Members only

Now is the time to think about the skills, knowledge and experience your staff will need to deliver professional, high-quality services to tenants. This practical workshop will help you to start to plan and prepare ahead of time and be ready for the new approach to competency and conduct which will come into play from April 2025.

The focus is very much on the competence and conduct of housing staff. With the publication of the direction to the Regulator on the new competency and conduct standard we are starting to get a sense of what professional attitudes and behaviours will be expected – both from the Government, but more importantly, your residents.

The consultation specifically highlights the need for empathy; reliability; honesty and professional curiosity but:

• What does this mean in practice?
• What will the regulator be looking for?

What we will cover:

• What is professionalism in housing – what does it mean in practice for your customer facing staff?
• The details of the proposed standard including the:
  • Broad competency and conduct requirements across all staff
  • Qualification requirements for senior staff
• The conduct and behaviours expected to deliver professional services to residents
• How to take stock of the current position
• Planning for the introduction of the new standard
• What you will need to demonstrate the Regulator.

The workshop will trigger discussions about a range of important issues:

• Mandatory qualifications – who needs to do what and when?
• An understanding of where you are now – and where you need to be – what does a workforce audit look like?
• How you plan for the professionalisation of your whole work force without dropping the standards of service?
• How you bring very busy staff on board?
• What are the other options for professional development?
• How do you budget for this?
• How do you evidence competency and conduct to the Regulator?

Who should attend?

• HR and training and development professionals
• Housing managers
• Finance directors
• Executive directors
• Everyone involved in the provision of housing services
• Customer facing staff who interact with residents on a daily basis.

Get ahead of the curve with this practical workshop helping you to assess where you are, what you need to do and how to action it.

Our Speaker

Debbie led on the development of the CIH professional standards. She is passionate about developing and demonstrating the professionalism of staff across the housing sector. She has developed a range of courses looking at professional attitudes and behaviours required by the housing profession. She has also written several articles for Inside Housing making the case for professionalism and looking at the introduction of mandatory qualifications.

10.30 Chair’s welcome and overview

• • Debbie Larner, Associate, HQN

10.45 The Conduct and Competency consultation and questions

• • Charlotte Hilliard, Policy Lead – Professionalisation and Anti-Social Behaviour, DLUHC

11.45 Break

12.00 Covering how Abri have approached professionalising the workforce

• • Nikkie Pullen, Head of Organisational Development, Abri

12.30 Together Housing’s perspective on workforce professionalisation

• • Catherine Proctor, Assistant Director – People Team, Together Housing

13.00 Panel discussions and questions

13.30 Close

Debbie Larner, Associate, HQN

Debbie has been working in social housing for over 30 years – most of which was spent at CIH as Head of Practice. Debbie has led the sector’s work on professional standards and has also been focusing on building/fire safety since the Grenfell Tower disaster. She was a key member of the Industry Steering Group focusing on the role and the competency of the Building Safety Manager. For HQN, Debbie has been focusing on building safety and disrepair as part of her lead associate role – hosting workshops on a range of topical issues, including health and safety compliance.

Nikkie Pullen, Head of Organisational Development, Abri

Nikkie has worked in the housing sector for 5 years and leads on professional development, performance and culture for Abri. With 15 years’ experience in People Development in renowned organisations such as John Lewis and Kingfisher, Nikkie is an EMCC qualified coach, Strengthscope and Insights Practitioner.

She is dedicated to enabling colleagues to be the best that they can be, both for themselves and for the customer, and ultimately supporting Abri to achieve its strategic goals.

Charlotte Hilliard, Policy Lead – Professionalisation and Anti-Social Behaviour, DLUHC

I currently lead on professionalisation and anti-social behaviour policy within the Social Housing Quality and Residents division in DLUHC. This includes leading on stakeholder engagement and policy development around the implementation of the Competence and Conduct Standards. I have previously worked on other aspects of housing policy, including building safety and the Grenfell Inquiry. I also have a background working for a housing association.

Catherine Proctor, Assistant Director – People Team, Together Housing

Catherine is an experienced Organisational Development professional with a demonstrated history of working in the commercial shipping, property regeneration and social housing industries for over 25 years.  She is skilled in Learning & Development, Talent Management, Career Development, Coaching, Employee Engagement, and Organisational Development. Catherine is a strong business development professional, graduated from Lancaster University with MBA in addition to a MSc Psychology, CIPD, ILM L7 Coaching.

If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

Cancellations must be made in writing, and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.