New recruit Sheila Makokha, oversight and governance manager, tells us about her day out with a housing officer.
Having joined the organisation recently I wanted to get a better understanding of the role of a local officer. When my line manager suggested that I shadow a housing officer for a day, I jumped at the chance.
Housing officer Ahmar, offered to serve as tour guide on his patch in Earls Court. Housing is an ever-changing industry and being conscious of my years away from grass-roots resident engagement, I didn't know what to expect.
In my current role as oversight and governance manager in the customer journeys and insight team, I don’t get many opportunities to engage with our residents. I’ve had many varied roles in the housing sector over the years, but my first position as a decant officer on a regeneration scheme left a lasting impression. I was responsible for ‘decanting’ tower blocks on an east London estate, which involved visiting residents in their homes to carry out needs assessments to establish their housing requirements, relocation preferences and identify appropriate alternative accommodation for them. That was a long time ago though, so it was great to get out of the office and see residents again.
Ahmar, who has worked as a housing officer in the Earls Court area for three years, told me that when he started working on his patch there, he could differentiate between privately owned homes and the Notting Hill Genesis properties by their external state of repair. We continue to try and address this and many of the properties we visited had recently benefited from cyclical maintenance work.
Ahmar and I visited a number of residents, including one of our long-term residents in a family sized home who was waiting eagerly for her very old but well looked-after kitchen to be replaced. We also paid a visit to the single occupant of a one-bedroom home who wanted to report the anti-social behaviour of one of his neighbours. There were also a number of residents who had planned annual visits booked.
It was great to see the pride which all the residents took in their homes and the importance they placed on their communities. They all viewed their properties as their permanent, long-term home and put a great deal of effort into decorating and maintaining their homes to a very high standard.
Whether the resident had been living in their home for two years or 37 years, they were proud to call their house a home and spoke highly of past and present local officers and what each officer had accomplished for them.
Ahmar was very busy, conducting fire risk assessments and inspecting communal areas between home visits, but he found time to listen to residents’ concerns, explaining clearly what he could and couldn’t do for them, what they could expect and when they would hear from him with an update on their issue.
Ahmar’s dedication to doing his job well and getting the best outcomes for our residents was evident from the feedback he was receiving. I was reminded of the unique role which local officers have as the main contact with our residents and the face of the organisation.
All of the residents we met mentioned anti-social behaviour of some form, noise or loitering in communal areas for example. Their commitment to their community and the desire to invest time and effort in their homes was evident.
My day shadowing Ahmar was a reminder of the wonderful people who will benefit from the work that my colleagues and I undertake in the customer journey team. I also now understand the unique role of the local officer and the variety of tasks involved in delivering services to our residents.
