We have to stay in touch with what our frontline staff are facing

Comment30.07.25by Sheron Carter

A conversation with six of our resident-facing staff members highlights the biggest challenges they face, and what organisations need to do to tackle them, writes Sheron Carter, chief executive of Hexagon housing association

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A conversation with six of our resident-facing staff members highlights the biggest challenges they face, and what organisations need to do to tackle them, writes Sheron Carter, chief executive of Hexagon #UKhousing

Much of my time is spent contemplating the big organisational challenges facing the social housing sector. Writing this article provided a great opportunity to gain deeper insights into what it is like for staff working on the frontline in the current climate.

Following a call-out to my colleagues, I was happy to hear back from six keen to share their experiences and observations. They were: Elaine (customer services manager), Elizabeth (complaints investigation officer), Nicci (neighbourhood team leader), Nilufa (customer services administrator), Melonie (anti-social behaviour officer) and Stacy (neighbourhood officer).

It was pleasing to hear that their experiences have been largely positive. Having a purpose, problem-solving, making a difference and social justice and fairness were common reasons given for working in social housing.

But there are many challenges that can leave frontline staff feeling fearful, helpless and overwhelmed.

The housing crisis among the sector’s staff

Nicci tells me that things were simpler when she joined the sector 37 years ago. Her role was to get the rental income in and to get the squatters out. The expectation back then was that rents were collected, homes were repaired, estates kept clean and tidy, noise nuisance monitored and managed, and transfer applications processed. Today, the range of activity is wide, and professional support networks are poorly resourced.

For Melonie, being an anti-social behaviour officer can be all consuming and emotionally demanding, and she feels like she has to be on top of her game. She shares how it gets under your skin when you see victims suffering, and that she has sleepless nights.

A few years ago, one of her clients was murdered, and although the investigation confirmed that she took all the right steps, she was devastated, and kept wondering whether there had been something more she could have done.

“The erosion of support services is having a profound impact. In some neighbourhoods, social landlords are the last agency standing”

When Elaine joined social housing just over two years ago, the biggest eye-opener for her was how huge the mental health challenges were. She is not sure if it is an impact of COVID or a symptom of support services being weakened, but she says that for every one-bedroom property that becomes available, the person nominated will have extensive, and often multiple, support needs.

Stacy notes that some people are so vulnerable that they should be in supported accommodation, but are integrated into general needs communities without much direction or any formal or informal support in place.

The erosion of support services is having a profound impact. In some neighbourhoods, social landlords are the last agency standing. Melonie says the high turnover of staff in social services and mental health community teams adds to the pressure, because you start working with one person and, within weeks, the people change.

There are often tensions with neighbours who find it difficult to deal with vulnerable people with challenging behaviours. They can feel angry and let down and hold their landlord responsible. Staff on the frontline are often targets for that anger.

When it comes to anti-social behaviour, the delays in the court system don’t help. Melonie says victims are left waiting, and she feels powerless to do anything about it. She says frontline staff have to manage all the risks, even though they have no control over setting the court dates. Some witnesses will agree to go to court, but back out closer to the hearing date, so the team has to beg and plead for witnesses to stay on board.

“Frontline staff find it difficult to meet tenants’ expectations, because of the real shortage of housing”

A common view from the people I spoke to is that the general societal mood is angrier, and lots of things cause it.

Public sector workers report increased levels of aggression. Media focus on the worst aspects of social housing reinforces the notion that it is all bad, which can make frontline staff feel like they are fair game.

Another major challenge is the acute shortage of social housing. Nilufa says frontline staff find it difficult to meet tenants’ expectations, because of the real shortage of housing. When there was an open transfer list, organisations could manage a percentage of our lettings, but now tenants get frustrated with central waiting lists.

Nicci says it has been difficult to recruit people with the right skills and knowledge. She feels people who have been in housing for a long time have built up resilience, but finds younger staff members coming in are not willing to tolerate people being rude or abusive, which happens in frontline services.

What I learnt from this is how important it is to take care of our people. It is easy to forget and underestimate the emotional burden carried by staff members who are genuinely trying to do their best in the most challenging of circumstances.

Hexagon put several things in place that my colleagues say they appreciate. These include:

Providing the employee assistance programme to support staff when they get overwhelmed

Being more robust about violence and abuse against staff, so they feel safe in delivering the service

Allowing customer service staff to take breaks after a difficult call

Supportive teams and line managers

Bringing in the Suzy Lamplugh Trust (a non-profit organisation that works to reduce abuse, aggression and violence) after an incident

Encouraging staff to complete incident forms, even when they are confident in how they handle difficult situations

Being an organisation of a size where you feel part of a community

Colleagues suggest housing organisations could do more to:

Improve systems, making better use of digital and AI services, which have huge possibilities

Train third-party operatives to focus on the quality of service to our customers

Train staff to diffuse situations, particularly in the early part of their career

Train staff to triage calls

Provide information and guidance on various impairments and conditions that can impact behaviours, so staff members recognise them and know how to respond

Ensure staff members have manageable workloads

Communicate well and often

Make policies and procedures clear and short

It is crucial that we listen to the challenges our resident-facing staff members deal with, and provide the support they need, to make our organisations great places to work and our homes great places to live.

Sheron Carter, chief executive, Hexagon