HUD Affordable Housing for Seniors Journey
Developing HUD’s capacity to design high value customer experiences.
Overview
To introduce HUD to human-centered design best practices, the Customer Experience Center of Excellence (CX CoE) team conducted a demonstration project focused on the journey to affordable housing for seniors. We researched the current journey for seniors and associated activities for HUD and HUD community partners as a case study that exemplifies the common experiences of all citizens seeking affordable housing. In collaboration with a cross-program CX working group at HUD, we developed insights by identifying common themes and recommended solutions to address real challenges experienced through this journey.
Layers of complexity separate people from housing.
This diagram shows how the many layers of HUD and its partners work together to serve citizens.
The CX CoE team conducted more than fifty (50) one-on-one qualitative interviews with seniors, intermediaries, and HUD staff in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, in collaboration with HUD staff representing a cross-program working group. This research culminated in the Affordable Housing for Seniors Journey Map, a launching pad for brainstorming HUD’s role in creating customer-centric solutions that positively impact all citizens.
Research Participants
-
23HUD Field Offices:
Baltimore, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington DC -
21HUD HQ:
(OA, FPM, PIH, CPD, FHEO, PD&R, OPA, OLHCHH, OH – SF, MF & OHC) -
10Senior Residents:
Baltimore, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Washington DC -
8Property Managers:
Baltimore, Los Angeles, Pasadena -
7Public Housing Authorities:
Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena -
3Housing Counseling Services:
Los Angeles, Washington DC -
2Performance Based Contract Administration:
Los Angeles
Outcomes
Our research into the affordable housing journey yielded these outcomes:
Illustrated the experience of a subset of HUD’s customers, as representative of experiences common to all citizens.
Facilitated HUD’s identification of opportunities and potential solutions for the new Office of Customer Experience’s consideration.
Demonstrated a human-centered way of working at HUD that improves customer experience and operational efficiency.
Findings
The CX CoE’s research generated an understanding of how citizens and intermediaries experience affordable housing processes. Here we present three key findings and 4 customer stories as a sample of the findings. We encourage you to learn more about our findings in the Key Insights and Recommendations report.
Key Findings
In addition to the wide range of pain points and specific challenges that were uncovered in interviews, several common and pervasive themes emerged. These challenges came up repeatedly in interviews with people from different organizations and with different responsibilities who interact with different programs at HUD.
Lack of Control
Supporting seniors’ sense of control in the housing process is a clear opportunity to improve their quality of life. When people experience shelter uncertainty, all other aspects of life are impacted. The challenges of aging — deteriorating mental and physical health, memory and mobility loss, loneliness, and other factors — amplify the impact of uncertainty and create barriers to self sufficiency. Feeling in control of their housing situations can reduce these impacts.
Decisions without Transparency
The disparity between the supply and demand of affordable housing creates a burden on everyone in the supply chain — citizens, HUD, and every one in between. Attempting to build equitable processes for access to affordable housing has manifested in complex, siloed waitlist systems that create administrative work for PHAs and property managers, and increases both confusion and overhead for citizens. Increasing transparency about the affordable housing process and aligning and automating administrative burdens may mitigate the impact of these opaque systems.
Disaggregated Knowledge
Much of the data about conditions on the ground in communities is reported to HUD HQ by community partners as part of compliance efforts. HUD uses this data to guide policy decisions at a national level, but the data does not enable local decision-making and action for field office staff and community partners. HUD has an opportunity to consolidate community information across program areas for magnified situational awareness, and to offer decision-making tools to field offices and community partners to improve service delivery locally.
Customer Stories
The below customer stories are composites of experiences the CX CoE team heard during interviews. Accompanying each customer story is an exploration of a new experience with a few solution ideas about how to get to this future state. These ideas were generated by the CX CoE team in collaboration with a cross-program HUD working group.
Lucy
Lucy and her husband lived in an apartment together. Her husband passed away and now she is struggling to afford the rent. The additional stress of housing insecurity while Lucy is mourning the death of her husband is hard, and she isn’t sure anyone can help.
I don’t know where to begin”
I don’t understand the requirements”
The HUD website is confusing”
I have to visit each property in person”
I can’t figure out which HUD number to call for help”
I can’t filter the search for my needs”
Future State
Imagine a future where Lucy doesn’t struggle to learn about her housing options and she is well prepared and confident that she can readily and independently understand her affordable housing options and requirements.
