The Social Housing Round Table

Matthew Baird

Join Matthew Baird for a free, weekly networking forum discussing anything and everything in Social Housing with a different guest speaker each week.

The idea?

To create a community from the conversations that matter.

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#187
Yesterday · 1 hr 1 min
Sector Risk Report
Becky Tucker of House of Risk unpacks the Regulator of Social Housing’s 2026 Sector Risk Profile and what boards and risk teams should take from it. Much of this year’s profile will feel familiar, with the same five areas and many of the same themes. That makes it easy to read it, nod and tell a committee that little has changed. Becky’s approach, which she calls Mind the Gap, is to slow down on what has actually moved and ask what it means when you are back at your desk writing the paper for your audit and risk committee. In this episode: What has moved since last year, including a five-year interest cover forecast averaging 107%, a record £58.7 billion repairs and maintenance forecast and sales expected to provide 40% of the sector’s forecast surplus Why the five risk areas draw on the same money and capacity, and how a strategic risk register can show those trade-offs The gap between reporting compliance and evidencing it, and why a 99% compliance figure tells a board little until someone has tested where it came from Stress testing to the point of failure, and what a board’s second, third and fourth responses should be if stopping development is the first Treating data quality as a control beneath many other risks, keeping risk appetite for genuine choices and following the golden thread from strategy to board decision Audience questions on relaxed lender covenants, honesty with tenants about trade-offs and the reasons behind mergers About the guest: Becky Tucker founded House of Risk in 2022 after many years as a head and director of risk in the housing sector. She also sits on a housing board and its audit and assurance committee. That means she reads the profile from three angles: as someone who used to write the paper, as an adviser and as a committee member asking the questions. The Social Housing Round Table runs live on Zoom every Tuesday at 11am, and everyone is welcome to join the conversation. Big thank you to Devonshires for sponsoring the Policy and Governance stream and of course, to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#186
November 3 · 1 hr 1 min
Who Cares? You Should – A Success Story from Speaking Up
How well do we support unpaid carers in the workplace, and how many people are struggling with caring responsibilities that their employers know nothing about? For our 250th episode of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Goodwin-Baird welcomed back Natalie Quilter, Head of Reward, Wellbeing and Benefits at Hyde Housing, to share her personal experience as an unpaid carer and the impact of speaking up. Natalie first joined the Round Table for episode 15, when she was beginning to raise awareness of the challenges facing working carers. Five years on, she returned to share how that first opportunity to speak publicly helped open doors, leading to work with Carers UK, the National Housing Federation and organisations across the housing sector. Having cared for her mum since the age of eight, Natalie understands the emotional and practical demands of balancing caring responsibilities with employment. She shared how establishing a Carers Network at Notting Hill Genesis grew from five people to more than 120 members, alongside the practical changes that have helped colleagues feel supported and able to progress in their careers. The discussion explored the scale of unpaid caring in the UK, why so many people don't recognise themselves as carers and what housing employers can do to make a difference. From carers' passports and flexible working to supportive line managers, employee networks and inclusive workplace policies, Natalie offered practical examples that organisations can learn from. Perhaps most importantly, Natalie shared that 24 carers across two housing organisations had remained in employment because of the networks and support introduced. An inspiring but practical conversation about unpaid carers, workplace wellbeing, employee inclusion and the difference one person can make by finding the confidence to speak up. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#185
October 27 · 59 min
What Do You Do When You Can't Get Access? Why Legal Enforcement Should Be the Last Resort
