Improving resilience:
Supporting tenants & employees with well-being
Julie Nicholas, CIH Cymru & Louise Evans, Gofal
Tai Pawb Conference, October 2014
Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us. www.cih.org
Frontline Futures: New Era,
changing role for housing officers
• What is the nature & value of 21st century
frontline housing professional role?
• What support is needed
• What are key competencies
– skills, attitudes and behaviours
• What is the impact of
networks and new technology?
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Frontline Futures: Methodology
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Surveys
Appreciative enquiry
Focus groups
Interviews
Webinars
1k+ participants
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21st Century Context
• Macro climate has hit tenants, LAs, social landlords
and housing-related support organisations hard
• Government and governance
• Not enough affordable homes
• quality– especially private rented
• not enough money
• tenants under pressure: low wages, welfare
reform
– Disproportionate impact
• housing providers under pressure: more for less
– Housing professionals under pressure
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Findings: The industry is changing
• A ‘social heart and commercial head’
–frontline workers will be expected to
be much more commercially minded
–With a strong sense of social value
–And a Can Do attitude
• not precious about rank or job boundaries,
but prepared to take responsibility and get
things done
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Future qualities & competencies
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Ability to be effective in a quickly changing environment
Ability to solve problems
Good people skills – to interact, liaise & negotiate
Resilience and emotional intelligence
Ability to analyse & interpret customer insight intelligence
Ability to be self-aware, critically reflect & keep learning
Confidence to assess and take calculated risks
Ability to connect experience on the ground with bigger
picture
• Ability and willingness to make a positive contribution to
team culture and to inspire and gain the confidence
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6 principles of future frontline role
1. Differentiated : using data intelligence to guide how time
is used, rather than providing blanket service for all
2. Relational: doing things with residents, rather than doing
things to or for them
3. Interactive : working alongside professionals from other
disciplines to achieve broader range of outcomes
4. Varied and creative : finding solutions, even if they lie
outside of ‘normal activity’
5. Engaged and impactful :doing things with the intention
of having a positive impact on people’s lives and the
organisation’s bottom line
6. Novel and anticipatory: doing something now to avoid
negative consequences later on.
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What does this mean?
• Specifically frontline workers need support to
develop competencies and resilience
– developed through new training approaches
– help deal with challenges of changing & complex role
– to develop networks & self-manage
– to respond to situations & crisis creatively &
effectively.
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Change is not just about the frontline!
• Call for evidence is on now!
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future Challenges
• doing more than more with less than less
– To deliver services to (vulnerable) customers
• equality and diversity in the profession
http://www.cih.org/presidentialcommission
• the autonomous housing professional
trained, supported, networked
• Are you a revolutionary?
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Wales is different
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One Housing System
Partnership Working
Equality & Social Justice
Housing = Government Priority
‘social’ Housing = a good thing fighting back #CouncilHomeChat
Innovation in challenging times: Finance and Co-ops
CIH Cymru new ‘Frontline Futures’ training offer
– build a coaching-based relationship with customers
• Housing led regeneration – the i2i experience
• autonomous housing professional: trained supported
networked
• Are you a revolutionary?
Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us | www.cih.org
diolch yn fawr
thank you
julie.nicholas@cih.org
@JulieNCIH
Frontline futures report:
http://www.cih.org/resources/PDF/Policy%20free%20download
%20pdfs/Frontline%20futures%20report%20final.pdf
Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us | www.cih.org