See below for details of our autumn 2020 series of free webinars. Ever popular, our webinars provide you with the intel and challenge you need to take control of a fast-changing operating environment. Use the links below see details and recordings of all events.

Recordings and resources from completed webinars in this series

Resident Satisfaction masterclass: good practice tips for carrying out a survey

Denise Raine, Director, Acuity

Denise distils 30-years’ experience into an hour of good practice tips to help landlords and residents get the most out of your surveys. How do you maximise response rates? Should you go for a sample or census? What are the pros and cons of the various survey channels? What should you ask and how should you ask it? When should you survey and how often? How do you ensure consistency to enable benchmarking? How do you use the data: shaping services, tenant profiling and customer recovery?

This discussion took place on 6 October – click here to watch the recording >>

DWP update and surgery

Sarah Lewis, Partnership Manager, Department for Work and Pensions

Sarah provided a wealth of information and answered questions on  DWP,  UC roll-out, changes to the payment process and why it pays to be on the portal (and how to get on the portal). How is DWP preparing for expected high volumes of of new claims in the autumn and winter? Plus, everything you ever wanted to know about DWP payments but were too afraid to ask or didn’t know who to ask.

This discussion took place on 8 October – click here for a digest of Sarah’s answers and the resources she mentioned >>

Update from the RSH

Jonathan Walters, Deputy Chief Executive, Regulator for Social Housing

In this interactive session Jonathan discussed the the political & economic climate and the latest thinking from the regulator, and what are the key risks and issues housing associations need to be considering?

The session took place on 12 October – click here to watch the recording  >>

Lessons from Covid & what comes next?

Ian Wright, Managing Director, Disruptive Innovators Network

Ian Wright, CEO of Disruptive Innovators Network explores the drivers of disruption in social housing, how leaders are responding to the pandemic and what successful businesses outside the sector have been doing to take advantage of the opportunities the crisis has thrown up. In particular, we hear about emerging new ways of working, the deployment of new technologies and areas of collaboration. Covid19 has shown that housing providers are able to operate at coronaspeed, doing things in days that previously would have taken weeks and months. But what does the future hold for housing providers? What are the questions they need to be asking themselves as they adapt to a new operating environment for which there is no guidebook or reference points?

The webinar was originally broadcast on Tuesday 13 October 2020. Click here to watch the recording >>

Effective governance – what does a great board look like and how does it behave?

Samantha McGrady, Director, DTP

Sam  examines what effective governance really is, what it looks like and its characteristics. The session included a focus on diversity in boards, ‘what’s new’ in governance and the new NHF Code of Governance, plus a look at key current governance themes and challenges.

The webinar was originally broadcast on Tuesday 12 October 2020. Click here to download the slides and watch the recording >>

Community investment: the latest fundraising opportunities for smaller housing associations, how to succeed and the importance of evaluation

Luke Southall, MD and Rahul Bissoonauth, Director of Business Development, Oaks (part of the Aquila Group)

Luke Southall Rahul Bissoonauth from Oaks discuss the fundraising opportunities available to smaller associations, taking a specific look at grants from trusts, foundations and other institutions. They will focus on current opportunities in the sector, and provide an overview of the key requirements and steps required to be successful in this fundraising area. The session included the importance of evaluation, where to look for opportunities, and top tips for successful applications.

The webinar originally broadcast on 22 October 2020. Click here to download the slides and watch the recording >>

The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code 

Emma Foxall, Deputy Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman Service

Emma Foxall, Deputy Ombudsman at the Housing Ombudsman Service discusses the new complaint handling code. The new code overhauls the housing complaints system from how landlords manage complaints to the powers the Ombudsman has to take action on behalf of tenants. Emma covers the implications for the sector, the self-assessment requirement and what happens next.

The webinar originally broadcast on 26 October 2020. Click here to download the the slides, related links and watch a recording of the session >>

Policy update from CIH

James Prestwich, Director of Policy and External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Housing

There’s lots to reflect upon: where a scrapped autumn budget and paused spending review leaves housing policy and investment and the levelling up agenda; implications of planning reforms; the long-awaited White Paper and revamp of consumer regulation; a soon to be finalised Building Safety Bill and the challenge of hitting environmental targets. James helps us navigate the policy environment and consider the implications.

The webinar originally broadcast on 29 October 2020. Click here to watch a recording of the session >>