What is your pledge?
I pledge to never be complacent – I will never accept the status quo and will always press for continuous improvement in our housing safety and compliance.
What are some of the biggest safety challenges Connexus faces?
One of our biggest challenges to address is resident access. While there are clear cut regulations and a lot of resident knowledge about gas and access processes, other compliance areas haven’t received the same attention. At Connexus there is a real determination to continually challenge all compliance areas and to ensure improvements are made but the prioritisation of safety work is a big hurdle. Customers may only view things as an issue when they go wrong. It is important that we explain the necessity of the health and safety work we do and why this must take priority.
How as a sector should we work better with residents to help make their homes safer?
We should listen to our residents because it is so important that they are safe and feel safe in their homes. Organisations need to be prepared to discuss safety concerns openly, as well as publicising all the good work the sector does. It is only by doing this and having a two-way discussion that safety concerns can be addressed. It is sometimes very difficult to engage residents, so as a sector we need to look at innovative ways to get people on board and keep the lines of communication open with clear contact information.
