Calico Homes’ new self-service app from OptusApp has achieved 50 per cent adoption within the first week of its launch. This follows a pilot project with a group of around 100 residents in November 2024.
The rapid adoption of the Calico Connect app was helped by a thorough pre-launch marketing campaign to Calico’s residents followed by regular updates and opportunities for residents to take part in the design and testing of the app.
Built on the OptusApp software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, Calico Connect is designed to streamline resident-landlord communications and enhance customer experience. The app’s features include repair reporting, appointment scheduling, job tracking, two-way messaging, rent account management and direct payments.
Additional features are scheduled to be added to the Calico app over the next few weeks, including reporting anti-social behaviour, booking appointments for a wider range of repairs, making complaints and completing TSMs and other surveys. The app also includes language support for English, Urdu, Polish, Kurdish, Farsi and Arabic.
Helen Thompson, deputy chief executive, Calico Homes, said, “It’s such a positive start to see so many customers are already onboard. And while we know an app isn’t for everyone, it can provide a better experience for those customers who choose to contact us online; they can be reassured that we’re getting the basics right.”
Gerry Kelly, CEO, OptusApp, said, “Many housing providers struggle to achieve a 20 per cent adoption rate for their legacy tenant portals. In contrast, Calico Homes has been strategic in selecting a native smartphone app with accompanying portal option.
“Consumers know what they want, and with smartphones as the device of choice, they really appreciate an intuitive, powerful and resident-centric solution such as Calico Connect.”
