Magnify ‘Engage’ with our newsletter

Date published: 16th September 2021

Our resident scrutiny group, Magnify, met in August to complete a review of Engage, Tuntum’s tenant newsletter.

Here’s an extract from their subsequent report, which explains why they reviewed Engage:

“We know as members of the scrutiny group that Tuntum Housing Association wants their residents to be involved. They aim to offer different ways of being involved, from taking part in Zoom sessions, completing the resident survey, and reviewing documents. Reaching out to residents can be difficult as we all have busy lives, however, currently the one way they are able to reach all of their residents is the Engage magazine.

Engage magazine has been published since 2014 and as the primary consistent contact with all of Tuntum’s residents it is important that it serves us all. Our resident engagement survey, during the COVID-19 pandemic, showed us that Tuntum had room to improve in the way that they communicate with their residents, with 76% of residents reporting that they were satisfied with how Tuntum communicated with them.

With a view to ensuring that Engage is fit for purpose we thought it would be a good idea to complete a thorough review and present our findings.”

They reviewed the last four issues of Engage compared to four other local Housing Association’s newsletters looking at both content and style.

They also considered whether they feel Engage offers value for money.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

Some of the recommendations coming out of the report were as follows:

·         Having a foreword from the CEO to set the tone of the magazine

·         Making residents key to a story made the panel want to read the story

·         Including more incentives to contribute to the magazine

·         Including a children’s page

·         Include more signposting to local resources

Tuntum has committed to reviewing the recommendations and implementing those possible in future issues.

If you have a suggestion for a feature or any comments on Engage or Magnify’s report, then please do email beckyhenry@tuntum.co.uk

We want to thank Magnify for taking the time to undertake this work.; they are a group of dedicated volunteers, and we value their input and feedback.