 meetings in local unions a year

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What do the members think of our service

• Surveys (2002, 2004): 80 % satisfied or very satisfied with the service, 12 % less satisfied, 8 % not satisfied

• They want more opening hours. Today we are open for face to face counselling 11 hours a week, for councelling by phone 32 hours a week, and we answer all mails within 24 hours

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Planned improvements in our service

• The electronic office: No papir files, electronic communication whenever possible: Mail, internet (today app.150.000 hits a year), extranet (under construction)– 3 goals:

• 1. Quicker service• 2. Saving costs in administrating cases and members:

More ressources for service rather than moving around paper

• 3 Better inter-organisational communication