When a resident doesn't answer the door, is it a refusal of access or is there something we're missing? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by Melisa White, Founder of KindStay, to challenge how social housing providers approach access to residents' homes and whether legal enforcement is sometimes considered before the underlying problem has been properly understood. Melisa explored the difference between a resident deliberately refusing access and an appointment that fails because of poor communication, contractor issues, previous experiences or circumstances the landlord may not be aware of. She questioned whether recording all these situations as 'no access' gives providers the information they need to make better decisions. The conversation also examined the importance of trust, accountability and treating residents with the same consideration we would expect in our own homes. From missed contractor appointments and inflexible scheduling to communication preferences, neurodiversity and the need for more joined-up working, the discussion highlighted how everyday processes can influence whether residents feel able or willing to engage. Contributions from residents and housing professionals brought further perspectives, including the role of tenant groups in shaping access policies, contractor accountability, tailored appointments and the potential consequences of escalating to legal action. The session didn't dismiss the need for enforcement where safety obligations require it. Instead, it asked a more fundamental question: before taking legal action, can we confidently say we've understood why access hasn't been possible and explored every reasonable alternative? A practical and engaging conversation for anyone involved in housing management, repairs, asset management, compliance, resident engagement or customer experience. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#184
October 20 · 1 hr
The Importance of Being Earnest: Housing and Allyship in a Period of Uncertainty
What does it really mean to be an ally, and are we prepared to speak up when it matters? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Elaine Middleton was joined by Neil Goodrich, Head of Customer Improvement at Sovereign Network Group (SNG), for an open and sometimes challenging conversation about allyship, inclusion and the responsibilities of social housing providers in an increasingly divided society. Neil explored the sector's history of supporting people who have faced exclusion, alongside the progress being made in workforce diversity and representation. But he also questioned whether housing organisations are doing enough to challenge discrimination, particularly when political and social attitudes threaten the communities they serve. The discussion covered the difference between genuine allyship and performative gestures, why remaining silent isn't always neutral and the importance of recognising our own privilege and assumptions. Neil also challenged organisations to look beyond diversity calendars and statements of support, asking whether inclusion is genuinely reflected in their leadership, policies and everyday decisions. The conversation was a reminder that allyship isn't about having all the answers or never getting things wrong. It's about being willing to listen, stay curious, challenge prejudice and take meaningful action. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#183
October 13 · 1 hr 2 min
Beyond the Pilot: Why Proven Technology Still has to Prove Itself
A housing association has seen the evidence. They have spoken to existing clients. They know the technology works. And then somebody says: obviously, we’d need to pilot it. That word — obviously — is where this week’s Social Housing Round Table begins. In this episode, Matt Goodwin Baird is joined by Benjamin Lambert, Chief Business Development Officer at Alertacall, for a conversation that has been twelve years in the making. Ben has spent his career working with housing providers on resident engagement, early intervention, and housing management. And the question he keeps returning to is this: when a service already has a substantial track record, what does an organisation still genuinely need to find out — and when does a pilot become a way of avoiding a decision rather than reaching one? The conversation is honest and wide-ranging. Ben shares what Alertacall has learned over two decades of working with pilots — including a pilot that ran for several years without ever moving to wider implementation, and an early deployment where staff reservations were wrongly assumed to be a misunderstanding rather than something worth addressing properly. He makes the case for being specific about what remains uncertain before a pilot begins, agreeing success criteria upfront, and understanding who will make the decision and when. Ben’s closing message was straightforward: more open conversations, earlier in the process, between suppliers and housing associations — and between both of them and the residents they serve — would solve a lot. Not just in this space. Big thank you to REACT by CMSG, our sponsor for the Data and Technology Stream and of course to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#182
October 6 · 1 hr
Small but Mighty - The Benefits and Challenges of Being a Smaller RP
