Background
In 2022, Community Housing initiated a lean review of its income service following widespread performance issues. The review exposed significant inefficiencies, including reliance on outdated spreadsheets, delayed interventions, and inconsistent case handling, leading to missed opportunities for early engagement and rising arrears.
“Our systems did not give the rent officers an accurate balance or even a timely alert that people were going into arrears. We were working from a printed spreadsheet the size of a thick notebook - it was just shocking.”
Jane Clark, Senior Housing Manager
The Challenge
Before adopting Caseload Manager, the income team’s primary tool was a manually updated spreadsheet used every fortnight. Officers struggled to prioritise low-level rent arrears, leading to delayed interventions and, in some cases, legal action as a first engagement.
Previous attempts to introduce tech had failed, including a budget-driven switch to an alternative solution that was abruptly discontinued, damaging internal trust in digital tools.
What is Caseload Manager?
Caseload Manager is Voicescape’s intelligent arrears management solution, using machine learning to help income teams prioritise cases based on risk, not just balance. By integrating with housing management systems, it surfaces real-time data and behavioural insights to enable earlier interventions, consistent case handling, and more meaningful customer engagement, all while significantly reducing manual workloads.
Why Voicescape
Community Housing re-engaged with Voicescape after seeing Caseload Manager demonstrated by peers at Thirteen Group and Stockport Homes.
The clincher? A face-to-face demo by the Voicescape team that won over a previously sceptical income team.
“The word used by the team was ‘wow’. If they were saying wow, we knew we had a chance."
Jane Clark, Senior Housing Manager
Due diligence was key: Voicescape’s seamless integration with the Civica CX system, combined with its responsiveness and the team’s housing sector experience, helped build confidence among internal stakeholders including the IT leadership, who had concerns following a previous implementation that hadn’t delivered as expected.
Implementation & Support
The implementation of Caseload Manager was collaborative, well-paced, and underpinned by close engagement between Community Housing and Voicescape. A structured UAT phase gave the team confidence in the system before go-live, while a face-to-face session helped secure early buy-in across the income team. Super users quickly adopted the platform and began identifying arrears cases they hadn’t previously been aware of, a clear early success.
“The super users have just naturally started using it; they’ve even picked up accounts they’d never seen before. That’s been a big early win.”
Jane Clark, Senior Housing Manager
Ongoing support from Voicescape - including weekly check-ins - helped build trust and maintain momentum throughout the onboarding process. The team's housing experience and responsiveness, even through staff transitions, stood out.
“Voicescape’s implementation team has been incredibly knowledgeable, responsive, and always willing to help. Even with team changes, the support has been consistent. It’s made a huge difference.”
Cath Joyce, Income Team Leader
Early Outcomes
Although still early in the rollout, the impact has been clear:
- Visibility of early-stage arrears: Cases never seen before were flagged by Caseload Manager - some individual at £600+ enabling proactive engagement.
- Better morale and productivity: Staff reported finishing their to-do lists and feeling more in control.
- Improved tenant conversations: Customers welcomed early calls and committed to payment before problems escalated.
- Culture shift: Officers are now empowered to support vulnerable tenants rather than reactively chasing debt.
“For the first time ever, one of the team said: ‘I feel like I’m doing my job. I got to the end of my list.’ That’s never been heard of before.”
Cath Joyce, Income Team Leader
Looking Ahead
Community Housing expects a measurable reduction in arrears - aiming for a target of 1.8% within 18 months. The organisation is already exploring Agreements Manager and wider Voicescape solutions as part of its roadmap.
“There’s a trust element. We haven’t even finished implementation, and I already know it’s going to work.”
Jane Clark, Senior Housing Manager
Discover how Voicescape can help you achieve a step change in caseload management by getting in touch today.
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