In January 2024, the Housing Ombudsman released its spotlight report on attitudes, respect and rights in the housing sector. It would be easy to say it was a ‘hard’ or ‘sober’ read, but my first thought was that it didn’t surprise me. There’s a lot to say so this is a bumper sized blog!
Why aren’t we getting attitude, respect and rights on the mark?
The brilliant report delved into some of the reasons that we’re missing the mark with attitudes, respect and rights. Some are difficult to control (funding, the increasing number of challenges in our society, connections between health and housing) but some are completely within our gift to change. Right now.
It’s clear that the ‘confused processes, siloed working, a lack of curiosity, poor records and communication’ that the Ombudsman talks about are down to two main issues: culture and systems.
Responding to the spotlight report
In previous blogs on social housing stigma and empowerment I have talked about why I think the housing sector still has some way to go with engagement. I don’t believe anyone who works in the sector wakes up with the attitude that they will ignore or malign tenants and residents. But the spotlight report is yet another confirmation that people in our services still don’t feel respected. It’s a hard pill to swallow but to really change culture, we need to stop hiding behind denial and admit that whatever we’re doing, even if we think we’re doing it brilliantly, it isn’t working.
Reset the culture
It’s time for a reset of culture and the best way to do this is to get back to basics. In both my Insights Discovery and coaching practice we talk a lot about self-awareness and awareness of others. The focus is on accepting who we are and how we feel about things and then learning how to challenge and regulate the action we choose to take. More awareness is the key to ensuring we have an honest culture that accepts the differing experiences and needs of people in society. More awareness means we can have zero-tolerance to inappropriate discussion and treatment of tenants and residents. More awareness means we’ll get the right attitudes and respect.
More focus on equality, diversity and inclusion
To support awareness, it is crucial to up our game in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion. We need to take the time to hear about different experiences and learn how to respond and how to make reasonable adjustments that are meaningful. There are many simple ways of doing this, using the knowledge that already exists in your colleague and customer groups.
Real engagement
Finally, we need to ensure that engagement moves to new heights and isn’t just something we do because we have to. Tenants and residents repeatedly tell us that communication is the biggest issue, so we need to hear this and work with them to make a change. Great engagement should be part of every-day business and should be considered in every interaction.
The Housing Ombudsman report tells us that lack of resource was frequently mentioned by landlords as the root of failures. Engagement does need a bit of resource to get it off the ground, but the beauty of working with tenants and residents is this: if you facilitate the structure, the skills and the feedback, they’ll run with it. You’ll see the results with minimal effort. Who is more committed to getting it right than the person trying to make a home in your service?
Responding to systems issues
I specialise in working on the qualitative side of engagement, but this needs to be supported by brilliant feedback systems that can get to a wider audience in greater numbers. I’ve been talking to Fraser Campbell at CX feedback about how they would approach a solution to issues raised in the spotlight report.
Fraser Campbell – CX Feedback
In the dynamic landscape of social housing, ensuring the well-being and satisfaction of tenants is a top priority. As a software provider deeply invested in the sector, we recognise the critical role technology plays in addressing the diverse needs of tenants and fostering inclusive communities.
Identifying Those in Need of Extra Support and Reasonable Adjustments
The implementation of the right technology tools is helping some of the most inclusive providers to identify individuals who may require extra support or reasonable adjustments. By analysing various data points such as maintenance requests, rent payment history, and interactions with support services, housing providers can proactively identify tenants in need and tailor support strategies accordingly.
Leveraging technology, housing providers can also implement community outreach programs and engagement initiatives to connect with tenants directly. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, housing providers can gain valuable insights into the unique challenges and needs of tenants, allowing for targeted support and assistance.
Measuring Attitudes, Respect, and Rights
There are challenges around how best to measure how your services impact certain hard-to-reach groups of people. By collecting feedback in a structured and systematic manner, housing providers can assess the overall satisfaction levels of tenants and identify areas for improvement. Using a digital-first approach to this tends to provide the highest speed and lowest resource costs, allowing providers to free up more time and resources to focus on those who cannot receive digital opportunities to communicate.
By leveraging techniques and technologies such as survey automation, automated escalation of problem responses, natural language processing, and sentiment analysis tools, housing providers can gain deeper insights into tenant experiences, attitudes, and perceptions, allowing for more nuanced and informed decision-making, without the resource drain that would usually be involved in using traditional methods of engagement.
Supporting Effective Feedback
Technology can provide providers with various easy, fast and cheap communication channels to facilitate effective feedback loops with tenants. From online portals and mobile applications to community forums and helplines, housing providers can offer multiple touchpoints for tenants to voice their concerns and provide feedback in a manner that is convenient and accessible. Through real-time reporting and tracking mechanisms, housing providers can demonstrate responsiveness to tenant feedback and implement timely solutions to address identified issues.
So how do we respond to improve attitudes, respect and rights?
It’s clear we need a mixture of skills and innovations to get there. There is technology available to providers that holds immense potential to transform tenant engagement and satisfaction within the social housing sector. Using data-driven insights, conducting comprehensive assessments of needs and abilities, and facilitating transparent communication channels, housing providers can proactively identify individuals in need, measure key metrics like attitudes and rights, and support effective feedback mechanisms. However, we need the right culture in place to interpret and action our findings. If we embrace a new, open culture and technological innovations, we can create more inclusive and supportive communities where every tenant feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.
Help is available
There is a lot to be done, but we can get there. If you’d like some practical support to look at any of the issues in this blog, get in touch at info@tentaclesconsultancy.co.uk.
If you’d like to know more about CX Feedback, contact
