From the frontline - Nina Egge-Daborn

Tell us about your job

I ensure the smooth running of Sentinel Housing’s first contact team - our call centre. We aim to resolve 87% of calls at first contact. I support my team to further their careers by asking them to specialise in areas of the business that interest them. Through regular one-to-ones I identify their strengths to help them be the best they can be.

Why housing?

I started working at Sentinel in 1998. I didn’t know anything about housing at the time but had experience in repairs reporting. I’ve worked here ever since. I love housing. I love the diversity of it. I love how we change lives.

What does a good day look like?

A good day is when I have a full team and the phone lines are not manic! This is when we provide our very best service.

And a bad one?

When I don’t have a full team and the phone lines are busy! It can be a stressful environment. It’s hard when you can see calls queuing, but you still want to make sure all the customers get the best possible service.

What would you change about the sector if you could?

I am concerned we may lose our way with helping the most vulnerable with social housing. Sentinel is committed to providing affordable housing for all, but with government changes we’re having to build more and more houses for shared ownership and other tenures to subsidise affordable homes. I wish there was more funding so we could provide more social rented homes to people who need our help the most.

What’s the most private thing you would admit to colleagues?

I was once escorted home by police officers, as a teenager. I told my mum I was going to a friend’s house for a sleepover but instead we were wandering the streets all night. We got caught at a local park at 3am and were marched home.

What is your dream job?

I would love to have been a barrister. I am hugely opinionated, always right and I love a good debate.

If you were prime minister for a day, what would you do?

I would take everyone sleeping rough and put them in all the empty homes up and down the country. Homelessness upsets me terribly.