Achieving Exemplar Accreditation was a massive learning curve for the team in Hull
Monday 15th of April 2019
Phew…. We did it! I have to admit, when I began the application for Exemplar Accreditation I felt as though I’d started running an extreme marathon in a heat wave. It was tough…… but quite rightly so.
Achieving the Tpas Exemplar is the ultimate accolade for effective tenant participation and, importantly, recognises the resources being invested to future proof continued tenant involvement. The feedback from Tpas’s scrutiny of the application offered invaluable pointers for the future. Undoubtedly, it is a huge honour to be the first landlord to achieve the Exemplar Accreditation and testament to all the hard work of our dedicated volunteers, councillors and officers.
I have worked in Hull’s Tenant Participation Team since 2002 and learned that the most important aspect is to be flexible. One size doesn’t fit all. Tenants need to be able to choose from a range of involvement opportunities, times and venues which are convenient for them and be able to engage using communications channels from face to face conversations to digital platforms – whichever are easy and familiar to them. There’s no standing still, processes must be reviewed regularly and adapted accordingly. Within Hull’s Housing Service, involvement is not the responsibility of one team but of all staff and as such tenant participation is embedded within the culture of the Council and many of our partners too. You can check out our video below to see how involvement is important in Hull.
In working towards Exemplar Accreditation I cannot emphasise enough the invaluable advice we received from Tpas and our tenants. As we all know, budgets are tight these days so we used all the free training opportunities available for tenants and staff. Working to achieve Exemplar Accreditation was a massive learning curve for the team in Hull. We are happy to share our knowledge and achievements with colleagues. If staff and tenants would like to visit Hull, please contact me, we will be very happy to accommodate you.
Sally Smith, Tenant Participation Manager, Hull City Council