Change & Transparency is coming what are you doing about it?

Introducing our new Business Development Manager, Matthew Stephenson.

 

My experience in business is bordering 20 years, although, within the Housing Sector, you could say I am a novice with just over two years. However, having engaged with many housing professionals and collated feedback on housing matters, my view of the sector is that it is full of caring, passionate people. People dedicated to doing the right thing for both their organisation and their tenants, while also enduring some difficult times. Social housing is a sector experiencing constant change. It has to be not only resilient but also accepting and able to adapt to new technologies to help them along the way.

 

We live in a world where technology is coming at us so fast that sometimes it is hard to keep up!

 

In our personal lives, we can go online and do grocery shopping, saving the cost of getting there and back and the time spent in the queue. Online banking on the commute or answering the door to a delivery when you are miles away from home. Why? Because it is convenient, it works and it makes our lives much easier without the added stress. Do we always adopt the same attitude in the workplace to make things easier?

 

We have accepted technology, but we can spend our day firefighting, spinning many plates, long hours, etc. Are we happy if we are just managing but with no time to do anything more? Why? Simply because it’s always been done this way?? Isn’t it time we truly explored the benefits innovative technology can provide?

 

I had a conversation recently with the CEO of our organisation Ryan Dempsey – Having worked for Leeds City Council for a long time, Ryan’s experience within housing and compliance is unrivalled. I didn’t know Ryan personally until very recently when he told me about TCW, the product itself, and the benefits it has brought to a sector where time is precious. Having listened to the pain-points Ryan and many others had in the sector, it was clear to me that TCW is a solution that can do so much more than just save time for the housing sector.

 

Ryan made a good point at the recent UnCon event, which reminded me that there is a perception across the sector by checking that only 10% of documents are compliant, has become acceptable.

 

With the recent news on the Building Safety Bill and White Paper, it’s undeniable that change, and importantly transparency, is coming. Would a tenant be happy if their neighbour’s property has been checked and signed off as compliant but their property had not? That alone could open up a can of worms, not to mention the fact that even one property not checked as safe is one too many! If you could drop all PDFs into a system and have them read, within minutes, pointing out if they are compliant or not and saving many hours then for me, it is a no brainer – which is why I am happy to become part of the TCW team.

 

It’s undeniable that change is integral to development, one cannot exist without the other. We can adopt an attitude that we don’t change anything because it has “always been done that way”. Some changes will happen with or without your consent, some changes will occur that won’t ask your permission, however, there are some changes that you can take control of, embrace it and make your own along the way.

 

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”

 

The same is true of the Social Housing Sector.

 

Matthew Stephenson

Business Development Manager, TCW

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