Tony Simms,
Director,
QLP

We’re constantly being asked to do more with less as demands on our services grow.

Each new request or initiative stretches our limited resources further. Too often, decisions in social housing are made based solely on cost. But using cost as the only measure of ‘value for money’ affects not just our buildings and systems, it impacts tenants and staff as well.

There are many examples where short-term cost savings have led to long-term failures. Repairs and maintenance cutbacks, underinvestment in staff, service reductions and austerity measures have created damaging headlines and, in some cases, devastating outcomes. What began as ‘cost cutting’ has ended in regulatory failure, reputational damage, low staff morale, and, at worst, injury or loss of life.

We must redefine ‘value’ and recognise that different stakeholders measure it in different ways.

For a tenant, the value of a service may be measured by the speed of repairs, the responsiveness of customer services or the compassion of the agent.

For a repairs manager, the value may be measured by how efficient the system repairs and scheduling system works.

In the case (for example) of a system that allows the tenant to report a repair easily, accurately at any time of day, and for the repairs manager to ensure it gets fixed first time, it’s essential work order adjustments can be made quickly and easily and the correct budget codes are used.

The challenge then becomes: how do we respond to these (and other factors) and make a balanced decision? The key is to redefine ‘value’ and recognise that different stakeholders measure it in different ways.

Take a new housing management system as an example. Here’s how a value-driven approach might look:

Tenant involvement

Traditionally, tenants are consulted after services are designed. If we’re serious about improvement, their voices must be heard from the start. Co-design – beyond surveys or focus groups – ensures systems meet real needs. Tenants should shape decisions, not just react to them.

Procurement

Awarding contracts based mainly on lowest cost encourages unrealistic bids. Suppliers may underprice to win work, leading to systems that are late, subpar and costly to fix. It’s a false economy. Procurement teams must shift to assessing long-term value: which supplier can deliver lasting, effective tools for housing officers, repairs teams and contact centres? Without this, we risk projects that fail to deliver true value.

Implementation

Even with the right supplier and tenant input, many projects falter during delivery. Timelines are often unrealistic and internal teams lack the experience or bandwidth to manage complex rollouts. Assigning existing staff to projects without backfill or training leads to burnout and costly errors.

Successful implementation requires:

• Engaging system users early – not just as testers, but as co-designers
• Filling key roles with experienced project managers, analysts, trainers and change leads
• Supporting business staff by providing time, training and tools to manage delivery effectively.

Training

Training must go beyond generic system demos. It needs to be:

• Role-specific, tailored to how different users will interact with the system
• Hands-on, using real scenarios and examples
• Ongoing, with refreshers, champions and post-go-live support.

We must also build internal capability around project delivery. Too often, housing professionals are tasked with managing IT projects without proper training. They need to understand:

• How to gather user input and write meaningful user stories
• How to manage change, scope and risk
• What good testing looks like.

Without these skills, even great systems can fail. Goodwill and spreadsheets aren’t enough. Project leads need structured development to meet the scale and speed of change in our sector.

If we’re honest, we already know where cost-first thinking takes us. We’ve seen the inquiry reports, missed KPIs, tenant complaints and burnt-out staff. Every corner cut, every rushed rollout, every ‘cheapest-bid-wins’ decision has a cost – it just shows up later.

‘Buy cheap, buy twice’ is especially true for IT projects.

We need a new model of leadership – one that values quality from the outset:

• Quality in tenant engagement
• Quality in procurement
• Quality in implementation
• Quality in training and support.

We must measure value not only by cost, but by long-term impact – on our teams, our systems and, most importantly, our residents.