- She’s ready to start her search right away, armed with information she’s seen in years prior, thanks to HUD outreach.
- She quickly finds essential information on the HUD website that she can readily comprehend.
- She can narrow her search for properties online down to a few that meet her specific criteria for things that matter to her like access to groceries and a safe neighborhood.
- The information online gives her full knowledge of the application requirements, how to apply, and the current waitlist.
- She reaches a knowledgeable HUD representative that easily answers Lucy’s basic questions on the first try.
Solution Ideas
What can HUD do to create this experience for Lucy?
Make it easier to find properties for which they are eligible
Provide a filtered search based on amenities important to citizens, and push notifications about changes so applicants can make important decisions about housing with complete information.
Make it easier to find information about HUD resources
An omni-channel approach to delivering information about HUD services in clear, plain language that is easy for intermediaries and citizens to find based on their situation.
Increase awareness of HUD programs for citizens and intermediaries
Access information about affordable housing before it’s needed via awareness campaigns and outreach to places citizens frequent.
Establish a centralized contact center with an enterprise-wide knowledge base and CRM
Deliver a common experience across all touchpoints and resolve issues in a timely manner with a single enterprise focused contact center for HUD.
Odette
Odette is a low-income senior who also struggled to learn about housing options, but she has figured out her options and believes the hard part is behind her. She is ready to apply, but finds the application process harder than she expected.
I only found out second-hand that a waitlist was opening”
I had to apply in person at each property”
I needed someone to translate the form to my language so I could fill it out”
I had to get up before sunrise to wait in a long line to apply”
It’s frustrating to fill out a different application for each place with the same info”
I can’t figure out which HUD number to call for help”
Future State
Imagine a future where Odette easily applies to all her top options and she isn’t worried about missing application windows. With little effort or support, she can apply to multiple properties on her own.
- Odette is able to signal interest in a property with a waitlist, and then receives a text notification that a waitlist is about to open.
- Odette goes online somewhere to enter her basic information and is able to submit applications to multiple properties at once.
- When visiting properties in person, Odette does not need any help to complete the application since the applications are identical and offered in her native language.
- Because Odette’s application information is electronic, she can choose to share relevant information with intermediaries and HUD (such as change of address or employment status) to enable more efficient and higher quality delivery of services.
- When Odette calls HUD with a question, she gets an immediate and clear response.
Solution Ideas
What can HUD do to create this experience for Odette?
Streamline the application process across properties:
Develop a standard application for common information used by all properties for HUD-supported housing to reduce the repetition of applicants filling out the same information at multiple properties. The information can be entered and updated electronically and shared instantly with all properties and HUD.
Provide all communications and forms in the preferred language of the applicant/resident:
Standard forms and notices provided in various common languages so eligible applicants can complete forms without needing help from site managers to translate them, and do not miss or misunderstand notifications. Help intermediaries that need translation services to provide this support.
Establish a centralized contact center with an enterprise-wide knowledge base and CRM:
Deliver a common experience across all touchpoints and resolve issues in a timely manner with a single enterprise focused contact center for HUD.
Steve
Steve is a PHA Housing Manager spending another late Thursday night at the office to keep up with compliance requirements. Steve loves his work but he struggles to find enough time to serve his community.
This system is being retired next month with no replacement”
We give HUD bare minimum data because I don’t know what they do with it”
I need to analyze and visualize my local community but I don’t have the tools”
I’m spending this whole grant on compliance, not service”
I have to enter the same data into 3 systems”
HUD changes reporting systems annually, I can’t keep up”
Future State
Imagine a future where instead of hunching over his desk on a Thursday night, Steve can spend Thursday evening at a community meeting where he meets several developers interested in creating new affordable housing units. He has all the data and systems he needs to automate reporting and realize the power of his local data to leverage solutions.
- Steve enters data one time and that data is shared to each system that requires it.
- Steve doesn’t spend extra time on compliance because HUD is able to evaluate his reporting requirements directly from the system without requiring the submissions of multiple individual reports.
- The data Steve submits to HUD isn’t just 1-way. HUD provides that data and tools back to him so he can easily build and share a digital heat map and performance dashboard visualizations to make his case to developers.