Two thirds of social housing in England is owned or managed by just 40 of the largest landlords. So what does it actually mean to be a smaller registered provider in a sector shaped by that kind of concentration — and is being small necessarily a disadvantage? In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, hosted by Elaine Middleton, Caroline Harraway, Head of Housing at Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, joins the conversation to share her experience of working across local authority, large housing association, and now smaller RP settings — and what she has learned from all three. Caroline is refreshingly honest about the realities of being small. The same regulatory requirements, the same rising expectations from residents, the same legislative pressures — but without the backroom support functions, the large specialist teams, or the financial scale that larger organisations rely on. She shares some of the genuinely unexpected layers of complexity that come with JRHT's history: a post office in the heart of the community, apple and pear trees in every garden planted by Joseph Rowntree himself in 1901, and box hedges that recently fell foul of a moth infestation — all of which carry legacy expectations that cannot simply be swept aside. But the conversation is equally clear about what smaller providers do well. The ability to adapt quickly, the closeness to residents, the real-time feedback that comes from being embedded in a community, and the sense of purpose that comes from genuinely knowing the people you serve. The discussion that followed brought in contributions from across the room — including a powerful intervention from Lizzie, a tenant and retired professional, who challenged the sector's tendency to treat tenants as social work clients rather than as skilled individuals with expertise to offer. Kevin, an executive director at a large housing association and chair of a small one, offered a rare perspective from both sides. And a wider conversation about mergers, technology, consortia, and what the future of smaller RPs looks like rounded out a session that had plenty for landlords of every size to reflect on. Big thank you to Devonshires, our sponsor for the Policy and Governance Stream and of course to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#181
September 22 · 1 hr 2 min
Invitation for Everyone to Build a Safer World for Women and Girls (Especially Men)
What would change if keeping women and girls safe stopped being treated as their responsibility alone? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by Amy Watson, Founder of Hassl, for a conversation about tackling the root causes of violence against women and girls and why everyone, particularly men, has a role to play. Amy shared the experiences that led her to create Hassl and its approach of inviting people into the conversation rather than relying on blame or shame. The discussion explored the often unseen mental load women carry simply trying to stay safe, from planning journeys and changing routes to thinking carefully about when and how they allow people into their homes. The conversation also turned to masculinity, the growing influence of the online manosphere on boys and young men, the importance of human connection and why education needs to be accessible enough to reach people who might not already be engaged with these issues. For social housing specifically, Amy challenged attendees to think beyond the obvious. Lighting, alleyways and estate design matter, but so do everyday interactions with residents, including how repairs and maintenance visits can feel to a woman who is home alone. Ultimately, the session asked us to rethink where responsibility for women's safety sits. Rather than continually teaching women how to avoid harm, what would it look like to build communities, workplaces and services where everyone takes some responsibility for creating a safer world? Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#180
September 15 · 1 hr
The Truth About Bias and Halluciation in AI
AI is already finding its way into social housing, but how much can we trust what it tells us? In this Social Housing Round Table session, Matt Goodwin-Baird was joined by George McFerran, Director at Wyser, to explore the truth about bias and hallucination in AI and what these risks mean when the technology is used in a tenant-first environment. The discussion looked at how automatic speech recognition and large language models work, why AI can inherit human biases and produce inaccurate information, and the importance of getting the foundations right before using AI at scale. From regional accents and speech recognition to data protection, consent, governance and increasingly demanding regulatory requirements, the conversation explored both the opportunities and the risks. A recurring theme was that AI should enable people rather than replace them, combining technology's ability to process information at scale with the judgement, empathy and experience that only people can provide. A practical and thought-provoking conversation for anyone working with data, technology, customer services, governance or digital transformation in social housing. Big thank you to REACT by CMSG for sponsoring the Data and Technology Stream and to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#179
September 1 · 1 hr 1 min
Suicide prevention in social housing
