Seeing clearly

Have you ever asked yourself ‘Why did I get myself into this housing game in the first place and what on earth am I doing here anyway?’

With all the pressures of government legislation, forecasts of impending financial meltdown, mergers and regulations, it is easy to forget that housing professionals have the ability to make a huge, positive difference to our communities and the lives of the people who live in them.

I am always surprised by the number of organisations, housing or otherwise, that don’t take the opportunity to stamp their vision and aims throughout their business.

A company’s vision should be repeated throughout an employee’s time at the company, from their recruitment, to appraisal and exit interview. They should be left in no doubt about the purpose of the business and why they turn up to work every morning.

But the vision needs to be real and compelling, not meaningless words that are easily forgotten.

If you are going to create a successful and shared vision for our business, you need to remember some essential rules:

• Ensure your vision is concise, emotive, ambitious and compelling
• Concentrate on what is really important to you, your colleagues and your customers
• Involve your people in creating the vision; remember, no input means no ownership and no commitment
• Stamp your vision throughout your business
• Ensure you and your management team lead by example and stay true to your values and aims

Employees, and now also tenants, need to believe in your aims and have feelings of ownership.

There are some brilliant examples of organisations that are really focused on living their values. South Liverpool Housing Group, for example, holds a ‘walkabout Wednesday’ on the first Wednesday of every month. On that day, the whole organisation goes out onto the association’s estates to deal with any problems and really make a difference to people’s lives.

Once you are reminded what the point was in the first place, you can do so much more.

Liam O’Connell is a business and culture change consultant, professional speaker and author

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