Providers told to engage young staff

Mick Leggett, chief executive of Cross Keys Homes, told housing leaders that younger staff would be more demanding of support and expect to make rapid progress in their early careers.

‘Youngsters coming into the workplace have got a different mindset. I was quite happy to take years to do things, but they want to learn so much more quickly. They have got the world at their fingertips at the computer so we have to have a different way of doing things,’ he said.

But Mr Leggett also warned that some employees in housing appeared to hold back their best ideas for projects outside work, such as volunteering or involvement in arts and culture.

‘The problem you get with many staff is that when you find out what they do outside, in the real world at home, they do fantastic stuff. The sad thing is that they will come to work and leave their brains behind,’ he said. ‘How do you find out who these potential stars are, who are going to change the world for you?’

New research launched by the CIH at the conference revealed that only 19 per cent of housing providers had a formal talent management strategy in place.

Chan Kataria, chief executive of East Midlands Housing Group, said the type of employees the housing sector needed to attract had changed.

‘There is some evidence of a changing political and social vision. The most obvious one is the move from a welfarist approach to co-production. There is a clearly increasing commercial focus,’ he said.

‘The environment is changing. People need to be far more agile to respond to new situations. It’s about how people respond to changing situations, rather than what people need to know.’