Gamekeepers, Poachers and Consultants, find a good thing my friend...

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @hotpixUK
or LinkedIn here http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

Well no doubt about it, at sometime you will be or encounter one of these characters.  They are all essential in the fabric of things.

All are expensive, although there is no free lunch. Don't fool yourself that there is.

If you have internal expertise, you don't need external consultants or your HMS/system supplier or consultant to supply those expensive needs. Finding your own IT or system staff is not easy, but if you find the right animals you may have hit gold.

They may come from your local college or Uni and will need some coaching, but they will save you £000,s if they replace the repetitive days you take from your system supplier. Find and nurture these characters, as it will be at a fraction of the cost of the alternatives.

Offer them 3 days a week as a 3 month trial. If they shape up, make it a 6-12 month arrangement. They will appreciate the freedom of two days to do what they will. That's their time.

For goodness sake, keep them if they are good.

The same thing goes for consultants. Don't take what's in fashion, stick with people who understand your organisation, is flexible and delivers results.

Read on to Better Reporting, have safety in your numbers:

http://tonysmiththathousingitguy.blogspot.com/2012/02/safety-in-numbers.html

Let me leave you with this track of the day. If its not a good thing, don't waste your time and residents money on it my friends.



(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854655009

PS As usual, if there are subjects you might like me to tackle on this blog, please get in touch and let me know!

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Welcome

I am pleased that you have found this blog, if you are involved in housing and getting IT to better serve your organisation and importantly your residents, you are in a good place. Do bookmark us.

I am a passionate believer in social housing in the UK. It is a force for good and information technology can make everyone more efficient in delivering it and opening access for residents. We are in a challenging environment here in the UK and I for one agree we need to work within the current constraints to do the best for the common good. I was at a recent event where David Orr of the NHF also expressed this view. At the end of the day housing has always been at the mercy of central government, so hey in a way its business as usual. BAU as you Prince2 nerds may say.

I have been an end user, supplier, project manager and director of a major housing management solution supplier over many years. I don't mind giving you the inside track. I have always given my clients the facts, I find I sleep better that way. You will sleep better too, in the knowledge that you have made the right choice.

I will always end my blogpost with a music link, coz lets remember that's how we roll, so here's the one from here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJDnJ0vXUgw , its Gimme Shelter from the Rolling Stones. Sums it up I think. Music does make the world do around and I do have an attic full of black vinyl.

We do enough sweating over the hard stuff, it will do us no harm to chill occasionally.


(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854655009



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