When new Welsh legislation limited the use of “guaranteed access,” Tai Calon faced a key question; how to stay compliant without relying on legal action or risking imprisonment for tenants?

The old process included three letters and court escalation which achieved compliance but felt impersonal and damaged trust. We wanted to redesign the process based around communication, data, and empathy.

This started with our work with segmentation. Our segmentation data which include information such as vulnerability, reading age, fuel poverty and more means we had insight into how our customers would prefer to be contacted. Using this information, we built a process around communication and trust.

Now, we send one appointment by letter and text. If tenants don’t respond, we assume the slot is confirmed. Our customers can reply if there is another preferred date or time.

If there is no access after three days, cases are then referred to our housing team, who follow up personally to help find the real barriers to access. The housing team connect with the customer, their family or support networks often uncovering the real reason behind missed appointments.

When our customers struggle with being unable to afford gas, we explore ways to help and when vulnerabilities are identified we’re better equipped to act. With this human centred approach, access rates have risen to between 98–100%, no-access cases have dropped by 10%, and engineers report higher morale.

At Tai Calon, we’ve proved that compliance doesn’t have to be forced. By putting people first, safety and access naturally follow along with trust.

The impact this has had on the team as well as our customers has been overwhelmingly positive. Engineers feel more valued and empowered to do their job well. Customers trust us more, respond faster and get additional support if needed and compliance is maintained without conflict.

We hope to continue to build this model further and expand it to other services across the business, aiming for the same trust-based results.