Skip to content

5 Strategic Priorities To Deliver Better Customer Service with Jonathan Cowie


No one really wants to have to contact their housing association. But do we understand why?

In this episode, Chief Executive of Plymouth Community Homes, Jonathan Cowie, shares his strategy for understanding and improving customer experience, and his vision for the future of housing.

Jonathan holds 14 years experience in the sector, with 20 years of commercial sector experience prior, working for major international telecoms organisations such as Vodafone and BT. Jonathan now leads the second largest housing provider in the Southwest—managing about 70% of the social affordable housing in the city of Plymouth. He is also a non-executive director of the Institute of Customer Service and a board member at Magna.

We dive into what it really takes to elevate customer service in the housing sector. Jonathan shares invaluable insights into creating a service that truly serves residents at every touchpoint.

Jonathan’s approach prioritises an understanding of what residents genuinely need and expect from housing services, with practical strategies for aligning delivery to meet expectations.

This episode is packed with actionable strategies and inspiration for housing professionals looking to lead the way in customer service.

In this episode, we cover:

● What we can learn from out-of-sector experiences.
● How to encourage team buy-in of new strategies.
● Jonathan’s 5 strategic priorities to deliver better customer service
● How customer data is leading to some surprising insights.
● How to identify the most creative problem solvers within your organisation.
● What to prioritise each month to continually drive change within your organisation.
● Striking the balance between digital and in-person engagement.
● The one area the sector needs to improve in order to genuinely transform customer services.