Content warning: this session discusses suicide and suicide prevention. Please take care of yourself when listening. In episode 241 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Andrea Newton, Founder of Confident Conversations and a qualified suicide intervention tutor, for one of the most important conversations the platform has hosted. Matt opens the session with a tribute to Paul Bridge, a friend of the Round Table who ran a suicide prevention session on this platform a couple of years ago, and who has since died by suicide. Today's session is dedicated to him. Andrea brings decades of experience training people from across sectors — from Samaritans volunteers to the Ministry of Justice — to have the sensitive conversations that can save lives. Her central argument is simple but challenging: less than half of the people who die by suicide in the UK would be classed as mentally ill. The majority are people who are simply overwhelmed by life. And housing professionals — going into people's homes, dealing with their finances, their neighbours, their behaviour — are uniquely placed to notice when something has changed. The session covers the three core principles of suicide prevention: spotting the signs, opening the conversation, and signposting to help. It tackles the fear of saying the wrong thing and why compassion and curiosity matter more than a perfect script. It explores Andrea's challenge to the sector to shift from asking people to reach out, to actively reaching in. And it addresses the intersection of suicide and domestic abuse — a connection that is more common than many people realise. Contributions from around the room brought the conversation to life, including a powerful account from a housing professional who had helped a tenant disclose suicidal thoughts during what had initially presented as a rent arrears issue, and supported her through it. As Andrea put it: it is the silence that kills. Andrea runs a free webinar on 15th September on the connection between suicide and domestic abuse. Find out more and access her training at confidentconversations.co.uk. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#178
August 25 · 58 min
The Future of Housing Professionals: Competence, Capability & Culture
The Competency and Conduct Standard arrives in October 2026. Around 30,000 people will need a Level 4 or Level 5 qualification. Many organisations are still figuring out who is in scope. And if you came back in 12 months, according to this week's guest, not much will have changed. In episode 240 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Goodwin-Baird is joined by John Williams, Head of Sales for Housing and Property at Learning Curve Group, for a frank and wide-ranging conversation about what the standard really means for the future of housing professionals — and whether the sector is approaching it in the right way. John brings three and a half years of living and breathing the Competency and Conduct Standard from a training and qualification perspective, and he does not shy away from the more uncomfortable questions. He makes a pointed comparison with health and social care — a sector where the vast majority of staff hold a recognised qualification — and asks why housing, which deals with equally complex and consequential situations, has historically been the opposite. His view is direct: the standard should have started with frontline staff, the people who have the most contact with tenants, rather than senior management. And while he understands why the decision went the other way, he believes that gap will need to be closed. The conversation covers the difference between CIH standalone qualifications and apprenticeships, the skills gap being created by focusing only at senior levels, the question of what happens when qualifications become dated, and the cultural shift that needs to accompany any compliance-driven change. The open discussion that followed was honest and engaged, with contributions from practitioners at every level of the sector. John's prediction for 12 months' time: not much will have changed. His prediction for 24 months: that is where the real shift begins. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#177
August 18 · 1 hr 1 min
Can Devolution Create Opportunities for Tenants to Influence Housing Strategy?
Please note that this session experienced some technical difficulties with connectivity. The content and conversation are well worth your time and we appreciate the patience of everyone who joined us on the day. Devolution is reshaping how power is distributed across England. New combined authorities are taking on responsibilities for housing, planning, transport, regeneration, and public services. And TPAS believes this moment represents one of the biggest opportunities for tenants to influence housing strategy since social housing began. In episode 239 of the Social Housing Round Table, guest hosted by Elaine Middleton, Caritas Charles, Head of Policy at TPAS, shares the thinking behind a new paper launching on 3rd September — a proposal for how devolution can be used to embed tenant voices into regional decision-making in a meaningful and lasting way. The proposal centres on a pilot model: starting with one region, focusing on two or three live housing decisions, building a shared regional evidence base, recruiting beyond existing representatives, and connecting tenants directly to the regional decision-makers who hold real power over their lives. Social housing is the natural starting point, Caritas argues, because the infrastructure already exists — consumer standards, Tenant Satisfaction Measure evidence, and established resident networks. But the ambition is broader. A regional housing voice that excludes private renters, shared owners, or people in temporary accommodation cannot credibly claim to represent the communities it speaks for. The open discussion that followed brought in two particularly powerful voices. Alicia Mortlock described the work already underway through Independent East, where a tenant-led panel is setting its own agenda across five housing associations and preparing to present to the Norfolk and Suffolk Housing Partnership — and expressed genuine shock at how much power tenants have when they organise regionally. Daisy, chair of the G15 Residents Group, shared how that group has been actively feeding into the Mayor of London's housing strategy consultations, in some cases as the only resident voice responding to GLA proposals. The paper launches on 3rd September. Caritas's ask is simple: read it, share it, and help build the public enthusiasm that will make this move from proposal to reality. Big thank you to ASB App by CMSG Ltd for sponsoring the Customer and Community stream and of course, to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#176
