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Do your ethnic minority tenants have a seat at the table?
Our research highlights key ways organisations can improve engagement with tenants from ethnic minority backgrounds, writes Kai Jackson, Tpas associate, involved tenant and author of a new report
I have completed my BSc (Honours) Psychology and Counselling degree and achieved a British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. I ...more
This has been a two-year journey for me, which led to me presenting my report, Is There a Seat at The Table – Ethnic Minority Voices in Tenant Engagement. As this is the first project of its kind in the sector that is also tenant-led, it was important for me to break the negative stigmas placed on tenants.
The foundation of this project has been consistent, and that is to ask the question, “Why? Why do tenants from ethnic minority background choose to, or not to, get involved in tenant engagement structures with their registered provider?”
This was the constant question we never lost sight of.
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It still amazes me that an observation led to this report; it has gone beyond my wildest dreams. But, most importantly, it surprised me how many staff members have had the same observations around how we can engage more with ethnic minority tenants and make them a part of the engagement structure.
This is one of the reasons I feel this project has been received so well in the sector. It is one of those topics that needs addressing, but could also cause offence if not done correctly. We found this out when we were faced with a few rethink moments, such as when it came to terminology and being sensitive and inclusive. There was a lot of learning along the way, including the perception of intent.
Working with Louise Holt, head of membership services at Tpas England, and Dr Gareth Young, knowledge exchange and impact fellow at the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE), made this project so much more enjoyable and easier, because we all had the same goal in mind: to produce a report that inspires conversation, thought and meaningful changes.
“This is one of the reasons I feel this project has been received so well in the sector. It is one of those topics that needs addressing, but could also cause offence if not done correctly”
What I also wanted from this project was to tell a story and to build understanding of some of the reasons why trust has been lost with ethnic minority tenants, in hopes that the sector can take learning from it and start to build back some of the trust, which is all but gone for many tenants.
The added bonus to this report is the TABLE principles, which I designed as an easy acronym to support strategic planning to reach and engage with ethnic minority tenants and have their voices be a part of organisational planning: Tailored training; Actively engaging communities; Bringing everyone into the conversation; Listening to voices; and Ethnic minorities.
It is important to mention that each organisation would need to tailor its approach to its tenants’ demographic, resource and financial capabilities and, most importantly, their needs.
The report has eight key recommendations. The first relates to targeted communication and outreach. Organisations should develop a comprehensive marketing and communication strategy and prioritise accessibility through multilingual and culturally sensitive materials.
Organisations need to build trust by fostering genuine, action-orientated engagement, and demonstrate accountability by visibly acting on tenant feedback.
The report recommends organisations should conduct a review to identify and eliminate systemic barriers to ethnic-minority tenant participation.
“Organisations need to build trust by fostering genuine, action-orientated engagement, and demonstrate accountability by visibly acting on tenant feedback”
It suggests investment in training to improve staff members’ cultural competence, and implementation of robust data-collection and analysis systems to track tenant demographics and engagement challenges.
The sixth recommendation relates to allocating resources and funding. You should secure external funding or partnerships to support targeted engagement activities, and allocate resources to training, outreach and tenant-led initiatives that focus on ethnic minority engagement.
The seventh emphasises the power of community-led initiatives. These empower tenants to co-create engagement efforts and lead focus groups or cultural activities.
Finally, the report recommends organisations implement the TABLE principles.
These actions are taken from the voices of hundreds of tenants and staff members who shaped the findings of this report.
During the course of this project, we met the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government a few times. The challenge before me was how I could make this a project that made a real difference, and which wouldn’t be here today and gone tomorrow. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well for months. But it was that drive that led to me developing the TABLE principles, a framework that can help organisations to evidence that they are reaching wider and diverse tenant voices when it comes to the consumer standards.
Also, if the principals are implemented correctly, it can shift the culture of an organisation away from a tick-box approach, to think more and deliver more equitable services.
Having a seat at the table means everyone should be welcome.
Kai Jackson, Tpas associate, involved tenant and author of Is There a Seat at The Table – Ethnic Minority Voices in Tenant Engagement
