Preparing to exhibit at Inside Housing’s Tenant and Resident Engagement Conference

How exciting! We’ve taken delivery of our pop up which we’re ‘testing’ in the office to see if it works (that is, make sure we know how to put it together / take it apart!). Our merch has also been delivered – some rather snazzy tote bags and notepads and stickies. The guys in the office have their beady eyes on the goodies – it’s going to be a challenge keeping their hands off them!

As to the Tenant and Resident Engagement Conference itself… can’t wait! There’s a really interesting and challenging agenda. I’m looking forward to What is the potential of data and AI to support inclusive and proactive engagement? And also A complaint is a gift: putting things right when they go wrong. There are some excellent people on the panels – it’s going to be fascinating to hear them chew the fat and share their thoughts.

And that’s what it’s all about. I see this as an opportunity to listen, to talk, to have conversations with delegates – people who deal with tenants and residents every day, to find out what are the issues facing them and how they deal with them. At In-house Research we keep up to date via the ‘trade press’, but it’s through sharing ideas with people who live customer engagement that we can really keep our finger on the pulse. It’s great to hear about what people have learnt from their TSMs, from their Repairs surveys, from their Complaints surveys, and what they’re doing about it – how they’re making everyday life better for those they strive to look after. Are they using AI? What are they using AI for? How are they making sure they communicate with hard-to-reach groups?

It’s by having a deep and clear understanding of what’s happening in the real world of our clients that we’re able to work with them to provide solutions. It came as a surprise to me during recent discussions with landlords that they felt their knowledge of their tenants was somewhat thin – they didn’t have information about them as individuals. So, we’re helping out by collecting more in depth EDI data for them, at no extra cost to them as part of the work we’re doing for them. This enables us to slice and dice more when we do the analysis, to compare different groups and to explore areas of concern which may otherwise be hidden. It allows the landlord to make sure that all of their tenants are treated fairly and listened to and to be made to feel that they are important, that they count.

If you’re coming to the Conference, then please do pop by the In-house stand to meet the dream team (Tom, Ralph and Elliot) – we’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

Let us know if you're attending!