August 11 · 59 min
Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Around 15 to 20 percent of people are estimated to be neurodivergent in some way. That means a significant proportion of both the housing workforce and the residents it serves are experiencing the world differently - and in many cases, working within systems and environments that were simply not designed with them in mind. In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Chloe Tilford, Head of Training and Consultancy at the Housing Diversity Network, for a warm and genuinely accessible introduction to neurodiversity in the workplace — what it means, what it looks like in practice, and what housing organisations can do to better support neurodiverse colleagues and residents alike. Chloe walks through the breadth of what sits under the neurodiversity umbrella, the difference between the medical and social models of disability and why it matters, and the important reality that conditions overlap, co-occur, and present very differently from person to person. She also addresses some of the harder truths — the significant underdiagnosis of neurodivergent conditions in women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the eight-year waiting lists for ADHD assessments in some areas, and the persistent media narratives that run directly counter to what the scientific research actually says. The conversation moves into practical territory too — what reasonable adjustments actually mean, how organisations can shift from a place of fear and uncertainty to one of genuine curiosity, and why getting communication right for neurodiverse residents is increasingly something the Housing Ombudsman is paying attention to. HDN's neurodiversity training programme, developed in partnership with Professor Amanda Kirby — one of the country's leading experts in the field — is available to housing organisations, and a comprehensive toolkit will be available via the HDN website. Details on how to access both are shared at the end of the session. Big thank you to REACT App by CMSG Ltd for sponsoring the Data and Technology stream and of course, to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#175
August 4 · 1 hr
A Presidency with Purpose
What does it actually mean to lead a presidency with purpose? And what does a year at the top of your profession teach you about the sector you love? In episode 237 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird welcomes back Julie Haydon, President of the Chartered Institute of Housing, almost a year on from her first appearance on the platform. When Julie last joined the conversation, she was just beginning her presidential year. This time, she is reflecting on what that year has actually looked and felt like from the inside. Julie's presidency has been built around a single theme: resilience. Not resilience as a buzzword or a motivational slogan, but as a genuine and pressing need within a sector that is asking more of its people than ever before. Frontline housing professionals are navigating financial hardship, domestic abuse, mental ill health, ASB, and increasing regulatory complexity — often carrying the emotional weight of those interactions long after the working day has ended. Julie's argument, rooted in her own personal experience and her work in NLP and organisational leadership, is that resilience is not something individuals should be left to find for themselves. It is something organisations have a responsibility to actively build. The conversation covers what the presidency has demanded of Julie personally, the moments that have stayed with her, and the real-world impact the campaign has had — including a story of a construction industry leader who took the conversation back to his board and introduced a new wellbeing strategy as a direct result. It also explores some of the harder questions the sector keeps circling: whether the stick and carrot balance is right in how organisations approach staff and residents, the pressure that regulatory changes and mergers are putting on people at every level, and what it will take to shift the stigma that still clings to social housing as a profession and a tenure. Julie's closing message is a generous one. Resilience is not something to leave to individuals to find for themselves. Strong organisations create resilient people. Supportive leaders create resilient teams. And resilient teams deliver better outcomes for everyone. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#174
July 28 · 1 hr 1 min
Do Landlords Truly Trust Tenants to Shape Services?
