Income Innovation Day Autumn 2025: Key Highlights

How Caseload Manager has benefited Thurrock Council so far 

Debbie Holton, Housing Rents and Welfare Manager, with her team members Tracy Sullivan and Joshua Kaye, talked about how Caseload Manager helped Thurrock Council increase collections and be more intuitive in their income operations and case-by-case approach. 

The Challenge: 

• They were in the market for a new solution as their previous provider was rules-driven and outdated in practice. Some core functionality was only available through costly upgrade modules, something the council were keen to avoid.
• In addition to this, Thurrock were facing internal pressures, such as Section 114, which meant they needed to look at savings now more than ever.
• They began looking at alternatives in August 2024. Following this research, they met with a couple of providers in May 2023, one of which was Voicescape, at Housing 2023 in Brighton. Then, in June 2023, they attended a Voicescape Income Innovation day, where they witnessed the incredible impacts at Hyde Group and agreed that Caseload Manager was the solution which aligned directly with their operational pressures and strategic priorities. 

The Solution: 

• Thurrock chose Caseload Manager because it unlocked exactly what their income services needed: AI and machine learning that sharpens case insight, automation that works and inbound contact that happens on the customer’s terms. The combination freed officer time, improved accuracy and delivered measurable uplift almost immediately.  
• Caseload Manager went live in April 2025, and the system began learning from Thurrock's actions on the HMS. When they first implemented, they eased into automation, starting with a few days a week (focusing on one tenure type). They intentionally phased automation in to protect capacity and give officers time to adjust.
• This deliberate approach built confidence early, and by June 2025, the team were working more efficiently and seeing smoother performance across all their patches.
• Automation created a new way of working for the team, when they went live with Collections in June 2025. A turning point for the council, this introduced a more modern, insight-driven way of working.  Rather than seeing this as a challenge, one of Debbie Holton’s top tips of the day was to treat it as a cultural step forward - managing the change intentionally, involving staff early, and building shared ownership. She highlighted how early engagement with the team was critical in making the transition smooth and successful.  

The Results: 

• In the first week of using automation across all patches, they collected an additional £100K 
• From go-live in June, there has been an 80% tenant transfer rate from the automated outbound engagement.
• Improved performance: Thurrock hit its monthly collection targets for the first 6 months of the rent year, which was historically challenging – this has not been achieved since pre-pandemic times.
• More accurate caseloads allowed Thurrock to concentrate on the complex high arrears cases.
• Cost savings against their previous product.
• Increased collection and customer contact meant this was the right decision for the team and the business. 

“Voicescape increased collections and contacts, meaning that it was the right decision for the team and the business.” – Josh Kaye, Thurrock Council’s Rent & Welfare Team 

MHS Homes’ Journey with Caseload Manager 

MHS Homes Group manages over 10,000 homes across North Kent, operating as a charitable housing association for people who need affordable housing most. Matt Eddy (Business Improvement Manager) spoke on their journey with Caseload Manager, the features they found invaluable, and how far they’d come as an organisation since they started. 

 Their Background: 

Pre-COVID, MHS focused on stretching the use of their existing HMS. However, in 2021, they realised that they had maximised their efficiency and needed to make a change. They wanted to implement another case management solution, however, they were limited to 8,000 units due to the associated high costs. 

The Challenge: 

• In March 2024, MHS were struggling to see ROI from a previous system, where arrears had only reduced by 0.17% over 3 years (4.20%); from this, they could not justify the higher costs needed and looked for alternatives.
• Staff were frustrated by having to jump between systems – due to a lack of arrangement and notes integration.
• Inconsistent customer and staff experience.  

The Solution: 

• After attending a Voicescape event in September 2023, MHS focused on staff demos, procurement approval and project kick-off – with Caseload Manager live in September 2024 and Collections (automation) live in the following November.
• Voicescape’s entrance into the market gave MHS Homes more choice, which meant budget savings from day one. 

The Results: 

• Case recommendations down – 59% reduction in case recommendations
• Gross Arrears 4.11% at go live, down to 3.27% (23% decrease)
• Current year collection rate – 101.3%
• Staff are happy and motivated 

“Our caseloads have reduced by 59% – last week one officer had twenty recommendations on her patch – so it really has made a massive difference. Our arrears have dropped, and our arrears are targeted at 3%, and on our projections show we are about 4 weeks ahead of schedule. Our collection rate is over 100% and we have happy, motivated members of staff.” – Matt Eddy, Business Improvement Manager at MHS Homes 

Thirteen Housing’s Journey with Caseload Manager: 4 years on 

Thirteen Group spoke on how much of a consistent, positive impact Caseload Manager had continuously had on their arrears position over the past few years. 

 The Challenge: 

• They have one of the most deprived tenant cohorts in the country – Tees-Valley, the North-East, Yorkshire & The Humber– with high levels of ASB, crime and unemployment. 
• They were an early adopter of an income analytics system, but it was a rules-based system which did not allow bespoke recommendations to tenants. They knew something was missing with their strategy; they had tried hand-written letters, different coloured envelopes, and were seeing minimal interaction and impact. They previously believed tenants preferred face-to-face; however, this used a lot of their staff time and unintentionally overwhelmed and irritated tenants. 

The Solution: 

• Thirteen switched from a legacy rent income analytics solution to Caseload Manager in 2021
• By embracing technology, they had:
• Automated transactional engagement.
• Right contact, at the right time using machine learning.
• Freed up time to have more trusted, supported conversations.
• Caseload Manager had behavioural science at its heart, which enabled Thirteen to better understand their tenants, their behaviour and the most appropriate way to approach them. 

The Results: 

• Caseload Manager made a difference to Thirteen’s income performance, noting that the debt had consistently reduced over the years, seeing performance no longer take a hit at peak times.
• After 2 years of reducing debt, Thirteen knew further innovation was needed to keep driving it down and maximise performance – and Caseload Manager had continued to develop and bring new features, such as embedding the pay-by-link into all their messages.  This year to date, they increased collections by £187K from ad hoc messaging alone.
• Arrears reduced by 45% over 4 years, Thirteen’s arrears are at their lowest ever at 2.4% (previously at 3.8% at implementation)
• Through its multi-channel approach, led by voice, Caseload Manager has had a significant impact on arrears over the years. 

“The sector’s been really difficult at the moment, there’s loads of change, so for us Voicescape technology has been key to making sure we’ve got the resources to support our customers, but also to make sure our colleagues aren’t burning out.” – Caroline Harroway, Housing Services Manager at Thirteen Group 

Why Behavioural Science Matters in 2026 Income Strategies 

• Based on the evidence above, Thirteen Group saw the benefits in innovating, and behavioural science messaging was at the forefront of their success in reducing debt. From daily intervention recommendations to pay-by-link messaging, the system considers each individual resident.
• Behavioural science underpins our housing technology and keeps recommendations tailored, human and powerful on a daily basis through the power of voice.
• It bridges the gap between your resident and organisation to better build trust.
• It keeps resident relationships positive, consultative, and constructive.