By Sara-Anne Mills-Bricknell, external affairs and PR expert

Social landlords that place resident engagement at the heart of what they do are reaping the benefits not only in their daily operations but also in the outcomes of consumer inspections and tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs).

There is no denying that the housing sector has long recognised the need to involve residents and act on their feedback to improve services. But as some of the recent gradings from the regulator show, many organisations have more to do when it comes to getting to grips with what residents truly care about.

Providers are generally quick to respond to challenges as they arise, particularly when considering approaches taken to ensure tenancy sustainment during the Covid-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

However, in cases such as managing complaints, repairs, and damp and mould, taking a reactive rather than proactive approach has proven reputationally damaging not only to individual providers but to the wider sector. More importantly, it has highlighted the disconnect between some social landlords and the communities they serve.

For organisations aiming to get the basics right, no strategy is complete without placing a real emphasis on the role meaningful resident engagement has in enabling providers to achieve their overarching aims.

Representation

Rolling out opportunities for residents to get involved is nothing new for social landlords. Most already offer a multitude of ways for residents to provide feedback in a way that suits them. The focus now needs to be towards continuously assessing the impact of these initiatives and evolving them to ensure they are truly adding value and generating meaningful insights that can inform an organisation’s decision-making.

One of the biggest challenges for housing providers, particularly those operating across multiple regions, boroughs and towns is ensuring that engagement outcomes truly represent their diverse resident base.

Adopting the right communication approaches to reach residents is crucial and given the current landscape, it’s likely that these approaches may change significantly over the next year. While social media has helped bridge the gap between many providers and residents, reliance on these platforms to build online communities may be proving fragile.

Many housing providers, local authorities, and other not-for-profits have already left X (formerly Twitter) due to algorithm changes and controversies surrounding its owner. With questions now lingering around the ethics and ownership of other popular social media channels too, housing comms teams need to consider sooner rather than later how they might look to replicate similar online spaces in the future. Whether by using new channels or developing their own platforms.

For many, reverting to a hyper-local approach that enables providers to be face-to-face with residents could be highly beneficial in increasing representation and the diversity of perspectives across engagement initiatives. This has certainly proven successful for some smaller housing associations that have always strived to remain visible within their neighbourhoods.

Stronger relationships

Ensuring residents are well-represented can also help organisations rebuild trust and strengthen their relationships with communities. But trust alone is not enough. Residents need to see real, lasting benefits from their involvement. When engagement leads to meaningful change, it reinforces the value of participation and deepens community investment.

In my current role, we are not always required under current planning laws to consult or engage with communities on every infrastructure project we undertake. However, as an organisation we believe it’s the right thing to do and so, ahead of any project starting on site, we will always look to create a series of opportunities for our team to engage with the local community.

Our experience has shown that involving communities from the outset is fundamental to the success of a project. Rather than treating engagement as an ad-hoc activity, embedding it into project planning and aligning it with key milestones allows for a more targeted and effective approach. This ensures residents feel informed and can provide meaningful input, helping us to better understand the nuances of each community.

Community benefits

When proposing engagement initiatives, clearly outlining objectives is key to demonstrating the intended focus and potential areas for change. Transparency about goals allows providers to set realistic expectations and avoid creating a disingenuous offer.

In the infrastructure sector, meaningful engagement helps identify residents’ specific needs and concerns, often leading to positive changes in project design and implementation. Additionally, it fosters collaboration, enabling our teams to work in partnership with communities to deliver local benefits through grant funding and other social value initiatives.

Much like in the housing sector, our ambition in infrastructure is to leave a legacy beyond just bricks and mortar. The only way to achieve this is by creating genuine opportunities for residents to influence outcomes and see the tangible impact of their contributions.

Meaningful opportunities

The TSM reporting measures should be seen as a baseline, not a benchmark. Housing providers must aim beyond compliance, embedding accessible and inclusive engagement into their core strategies to build stronger communities and deliver outcomes that truly reflect residents’ needs.

 Those that create meaningful opportunities for residents to provide feedback and shape decisions will continue to stand out, demonstrating how they are proactively strengthening trust and driving lasting improvements for years to come.