Do landlords truly trust tenants to shape the services they receive? Or is what passes for tenant engagement too often closer to going through the motions? In episode 236 of the Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Alicia Mortlock, trusted advisor for the Customer and Community stream and one of four tenant leads for the National Tenant Alliance, for a session that drew one of the biggest and most engaged audiences of the year. Alicia opened with something that set the tone for everything that followed: a personal history rooted in social housing, stretching back to her father's time as a council plumber and the blue-collar communities that council housing was built for and built by. From that foundation, she traced the arc of how trust between landlords and tenants was lost — through decades of underinvestment, over-promising, retreat from communities, and language that infantilised the very people it was supposed to serve. The discussion that followed was wide-ranging and genuinely candid. It covered what trust actually means before organisations can claim to be building it, the difference between engaging with tenants and talking to them, the very real tension between tenants who want to shape services and tenants who simply want to be left alone, whether tenant board members represent a genuine step toward influence or a more comfortable arrangement for landlords, and whether the growing focus on Tenant Satisfaction Measures is creating a metric-driven culture that mistakes a good score for a good service. Contributions came from housing professionals, tenants, and those who occupy both worlds — including a remarkably honest account from a landlord and private property owner about unconscious bias in her own letting decisions. It was the kind of session where the most valuable moments came not from a prepared presentation, but from the room. Alicia's closing message was straightforward. Let's take the conversation beyond the hour. Let's break down the artificial barriers. And let's make this about action, not just talk. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd and ASB App by CMSG for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#173
July 21 · 57 min
Awaabs Law - Preparing for Phase Two
Phase 2 of Awaab's Law is coming. And according to Louise Murphy, Partner and Head of Social Housing and Regeneration at MSB Solicitors, the sector is not quite as ready as it should be. In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table hosted by Elaine Middleton, Louise walks through exactly what Phase 2 means in practice — what new hazard categories are being introduced, what organisations need to have in place, and where the sector is most likely to come unstuck. Phase 1 brought damp and mould firmly into focus. Phase 2 expands the scope significantly, bringing in hazards related to falls, excess heat and cold, pests, domestic hygiene, and communal areas. Louise is direct about what that means operationally: triage systems need revisiting, contractor contracts need reviewing, training plans need updating, and cross-departmental working is no longer optional. As she puts it, organisations cannot afford to operate as assets versus neighbourhoods, or repairs versus governance. Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction. The conversation also covers some of the harder questions the sector is wrestling with — what happens when a hazard stems from a tenant's own adaptations, where liability sits when a third party is involved, how to approach falls risks given that the same window can represent very different levels of danger depending on who lives in the property, and the growing risk of claims farmers exploiting the new legislation. Louise's advice on that last point is simple: know your definitions, apply common sense, and make sure the decisions you are making are clearly grounded in the guidance. Her closing message is one worth writing down. Read the guidance. Make your list. Implement it. Phase 2 is an opportunity to improve homes for customers — and the sector should approach it that way. Big thank you to MSB Solicitors for sponsoring this session and to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#172
July 14 · 57 min
Data, Tech and Human Touch: Rewriting the Playbook for Modern Tenancy Support
Most housing organisations know when a tenant falls into arrears. Far fewer have a clear picture of what was already happening in that tenant's life before the arrears appeared — the unresolved repair, the health condition, the household income that had quietly shifted. And it is in that gap, between what the data shows and what is actually happening, that tenancy sustainment most often fails. In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, part of the Policy and Governance stream, Matt Baird is joined by Josh Mallender of Netcall for a practical and wide-ranging conversation about what modern tenancy support actually looks like, and what it would take to move the sector from a reactive, siloed model to something more holistic, preventative, and joined up. Josh draws on over a decade of experience working in and around social housing to explore why arrears are visible and easy to measure but rarely tell the whole story. A tenant who falls behind on rent might also be experiencing fuel poverty, an unresolved repair, or a health change that has affected their ability to work. A tenant who is quietly struggling but still paying their rent may not appear in any report at all. As Josh puts it, the silent sufferers remain invisible in standard workflows. The conversation covers what a full tenant picture actually looks like when income, repairs, complaints, and housing management data are genuinely connected rather than siloed. It explores the technology choices that have left many organisations stuck with a patchwork of point solutions that do not talk to each other, the whack-a-mole problem of buying a new system for every new problem. And it asks the question that ran through the whole session: is technology the answer, or do organisations need to sort out their processes and their culture first? The open discussion that followed was equally valuable, with contributions from housing professionals at different stages of this journey, and an honest acknowledgement that the gap between what the sector knows it should be doing and what it is actually doing in practice remains wider than anyone is comfortable admitting. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#171
July 7 · 1 hr 2 min
Truly Assessing Competence & Behaviours in Modern Talent Acquisition
How do we know whether we're recruiting the right people? In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, host Matt Baird is joined by Dee Roberts-Molloy, Assistant Director for Strategic HR at Birmingham City Council, for an honest discussion about modern talent acquisition and why traditional recruitment approaches often fall short. Together they explore what competence really looks like, why behaviours matter just as much as technical knowledge, how organisations can make better hiring decisions, and what leaders should be considering in an increasingly competitive recruitment market. The conversation also touches on organisational culture, candidate experience, values-based recruitment and the importance of creating recruitment processes that identify potential as well as capability. Whether you work in HR, leadership or operational management, this episode offers practical insights to help you attract, assess and retain the people who will make the biggest difference to your organisation and the communities you serve. A huge thank you to Alertacall Ltd for sponsoring the Social Housing Round Table. Without their continued support, none of this would be possible.
