A week in the life of… a head of asset management

Tuesday

I finalise the advert for a housing and asset admin apprenticeship. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to develop the successful candidate in their potential career in housing. 

Working across both housing and asset management teams, they will get a good insight into how these services work, to provide safe and secure homes where our residents can live independently but with a helping hand if needed.

The apprentice will also work towards a Chartered Institute Of Housing Level 2 qualification with The Learning Foundry as part of the programme.

Continuing the musical theme, this evening is my weekly drum lesson. It has been on my bucket list to learn to play. I probably have the most patient teacher ever; it’s like rubbing your head while patting your stomach at the same time.

Wednesday

I meet with the housing team to discuss any current issues it is facing within our developments and to finalise the investment spend for the financial year, which has been approved by the board.

Alongside the current stock condition information, we look at any other areas that need to be considered to help ensure our developments are fit for the future. It is important that we ensure our properties are accessible and appealing, not only for our residents but for the next generation of older people.

Often in our decision-making, we consider our own parents, and if it isn’t good enough for them then we certainly wouldn’t accept it for our residents either.

Our customer experience team is involving our residents in the decisions of things like colour schemes for communal decoration and host resident days with mood boards and samples to ensure the final decision has their input.

Thursday

I take a trip to wet room and bathroom specialists ProCare to look at some adaptation aids for future refurbishment projects and our potential next new development following on from the success of Poppyfields. 

Invisible Creations has an award-winning range of products that are designed to look like every-day items such as toilet roll holders, shower risers and shelves. They look modern and help people to live well in their homes for longer.

Some of the products have been hugely popular in our new properties and we hope to incorporate them into future projects.

Friday

I have a catch-up day with the asset management team. We have our own Alpha Works team which carries out most of our repairs and also investment works, such as kitchen installations and our void works in our Wirral developments.

Today’s discussion is around processes to improve customer satisfaction by scheduling work appointments. Our contractor portal will go live this year and our operatives will be trialing the process for us.

We also discuss all things compliance, as well as building and fire safety. We are very proud of the work we have done over the past two years.

Working towards the government’s target for carbon neutrality by 2050 is always a focus for us, too. Our planned investment works are targeted to ensure any future retrofit works are included as part of our journey.