Housing sector’s risk aversion is significantly blocking innovation

Nervousness is common when it comes to embracing digital suppliers or systems that aren’t well established. This is made worse by a lack of headspace at decision-making level. Leaders are wrestling with daily problems rather than reimagining their organisations for the future.

Ironically, innovation is one way in which housing organisations could find headspace to navigate their way through today’s challenging environment, where they have to juggle growing demand with diminishing resources.

“To successfully shift the status quo on innovation, you need visionary leaders”

So, how can we change this mindset around innovation and calculated risks? How do social landlords run their organisations differently, where everyone, from board members to frontline workers, are open to fresh ways of working?

We speak to finance, property and customer services directors regularly, gathering ideas on innovation – what is working and what is not. Here are some practical tips for confident adoption and scaling of technology and AI.

Consider board composition

To successfully shift the status quo on innovation, you need visionary leaders. Who at the top will challenge when it comes to risk appetite? Who will encourage executive directors to carve time out to look ahead?

Leading by example is crucial, with board members modelling to the workforce that experimentation, learning (and failure) are necessary to find groundbreaking solutions that will improve services.

Invest in skills

Being comfortable with change must be baked into the structures and beliefs of your housing organisation. This starts with recruiting employees who welcome and nurture innovation, not those who block it.

Think about the content of job descriptions, where you find staff, how you interview and onboard them. Assess candidates’ inquisitiveness and adaptability.

Learning and development play a big part, too, and this isn’t just about digital literacy. Do you train housing officers, repairs managers and customer-service advisors on AI prompting and policy? They’ll be using it anyway, so make sure they harness technologies in the best way.

Bear in mind that change will be unsettling for some staff, especially if they have worked for years in a ‘safe’ and predictable culture. Think about internal communication and personal development, so they see the benefits of innovation for them.

“The financial and regulatory pressures in our sector mean there is anxiety around running projects that might not work”

Develop a culture of curiosity

Everything, from the atmosphere of your organisation, to its behaviours and rewards systems, must celebrate exploration and eagerness to learn. You could set up an awards scheme for employees who take smart risks or bring in new thinking, or host internal events where teams present lessons learned – even from failures.

Normalise failing fast

The financial and regulatory pressures in our sector mean there is anxiety around running projects that might not work. Yet trying, failing and moving on quickly are key to innovation; it helps people to spot problems early, when they’re cheaper and easier to fix.

Framing failure as feedback is important here. Housing leaders must appreciate rather than penalise setbacks, and manage risks by testing, learning and adjusting quickly.

Create innovation roles

Housing providers are bombarded with technology sales pitches every day. They often come to busy service managers who don’t have time to identify the best solutions to resolve complex problems.

Those housing organisations that hire an innovation lead (someone whose job it is to solve issues through new approaches) often adopt the most effective solutions faster. They challenge traditional thinking about replacing a housing management system or installing lots of devices, querying how data will be used and where an organisation wants to go in the long term.

Develop ways to procure innovation

Many start-ups can’t enter the market because of tender bureaucracy; they don’t have the resources to complete lengthy public procurement applications. At the same time, social landlords can’t find compliant routes to procure emerging technologies because they don’t have enough specialist knowledge to specify niche services.

Innovation communities such as the Disruptive Innovators Network and SHED (Social Housing Emerging Disruptors) can provide support. They provide guidance and opportunities to engage with vetted suppliers.

Compared with many other industries, particularly in the commercial world, social landlords are miles behind in their adoption of innovation. But this culture can be shifted. From dedicated time for staff to learn new ideas and goal-setting around curiosity, to streamlining bidding paperwork for small and medium-sized tech firms, there are many real-world ways to drive innovation in our sector.

Annemarie Roberts, associate director, Disruptive Innovators Network, and Neil Butters, operations director, Procurement for Housing