Looking at the news today, and in particular towards the housing world, I have a genuine sense of concern as many organisations look to make tough decisions to ensure future sustainability as a result of the economic turmoil this country is now facing.
We heard during our recent customer experience event, that organisations are looking to help support their customers in any way they can, as many will be hit the hardest as inflation continues to rise and the economy starts to shrink. They also know they need to improve services and deliver real value for money in line with the recent changes in regulation, but most want to go further than this and provide the services that customers really need.
Along with the anticipated rent cap soon to be announced, Housing leaders across the country will be looking to their house building and innovation pipelines as the first potential areas for reduction. This comes at a time when affordable housing is extremely limited and ideally, organisations need to move forwards and not back.
Step forward the reliable and resilient Business Analyst. The unsung hero. A key component of any project team or PMO, these people are able to cut through the noise, identify exactly what needs to change and quantify this in a way that is measurable and provides assurance to senior leaders to make the vital decisions they need to take their business forward. They are also amazingly good communicators, skilfully translating tech speak into plain English and becoming the conduit between the business and IT teams.
Housing, like other established industries, has evolved over time with many processes still largely delivered the same way as they were when they were first created. These circumstances provide significant potential and also opportunities to unlock efficiency, either through more modern methods of processing or through harnessing digital technologies.
Simple considerations that you may have as a senior leader within Housing:
- “I have a problem, how do I fix it?”
- “If I’m not sure I know what my problem is, how can I find the root cause?”
- “I have an idea but I’m not 100% sure it’s the right thing to do. How do I validate and convince other people too?”
- “I feel like we are wasteful in the way we do things and have tried lots but this hasn’t made any difference, how do I change the right things?”
- “We are looking to put a new piece of technology in but how do I make this work with my existing processes?”
It’s absolutely right that organisations will be looking to make savings given the situation, but I encourage all leaders who may recognise some of the questions above to think about investment into new ways of working and innovation to unlock greater capacity. And don’t forget the trusty BA who will be there to show you the way. To find out more about how Nine Feet Tall can help, get in touch today.