#170
June 30 · 1 hr 1 min
Just How Easy Is It to Actually Report ASB in 2026?
In this Social Housing Roundtable session, Matt Baird is joined by Janine Green, Partner at G&B ASB Associates, and Ben Hunt, Managing Director at CMSG, to explore a key question facing landlords, communities and residents: how easy is it really to report antisocial behaviour in 2026? The discussion looks beyond simply having reporting channels in place and explores what happens after a report is made. From accessibility and digital inclusion to effective triage, communication and ensuring residents are not passed from organisation to organisation, the conversation examines the barriers that can prevent people from getting the support they need. Janine and Ben also explore how landlords can improve the reporting journey, the importance of understanding the root cause of issues, the value of community engagement and why technology must work alongside good processes and human connection. A thoughtful conversation bringing together resident experiences, operational challenges and practical ideas for improving how ASB is reported and managed across social housing.
#169
June 23 · 1 hr
Transforming The Lives of Residents Through Two-Way Contact
In this episode of The Social Housing Round Table, Matt Baird is joined by Sheree Brooks, Operations Manager for Older People Services at Gateway Housing, for a conversation exploring "Transforming The Lives of Residents Through Two-Way Contact". Sheree shares her personal journey into housing and her passion for supporting older residents to remain independent, connected and engaged within their communities. The conversation explores the impact of small actions, from a simple conversation or welfare check to creating opportunities for people to connect and thrive. The discussion highlights the importance of looking beyond the home itself and understanding the people, relationships and experiences that help communities flourish. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd and REACT for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.
#168
June 16 · 1 hr 1 min
Are We As Efficient As We Can Be? And Is Technology The Answer?
Efficiency and productivity often get used as interchangeable terms in housing. According to Rob Fletcher, Director of Digital, Data and Technology at Codi Group, Wales' largest housing association, they are not the same thing at all — and understanding the difference matters more than ever, given the financial pressure the sector is currently under. In this episode of the Social Housing Round Table, part of the Data and Technology stream, Dave Loudon, trusted advisor to the Round Table, guest hosts a conversation with Rob exploring whether housing organisations are operating as efficiently as they could be, and whether technology is genuinely the answer many hope it is. Rob unpacks why operating margins across the sector have fallen sharply in recent years, what genuine process standardisation looks like in practice, and where the real efficiency gains are hiding — not in flashy pilots, but in fixing the repetitive, high-volume processes that quietly drag on services like repairs, voids, and compliance every single day. The conversation also tackles one of the sector's most persistent problems: data collected for its own sake, rather than to actually help residents. From IoT sensors that generate oceans of unused data, to a passionate contribution from a participant on the lack of any shared data standard between the country's 317 councils and 1,600 social housing providers, this session does not shy away from naming where the sector is falling short. Technology, Rob argues, is never going to be a silver bullet. But used well, on top of strong data foundations and well-designed processes, it can be a genuine accelerator. Big thank you to Alertacall Ltd and REACT App by CMSG for sponsoring The Social Housing Round Table, without them, none of this would be possible.

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