For those with an unwavering desire to make a difference in people’s lives, whichever sector they start out in, those ideals tend to guide their decisions throughout their professional journey.
Guy Stenson, Chief Executive of Gloucester City Homes, has spent the last six years in the housing sector, previously working in health and social care. In this episode of The HIP, we dive deep into his journey into the sector, his principles and vision and we learn more about GCH.
Guy emphasises the link between health and social care and housing and highlights the disconnect that is apparent between the two sectors. He speaks about the changes he has made in the organisation since taking over the CEO role from his predecessor who held the role for 16 years. Guy also speaks on his “Keep It Simple” mantra and how he overcame the challenges of taking over an organisation from a long-standing CEO.
And finally, we dive deep into the changes that the sector sorely needs in terms of tech, EDI and recruitment, and the challenges we face in making those changes a reality.
In this episode we cover:
- What does good customer service look like in terms of team and customer behaviours?
- How do we truly disrupt the housing industry?
- How do we encourage housing associations to build more houses if the money isn’t there?
- The less-than-obvious traits that we should be looking for when hiring
- Why have financial reasons moved down the list of reasons that candidates are looking to change jobs?
- How we can get more people into the sector from an EDI perspective
- Joining the NHF Homelessness National Group
- How we can do better in creating a place where people want to work
- What does Guy see for the future of the sector?