- Steve can quickly pull data to create his own report that will be useful for his community meeting.
Solution Ideas
What can HUD do to create this experience for Steve?
Enable data-informed decisions:
Identify and act on issues, alleviate reporting requirements, empower field offices and intermediaries to serve better by establishing a framework and guidance for data sharing between HUD offices and with intermediaries.
Provide dashboard-building tools to intermediaries:
Put the power to monitor performance into the hands of intermediaries by offering dashboarding and visualization as a HUD service to field offices and intermediaries.
Create and provide visualizations of struggling properties, citizens, and geographies:
Perceive, understand, and forecast local issues in a consolidated view by furnishing field offices and intermediaries with heat maps and other GIS related visualizations that indicate customer perception and performance metrics.
Modernize legacy systems with a focus on serving intermediaries:
Prioritize agile development of modern HUD systems by impact on intermediary experience.
Lois
Lois is the site manager for a project-based building for seniors. She is feeling anxious because HUD is inspecting her building next week. No matter how well she keeps records and manages the building, she doesn’t know how to ensure a good score. Being a site manager can be lonely because on top of the paperwork and building maintenance, she’s on her own to handle complex resident issues without access to support.
Where’s the support? I need help to figure out this problem.”
I don’t understand how the rules have changed since the last time”
I wish it were easier to access support for my residents”
I wish I had more time to spend on resident programming”
I wonder who the inspector will be and how they will interpret the rules”
Future State
Imagine a future where instead of losing sleep worrying about the upcoming inspection, Lois can sleep soundly tonight because she has the tools, clarity, and support she needs to serve her residents:
- She is confident she understands how to comply with HUD regulations.
- She has a support network of colleagues who help her solve common challenges.
- She knows how to access tailored support services for her residents to meet their needs and maintain a peaceful and productive environment for everyone.
Solution Ideas
What can HUD do to create this experience for Lois?
Unify HUD policy, regulatory, and guidance updates:
Ease the work intermediaries have to do to find, interpret, and implement new policy, regulations, and guidance by establishing a single, searchable digital location to find all policy updates and announcements.
Launch a collaboration network for sharing best practices:
Support intermediaries with additional technical assistance and best practices by providing a social network platform that enables intermediaries to connect and ask one another questions, share best practices, and see hot topics.
Standardize and simplify inspections:
Alleviate the uncertainty of HUD inspections by aligning requirements and timing across program areas.
Define minimum levels of compliance:
Relieve the burden of time consuming reporting requirements, increase flexibility in how funds are used while maintaining appropriate oversight of taxpayer dollars by simplifying compliance requirements across program areas, and establishing clear minimum standards for operational performance.
Convene and facilitate holistic services for citizens:
Save money and enable service providers to meet the holistic needs of residents more easily by establishing partnerships among federal agencies that make tailoring support services a clear and accessible activity.
Journey Map
Journey mapping is a way to walk in the shoes of citizens and intermediaries; to understand all interactions they have, and the emotional and functional pain points they experience along the way. It helps program managers identify the areas where their customers struggle and what changes need to happen to alleviate those pain points. The Journey to Affordable Housing for Seniors represents the journey of low income seniors, ages 62+, as an example of the common experiences of all citizens seeking affordable housing.
HUD and its intermediaries carry out the work of enabling and delivering affordable housing services to seniors. HUD administers grants, loans, and subsidies, and awards them to intermediaries who provide housing assistance and other supportive services. The Enabling the Journey to Affordable Housing service blueprint describes the common activities that HUD and intermediaries engage in with respect to the journey to affordable housing and the pain points for each group as represented by the icons listed.
Reports
The CX CoE work is guided by customer research - structured conversations with a cross-section of seniors, site managers, PHA staff, HUD field staff, and HUD HQ staff.
The Findings and Recommendations Report synthesizes the data collected through interviews and offers a vision to guide high value customer experiences and it offers specific ideas for addressing the pain points identified.
The Briefing Deck serves as an executive summary and overview of the findings of the research.
The How Might HUDs were used in the solutioning workshop to brainstorm ideas with HUD staff. After the workshop, we added the solution ideas to these so they serve as a comprehensive look at the paint points, opportunity, and ideas generated with HUD.