Opmeer Housing Corporation on usage testing
Suppose you want to cancel your rent. Do you then click on the 'move' button? Woningbedrijf Opmeer used questions like these to investigate whether the route and names of various processes on its website are clear to users. It yielded great insights, for example the difference in perception of young and older tenants. How did these insights affect the design of the new website?
If you want to rent a house in the municipality of Opmeer, or if you are already a tenant, you will soon come to the website of Woningbedrijf Opmeer. To improve services to tenants and house seekers, the website was revamped in late 2020. A project that was carried out in about 6 weeks together with Shift2. Simone Onneweer, policy officer Woningbedrijf Opmeer: "A tough project, the site really needed an update, before and behind the scenes."
Warm and personal
"In a kick-off meeting, Shift2 (formerly SIM) collected ideas and wishes from us. These could be categorized under three points. For example, it was important to improve the look and feel. We especially wanted the website to be warmer and more personal with more color and nice pictures with people on them. Developing the format for this was a lot of fun," Simone says enthusiastically. "We tested it among users. It is instructive to see how everyone views and experiences such a website. For example, one young tenant found it unfortunate that the homepage features a photo with an older person on it. Whereas we deliberately chose that photo because it shows both an older and younger person. In terms of style, the new website now also fits much better with the house style of municipality Opmeer of which we are part."
Structuring from the customer's perspective
A second issue was structuring the information. What information should be at the front and is it findable? Simone: "Previously, the information was presented more from our housing company. From what we thought was important to our customers and from what we wanted to tell them. Using usage tests, we started looking from the customers' perspective. What information do they look up the most? What do they want to know? And do they recognize the names of things? Is the routing clear? Things like that were addressed. Based on the results, we started structuring. For example, 'register' and 'terminate rent' have become top tasks. They feature prominently on the homepage, as does 'submit a repair request'. Very handy for tenants and house seekers."
Arrange online
The third issue was improving online services. "Our customers are used to calling, but much more can now be arranged online. Those options also fit better with these times," Simone explains. "Think, for example, of submitting a repair request. The tenant saves time by submitting the report online, because it goes directly to the right department. An additional advantage: the customer contact center (CCC) no longer has to record and forward the technical reports. That freed up time can now be used by the KCC for other questions."
150% better
Simone is delighted with the results. "The look and feel is 150% better. The top tasks are very convenient and tenants can now arrange more online." As far as she is concerned, a good foundation is in place. "We still have some actions and wishes on our list. For example, text adjustments are still needed to better match user terminology. Also an online form for reporting nuisance, frequently asked questions and arranging an automatic transfer of rent via Digid are still on the planning. The goal is always to make customers more clear about the possibilities. We want to make it as easy as possible for them," Simone concludes. Just like Shift2, in other words.
Curious about the result? Check out the website of Woningbedrijf Opmeer here.
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