As we come to the end of the first Supported Housing Week, we’re reflecting on the importance of supported housing and the role that collaboration, shared learning and benchmarking can play in strengthening services across the sector.
Following our recent Supported Housing Benchmarking Club meeting, Sean Brennan, our Director of Benchmarking and Corporate Services, shares his thoughts on the discussions, the value of learning from peers and why looking beyond the figures matters.
The first Supported Housing Week, taking place from 19-23 October, has been an opportunity to recognise the difference a safe home with the right support can make to someone’s life. It is also a chance to give more attention to the people and organisations making that possible.
Supported housing covers a vast range of services. People may need support for a short period while they move towards greater independence, or a home that can meet their needs over many years. Understanding those differences matters when we discuss what good services and support look like.
It’s a theme that runs through almost every Supported Housing Benchmarking Club we have. Conversations move from resident satisfaction and repairs to damp and mould, overheating, complaints and the practical challenge of managing responsibilities across landlords, support providers and managing agents.
These are issues that affect whether someone feels safe, receives a timely response and can live comfortably in their home. They also demonstrate why the context benchmarking brings, and the practical peer support available in meetings and in between, have become so important.
Understand What Sits Behind the Figures
A benchmark gives an organisation a useful starting point. It can highlight a strength, identify a change needed, or prompt a question about why an outcome differs from that of similar providers.
The explanation needs some care.
For example, a longer void period may involve repairs, referral arrangements, assessments or coordination between several agencies. A higher number of complaints may reflect greater confidence in speaking up or improved recording, not just problems with the service. A change in a percentage can be significant, but where numbers are small, a handful of cases can move the result considerably. It’s why our specialist clubs exist – because the “usual” drivers for why a performance metric might not be met differ in supported housing organisations.
At our recent meeting, members discussed precisely these questions. They were interested in understanding what others were recording, how they interpreted definitions and what they could learn from different approaches.
We know supported housing needs comparisons that recognise its diversity, that peer groups are useful, but it’s knowing when the numbers don’t tell the full story. A service designed around successful move-on will have a different pattern of turnover from long-term accommodation. Costs and service demands will vary with the support model and the needs of residents.
The growing breadth of our network creates more opportunities to make those comparisons useful. Our Supported Housing Club is now Acuity’s largest Benchmarking Club, and it’s easy to see why. For me, the value of this club is its diversity – the more people and organisations we welcome, the wider the experience members can draw upon – enhancing the opportunity to compare with more relevant peers, access wide-ranging ideas, and seek support and inspiration from others.
The Value of an Honest Conversation
One of the most useful discussions at our October meeting concerned compliance where homes sit within larger buildings or are delivered through different ownership and management arrangements.
Members described the practical work involved in clarifying responsibilities, obtaining information from other parties and maintaining oversight. Others shared approaches they were developing, and connections were made so those conversations could continue afterwards.
That is peer support at its most useful: someone raises a difficult issue, another person recognises it, and they begin working through what might help.
There was a similar exchange about capturing damp and mould reports arriving through different channels. The challenge was ensuring that information reached the right place and received a consistent response. Members also discussed overheating, including the difficulty of finding solutions that residents can afford to run.
No single organisation will have an answer to every challenge. Having space to discuss what is working, what remains difficult and what someone would do differently can save others time and help them ask better questions.
Keeping Residents at the Centre
Benchmarking should help providers understand where to focus their attention, highlight the art of the possible, and challenge leaders to consider whether their actions are improving people’s experiences. That means bringing performance information together with residents’ views and the knowledge of the staff delivering services.
One of the things we’re most proud of at Acuity is that we’ve been able to create a trusted environment where people feel able to share openly. Peer learning remains honest, and we encourage a balance – where we discuss the things they are proud of in one breath and ask for help with something they have not yet resolved in the next.
Supported Housing Week rightly celebrates services and the people who call them home. It should also help build understanding of what those services need to remain effective and sustainable.
At Acuity, we are pleased to play a part by bringing providers together. The most valuable outcome is when a figure prompts a useful conversation, that conversation leads to action, and someone experiences a better service as a result.
As we reflect on the first Supported Housing Week, Sean’s thoughts reinforce the importance of shared learning and collaboration across the sector. At Acuity, we’re proud to bring providers together to share experiences, learn from one another and turn insights into meaningful improvements for residents.
If you’d like to know more about our Benchmarking Clubs – designed with smaller and specialist providers in mind – click here or contact us.
