The Tenant Voice
North Star Housing Group has long valued the voice of its tenants, with an established scrutiny group known as The Tenant Voice Scrutiny Panel (TVSP). But with evolving regulatory requirements and a drive for continuous improvement, North Star saw the perfect moment to re-energise their approach seeking a refreshed and revitalised panel built on a strong foundation of diversity, independence, and expert insight.
The organisation launched a targeted recruitment campaign, which successfully attracted a wide range of applicants. These new panel members brought with them varied experiences of housing and scrutiny so Tentacles was asked to equip the panel with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to play a meaningful role as both critical friends and experts-by-experience.
The group plays a key role in tenant involvement at North Star. With a refreshed name and approach and now known as The Tenant Voice (TTV), it connects closely with other tenant-led groups across the organisation, ensuring that engagement is not only consistent but truly effective.
Recognising that this was a new experience for many participants, we focused on making a great first impression, building rapport, encouraging interaction, and creating space for people to get to know one another.
Building skills and confidence
I designed a comprehensive development package that covered the essentials: regulation, professional standards, and effective questioning techniques. To ensure alignment with North Star’s existing practices, I incorporated familiar tools, including the OASIS seven-stage model. I also explored broader, strategic skills—such as identifying high-impact issues and maintaining a focus on the bigger picture rather than being drawn into individual concerns.
To keep things engaging and memorable, I used a variety of interactive methods. Gamification played a key role, with a quiz and a card-based activity helping to bring concepts to life. Small group discussions encouraged reflection, debate, and the chance to form individual relationships.
Reviews
The workshop was met with enthusiasm, generating positive feedback from both tenants and staff. Peter Locke, Head of Engagement and Insight at North Star, noted a clear and immediate impact: “You could see a real difference in the panel’s confidence after the session.”
Most importantly, the customer chair of the panel, Paula, said: “I attended both training days which were highly informative containing specific North Star information combined with social housing sector wide information. That combination put everyone on the same page to be able to start working together for North Star and its customers. Claire created a relaxed environment that enabled us to be at ease, and we were able to ask questions at any point to further the understanding. Whilst also managing to navigate that we came together not really knowing each other but by doing certain tasks, we started the process of getting to know each other and working together to be an effective team. We are grateful for the training and as Peter says, we do refer back to that training and have implemented some of the methods learned that day into our meetings now. Thank you, Claire’
To find out more, visit the Tentacles website or my LinkedIn page
