Your Checklist for engagement excellence – Tpas Accreditation
Wednesday 6th of October 2021
Our Consultancy Manager, Gillian McLaren reflects on what is needed to achieve our latest accreditation and celebrates the first two organisations to pass our new accreditation framework.
In early 2021 Tpas worked with our members and key clients to devise the new Tpas National Engagement standards – The standards were co-designed and their robustness can be seen
The Accreditation themes use the Regulatory expectations as a starting point. We go further to find what good resident engagement looks like and squeeze organisations to ensure that they are not standing still. It is about the here and now – but it is also about helping organisations to be able to flex and respond to changing situations.
CULTURE
Although there are clear standards and expectations to meet, it is the behaviours and attitudes supported by effective processes, which run through an organisation that set the foundation for positive outcomes to take place. Without the right culture, meeting standards on a consistent and continuous basis is challenging.
Congratulations Cross Keys Homes
Cross Keys Homes were the first organisation to achieve the new standards through their accreditation and they clearly showed excellence in wider community engagement and partnerships in the wider community to establish and work locally to help support community priorities and establish long lasting sustainability within communities.
Their Residents Board that has delegated powers from their board is an excellent example of the ‘tenants voice’ being used to improve services, and to be able to show how tenants voices have used to make the changes necessary to move the organisation forward.
Read their blog about their accreditation
One Housing Group
One Housing Group were the second organisation to achieve the accreditation and through their new approaches to engagement to ensuring that tenants are at the heart of their decision making this will ensure that the organisation is evidencing that decisions have tenants views at their heart.
From my experience – an organisations journey to excellence can only be achieved by having the right culture – and that behaviours and attitudes within the organisation ensure that every contact with tenants and communities counts and is used to drive service improvements, that meet need rather than based on ‘what we think is right’
I want to send a challenge out to the sector –
- Do you have the right culture in place?
- Can you show the difference made by engagement
- Do you have a blended approach to your engagement framework to ensure diverse voices are heard?
- Do you use insight to direct engagement with those people who have a lived experience of your services?
- Do you see complaints as a positive way to make changes and learn?
- Can you evidence that tenants voices, priorities and insight is being utilised as evidence for your decision making processes?
If you do then come and talk to Tpas about getting an independent assessment of your engagement arrangements
If not then come and work with us on your journey to excellence and utilise the accreditation process as a learning tool to improve, to get better and to future proof your engagement arrangements.
My dream for the sector is that landlord organisations work together with tenants and residents and listen, act, and improve as a result.