We launch Housing Management Matters campaign
Inside Housing and Inside Housing Management are launching a new campaign – Housing Management Matters – to spotlight the vital work of resident-facing staff. Anna Highfield sets out the campaign aims
We launch our #HousingManagementMatters campaign to promote careers in resident-facing social housing roles #UKhousing“When we talk about social housing, the focus is often on the numbers – how many homes we build, and the quality we maintain – but the true power of social housing lies in its people. It’s the dedicated professionals who deliver new homes, support tenants and help communities thrive.”
The words of Seamus Leheny, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations, will resonate with many housing professionals.
Housing management has taken a battering in recent years, with staff turnover rates increasing and growing recruitment problems, compounded by damning news stories in the national press.
Meanwhile, “the role of housing managers has grown increasingly important and challenging, with many now representing a fourth emergency service to tenants and communities”, says Sally Thomas, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, an early campaign backer.
Despite these challenges, an in-depth survey of almost 250 resident-facing housing staff carried out in May by Inside Housing and Inside Housing Management, the go-to publication for frontline staff, revealed major incentives to work in the sector.
The survey asked staff what they love most about their jobs – and the answers show that, for many, housing management is a rewarding career.
Inside Housing and Inside Housing Management are acutely aware that resident-facing roles in housing management are widely misunderstood or overlooked. As one survey respondent put it: “I have a very broad job title and a lot of people don’t understand what I actually do.”
This is why we are launching our Housing Management Matters campaign, to shout about the amazing work that housing managers do, to get the positive aspects of the social housing sector firmly on the public radar and to spread the message far and wide that housing management can be a great place to build a rewarding career.
Nick Atkin, chief executive of Yorkshire Housing, is also backing the campaign. He says: “Our housing teams are out there every day, building trust, sorting problems, and making sure people feel safe and part of where they live. They’re right at the heart of what we do. That’s why we’re backing the campaign, to show just how important this work really is.”
What will Housing Management Matters achieve?
Housing Management Matters aims to do three things for housing management:
- Recognise
- Publicise
- Recruit
Our campaign will recognise and celebrate the vital work that housing management teams do, via features, opinion pieces, a podcast and other campaign material incorporating real-life stories from resident-facing housing staff.
We will publicise the importance of housing management to MPs and the wider public – including through a series of ‘shadowing’ articles in which Inside Housing Management will join on-the-ground housing teams from different housing providers to showcase the work they are doing.
Ultimately, the campaign aims to help to recruit more people into resident-facing roles in social housing. As part of our aim to drive recruitment, later this year, Inside Housing Management will curate a digital recruitment pack focused on housing management roles, which we will distribute to housing associations.
We will also be working with housing providers across the UK to promote housing management roles more widely. Watch this space for some exciting announcements about that this month.
We launch the campaign by recognising the most rewarding aspects of working in housing management, revealed in our survey, What drives you?, filled in by nearly 250 resident-facing staff.
Much of the upcoming content on Inside Housing Management will be centred around the Housing Management Matters campaign – with regular features, comment pieces and podcast slots, as well as a dedicated webinar and live event at Housing 2025.
The campaign has already received backing from across the sector. To see who has backed the campaign and why, click here and scroll down.
Housing 2025 runs from 24-26 June. Find out more and book your delegate pass at housingevent.com
Housing Management Matters campaign aims
Recognise
- Run regular real-life stories on housing management
- Establish Inside Housing Management as a platform to promote the most rewarding aspects of the job
- Identify skills gaps for resident-facing professionals and share best practice content on how to develop them
Publicise
- Share our findings with MPs to promote the positive role housing management plays in society
- Publicise the work of housing management via our digital and social media platforms and wider reach
- Promote existing talent and the important jobs housing managers do via a series of ‘shadowing’ articles
- Run a ‘Futures Day’ at Housing 2025 for resident-facing housing staff, including a live event
Recruit
- Develop a digital recruitment pack for resident-facing roles, to be shared with associations and Jobcentre Plus
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