Two Tribes

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


I work with a vast variety of socialhousing organisations, small (a few hundred) to managing ten’s of thousand’s of properties. Some are LSVT, ALMO’s, or doing general needs housing, while many manage a mixture of those and also care, support and other areas, such as nurseries.

It’s fair to say we are a pretty tightly regulated and complex sector, although outside looking in, it might look otherwise.

The urge to form groups is something within the sector that continues and will not go away. I have worked with many groups who once joined together have got me involved, inevitably to look at how systems and digital solutions, can be combined. Why would you not?

Groups with good matching component organisations, all general needs, or all care and support perhaps, may regard that as an easy gig when merging to a single set of systems. From a pure ICT viewpoint, I can assure you, it’s been done before many times and that’s not the issue. Where the challenge comes, is if the same objective organisationally is achieved in two parts of the group, very differently with similar results.

This last week I was talking with a great contact, at a site where I have had a lot of involvement in systems and their business change journey. The conversation moved to this particular point. Anyone who reads my blog, knows how super motivated clients and (sometimes) innovative suppliers, catch my attention and really inspire me.

Here’s the situation we were talking about, a very familiar one to many, around arrears management. It’s a work stream with lots of pressure currently on it, from Universal Credit, bedroom tax and other quarters. But what do you do in a group, if composite parts achieve the set and requisite KPIs, but in very different ways. For example, one part of a group might have a crack elite arrears team, a bit like the arrears episode SAS. Another might have more of a free form scheme based resource, that organically tackles arrears. Even worse, what if they all achieve a low % arrears from GAD (Gross Annual Debit).  

I am often asked, “which approach is right”? I mean, with strong and persuasive managers, team leaders or directors, it could be like two tribes going to war.

Command and control OR more local autonomy?

That’s a tricky one for me, as where both manage to satisfy the KPI, either could be ‘right’. The challenge is, do we select one of the existing models, or find a third way. This option is the most problematic for the transformation team, as everyone needs to rethink the process.

Achieving the cultural change required is, I believe more challenging that the ICT and systems change. I bet many readers would agree. To bridge the cultural divide takes a healthy dollop of the fluffy comms medicine. This gets the corporate message across and keeps us all on the straight and narrow. I respect comms folk as they are a necessary evil, and they generally successfully oil those cultural organisational wheels for us.

Ignore the cultural change and impact and ultimately, our fancy ICT solutions and transformations will fail. Honest. I speak from experience guv. That’s why I try to make my clients aware of the importance of the cultural change element and do my best, where engaged to guide them through it. The final direction must always be decided by them, because they will be left living with it, for many years to come.

Related Post: What sort of arrears management satisfies its promises? 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
File Under: 360,1stTouch,4Js. , 07854655009 ,365Agile," """" ",,#UKHousing,#HousingDAY, #HomesForBritain,#InternetOfTenants, #Shout,1st Touch,3squared,Accuserv,Acutence,Aareon,Academy,ActiveH,AirWatch,Alignment,ALMO,Anite,Apex,ArchHouse,Archouse,asbestos, Asprey e-state pro,ActiveHousing,Asset Management,Aurora,Average IT Costs,App,Associates,ACL,Abritas,AMS,AX,aspireview,Agile365, BO,BPR,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning, Business Process Review,Business social networking, Blockwise, Block wise,BI,BancTec,BluTek,Bluebox, Castle,CBL,Cedar Open Accounts,Cx,Change,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, CHR,Citrix,Civica,Clearview,CMS , CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,Civica Genero,Contractor Systems,CORE,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,CRM,Crystal Reports,CTI,CTX,Customer Relationship Management,Cashflow, COA,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Competitive Dialogue process,complex IT procurements,Component Accounting, Community Reward Services, Consilium, Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Contact 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There’s Just No Other Way

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


Ever got into one of those, “well we have always done that”, conversations?

Well I got into one just a few weeks ago, when talking about what to do as part of changing systems over, in an office taking cash. Yes! I hear you cry, wouldn’t that have been known in the past as a ‘cash office’? Or maybe a ‘Neighbourhood office’. Two things you just don’t see too much of these days, rarer than spotting say a Triumph Dolomite or a Red Squirrel.

For housing historians, cash offices, often had a ‘cash receipting’ system and a very technical and cumbersome printer to help evidence the payment. The latter could generally print on special thermal paper, which bleached easily in bright light or on special rent payment cards. In truth they generally belonged in a pre-Windows world and like the cash office, have become an endangered species too.

A decade or more ago, I remember wrestling drivers for one to work, and a very concerned RSL customer hoping for us to get a ‘sans-serif’ font on it, so their disabled residents had fewer problems reading it. As can be imaging, this was a fruitless task and they probably ended up with ‘Courier New’. 

The point of this story was that now very few residents pay with cash and getting an antique such as this working, is a lot of effort for very little benefit. It actually leaves us in the past. I’m sure when someone first suggested that paper may take over from stone tablets, they were laughed out of the cash office too.

