Getting the rent in. Anna O Halloran Managing Director 25 February 2016

Transcription

1 Getting the rent in Anna O Halloran Managing Director 25 February 2016

2 A new solution to an old problem getting the rent in. Today?

3 A new world We heard yesterday about: The 1% rent cut Universal credit Bedroom Tax Hard to let properties And the next biggest thing is Operating costs how to keep them down?

4 What s happened so far? Financial inclusion now being cut? Welfare benefit & debt support hard to quantify outcomes? Additional staff expensive? Out of hours working expensive & unpopular? System re-engineering doing the wrong things righter? Use of data - a bit of a struggle? Rent collectors - 140k income MVH (wow)

5 A new solution? A new lens to overlay on our behaviour change challenges. Based on empirical studies of human choice and decision making Radical Incrementalism: Small changes can trigger big impacts

6 In simple terms Homo Economicus? Homer Economicus?

7 Behavioural insights WIDELY USED IN UK / US GOVERNMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT.

8 Mindspace MINDSPACE 3 MINDSPACE: Influencing behaviour through public policy was published by the Institute for Government and the Cabinet Office in March It responds to many of the latest insights from behavioural economics and social psychology more generally. approaches based on changing contexts - the environment within which we make decisions and respond to cues - have the potential to bring about significant changes in behaviour at relatively low cost. Messenger Incentives Norms Defaults Salience Priming Affect Commitments Ego 3. Dolan et al, We are heavily influenced by who communicates information. Our responses to incentives are shaped by mental shortcuts We tend to do what those around us are already doing. We go with the flow of pre-set options. Our attention is drawn to what is novel and relevant to us. Our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues. Emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions. We seek to be consistent with our public promises We act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves.

9 When citizens were told that most people pay their tax on time, payment rates significantly increased.

10 Norms When citizens were told that most people pay their tax on time, payment rates significantly increased. 210m of revenue brought forward in 2012/13 alone.

11 When people who were late with court fine received reminder text messages, payments when up by 28%

12 Messenger / salience When people who were late with court fine received reminder text messages, payments when up by 28% 30m per year in saved revenue 150,000 bailiff interventions

13 Drivers reported having driven around 10% more miles when they signed their name before filling in an insurance form, rather than after.

14 Commitment Drivers reported having driven around 10% more miles when they signed their name before filling in an insurance form, rather than after. $97 extra per policy

15 Nudging your way to reduced rent arrears 9 randomised controlled trials. What happens if we Change the colour of our envelopes? Refer to residents as tenants, rather than customers? Tell tenants in arrears how many people in their area have a clear account? Include a picture of the tenants home in their arrears letters? Get tenants to sign their payment arrangements Start thanking tenants for keeping / achieving a clear account? Radical Incrementalism

16 Rigorous Evaluation

17 Prioritising simple, well-defined interventions to deliver within project timeframe. Agreements, Can t Pay / Won t Pay, Social comparison, Written / Verbal communication. Lottery Incentives / Loss Aversion. Gratitude & Reciprocity Priming with Labels.

18 Priming with labels Priming Our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues People s subsequent behaviour may be altered if they are first exposed to certain sights, words or sensations. People behave differently if they have been primed by certain cues beforehand. Priming seems to act outside of conscious awareness Broken windows theory Trigger pulling the finger Advertising Consumer Vs Citizen study Ageing stereotypes study

19 Priming with labels Intervention 1: the classic approach 1. Control Tenants are greeted by a Member of Staff and proceed to complete a questionnaire on attitudes to landlord, payments, rights and responsibilities etc. This questionnaire uses generic terms: people, staff and money. 2. Enforcement Tenants are greeted by a Debt Recovery Officer and asked to fill the same questionnaire with different terms: tenant, debt recovery officer and debt. 3. Support Tenants are greeted by a Money Advisor and asked to fill the same questionnaire with different terms again : customer, money advisor and arrears.

20 Priming with labels Intervention 2 Define the type of relationship that the different terms represent: customer, tenant, resident etc Developing a messaging framework, tone of voice and image\graphic style the represents each. Create a piece of arrears communication (eg letter, leaflet or text message) using each of the different messaging frameworks, tones of voice and images eg Enforcement Vs Support Randomly allocate target tenants into 1 of 3 groups: 1.Control: receive existing communication 2.Enforcement: receive enforcement communication 3.Support: receive support communication.

21 Have a go.. MINDSPACE 3 MINDSPACE: Influencing behaviour through public policy was published by the Institute for Government and the Cabinet Office in March It responds to many of the latest insights from behavioural economics and social psychology more generally. approaches based on changing contexts - the environment within which we make decisions and respond to cues - have the potential to bring about significant changes in behaviour at relatively low cost. Messenger Incentives Norms Defaults Salience Priming Affect Commitments Ego 3. Dolan et al, We are heavily influenced by who communicates information. Our responses to incentives are shaped by mental shortcuts We tend to do what those around us are already doing. We go with the flow of pre-set options. Our attention is drawn to what is novel and relevant to us. Our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues. Emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions. We seek to be consistent with our public promises We act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves.

22 Feedback on your ideas

23 Our results Increased payments Quicker payments Increased engagement Less engagement Sticking to agreements

24 Thank you