In the spirit of channel shift, I suggested all kinds of alternatives to the humble receipt. Workflow could easily provide lots of ways of tackling this. How about we take the payment and then ask the resident, how they would like their proof of payment?

We could offer to SMS text it to them. Failing that, offer to email it to them. Both of these of course could enable us to capture either of these essential pieces of information, for all other types of legitimate contact purposes. In 2017, the penetration of the Smartphone is pretty persuasive, even among the older generation. After all, their sons & daughters are now buying them, for their safety and to keep tabs on them.

Failing email, we could of course put an area of trees the size of Belgium at risk in the Amazon and print a plain A4 paper receipt from a laser printer, similar to that generated by hotels up and down the country.

So, I bet you can guess what they decided to do in the end, can’t you?

Oh yes, they kept the cash receipting printer, luckily managing to get that going, so residents would not experience any changes. At time’s I think we can talk a good channel-shift, but lose the thread of how we get there. If we are afraid of introducing change, it’s just all warm words that will do little to increase efficiency or push up customer service. 

Managers and staff so often miss the point that its incremental, rarely sudden. There was not a point in time when I discovered all the banks were becoming coffee shops & ‘All Bar Ones’. It kind of happened very gradually. It happened because the alternatives that were being offered worked well and were more convenient. If we can crack that in SocialHousing, you know, I think we may just have a chance of getting there.

Related Post: Are you on top of the ICO data retention policies? 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Blur – There’s Just no other way.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
File Under: 360,1stTouch,4Js. , 07854655009 ,365Agile," """" ",,#UKHousing,#HousingDAY, #HomesForBritain,#InternetOfTenants, #Shout,1st Touch,3squared,Accuserv,Acutence,Aareon,Academy,ActiveH,AirWatch,Alignment,ALMO,Anite,Apex,ArchHouse,Archouse,asbestos, Asprey e-state pro,ActiveHousing,Asset Management,Aurora,Average IT Costs,App,Associates,ACL,Abritas,AMS,AX,aspireview,Agile365, BO,BPR,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning, Business Process Review,Business social networking, Blockwise, Block wise,BI,BancTec,BluTek,Bluebox, Castle,CBL,Cedar Open Accounts,Cx,Change,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, CHR,Citrix,Civica,Clearview,CMS , CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,Civica Genero,Contractor Systems,CORE,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,CRM,Crystal Reports,CTI,CTX,Customer Relationship Management,Cashflow, COA,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Competitive Dialogue process,complex IT procurements,Component Accounting, Community Reward Services, Consilium, Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Contact Manager,Context,CIH,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cadcorp,Cerrus Saturn,convergeOne,CACI,CPL, CRS Director, Deeplake,Development Systems,Accuserve,Document Management,Documotive,datasystems , Microsoft dynamics GP 2013, DynamicAI, Dynamic AI, ECMK,EDRMS,England, English,EnterpriseBI,ERP Systems,ERP,Elmhurst,Estatecraft,EDM,ESRI,Exponential-e, Finance, Financial Systems, Financials, Factorwise,Facebook ,Footprint,Fusion, Getting best from,gotonysmith, Grasp,Grip,GeoSolveIT,GIS,GGP,Genero,GCloud,G-Cloud,HouSys,Housing software,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,Housemark survey,Housing Blueprint,Housemark, HRA,housingtITguy,Housing Support Pro,HousingSupportPro,Housing Options,Hometeam, Housing Group,hotpixuk, HousingIT,hotpix,Hardware,Hitex,Housing Contact Company,Impact Response,iPayPro,implementations,iRobot,In House,InHouse,In4,InMotion, InMotion2016, InMotion2015, InMotion2016 , Exhibition, conference,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Management Consultants, 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,Surveys,Sx3,System alignment,Symatrix Human Capital Management, TonySmithHousing, Systemwise,SM,Sequoa,Serros,SP,Scout,score,Swordfish,Serengeti,SOTI,southview,Sunguard,Service Charges,Spotlight Service, Spotlightservice, SunAccounts, Template,Task,Terminal Services, tonys , tonysm , tonysmi , tonysmith, tonysmitht, gotonysmith, tableau Business Dashboards, tonysmithth, tonysmiththa, tonysmiththat, tonysmiththath, tonysmiththatho, tonysmiththathou, tonysmiththathous, tonysmiththathousi, tonysmiththathousin, tonysmiththathousing,Tony Smith That,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT, guy,tonysmiththathousing, tonysmiththathousinguy,tony smith housing guy,sharepoint, share point, SHBVN, Three Star,Today,Total repairs,Tribal,Twitter,U2, tonysmith , tonysmiththat , thathousing , thathousingIT , thathousingITguy, TED,Tagish Casework,TP Tracker,Telecetera,Tagra,Trace, Totalmobile, Total Mobile, UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,Universal Housing,Universalcredit, universal 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