Is social housing unsexy? Here’s how to tackle a reputation problem – and build a brand that shines.
The social housing sector is sometimes seen in a negative light, which makes attracting candidates difficult. Here’s how to combat a poor reputation – by mitigating cons, championing pros, and showcasing your unique employer brand. Keep reading.
Skills shortages are one of the biggest challenges for the social housing sector. Some 40% of social housing recruiters name talent shortages as their biggest hurdle to effective recruitment, for instance.
There’s no single answer or magic bullet solution. But the sector’s sometimes-poor reputation is one big component that makes it harder to attract candidates.
Let’s talk about tackling the problem.
Address negative sector perceptions head-on
It might feel unnatural to talk openly about the challenging elements of working in social housing. But if you don’t, you’re giving away control over the narrative. And the narrative is out there.
According to LinkedIn, 75% of jobseekers conduct their own research before applying for a role. That’s true for your brand, and it’s true of the social housing sector as a whole.
Spend a few minutes browsing Reddit and lots of perceived negatives are quick to surface:
- “Emotionally draining and stressful work”
- “Rising up the ranks is dependent on politicking”
- “There’s always more work than time to do it”
- “You’ll need the patience of a saint and balls of steel”
- “You’re the face of a bureaucratic organisation that’s trying to deal with massive losses of funding and huge increases in demand”
- “The pay isn’t good”
- “Becomes extremely dull and unsatisfying after a while”
- “You will be shouted at, screamed at and threatened on a semi-regular basis”
- “People aren’t receptive to change or new ideas”
- “They don’t trust knowledgeable staff”
- “Lazy, complacent people and moany lifers”
- “Executives making stupid decisions and wasting money”
- “You’ll become cynical and desensitised”
That doesn’t make for happy reading, we know. (Not to mention that it’s often far from true!) But the best way to address challenges with the sector’s reputation is to look head-on at what people really think.
Sites like Reddit are great, and your own employees can be a goldmine too. Perhaps you could issue an anonymous survey, to get under the skin of what people really think about the sector and your brand.
Then you can correct misconceptions, respond to or mitigate valid criticisms, and evangelise the pros that outweigh the cons.
Maybe…
- … you’ve got great employee well-being initiatives to help counter the demands of a stressful job.
- …your benefits programme is excellent, even if your base salary isn’t as competitive as you’d like.
- … dealing with challenging situations with tenants makes social housing perfect to hone problem-solving and people skills.
- … you offer clear career paths and transparent promotion criteria, so career progression hinges on ability.
- … you support internal mobility and job rotation, to keep people’s career interesting and varied.
- … you don’t tolerate abuse towards employees and have robust support structures to ensure your people are cared for.
The truth is, there are challenges to working in social housing. But there are challenges to working in any sector.
If social housing recruiters don’t address these potential negatives proactively, you risk candidates getting a worse impression than is true. And, worse, you risk candidates’ mistrust if they only read sunshine and roses from you when their own research highlights thunderstorms and lightning.
Show what makes the social housing sector special
The second part of addressing social housing’s reputation is to focus on the enormous positives of working in the sector.
It’s not like the challenges are a secret. Social housing employees know it can be a stressful, high-pressure role battling decreasing funding and increasing demand.
But roughly 160,000 people have a brilliant, fulfilling career here anyway. We see social housing associations doing some really exciting work, with smart, forward-looking people at the helm.
Show prospective candidates what makes social housing so special. For example:
- Rewarding work. Working in the sector directly impacts lives and communities, making a real difference to some of Britain’s most vulnerable people. It’s a true career for good, that can give employees an amazing sense of purpose.
- Diverse career paths. Social housing career options can be extremely varied, from property management to social care. It’s often possible for employees to switch career paths and gain diverse experience that’s fulfilling and interesting.
- Varied day-to-day role. Social housing roles tend to be extremely varied, dealing with everything from legal issues and social issues to compliance and maintenance. For many candidates, that’s a major plus.
- Cutting-edge skills development. Social housing skills needs are changing fast, so employees can develop in-demand skills like data and analytics. Nearly half of employees say additional training and development opportunities would help them feel motivated and prevent them from switching careers.
- People-facing. Many roles in social care involve lots of direct community engagement that’s varied, interesting, and dynamic. Working with people might bring challenges but that’s also part of the joy of a career here. No two days are the same.
- Job stability. Social housing typically offers great job security with the possibility to build a reliable long-term career with one employer. For many prospective candidates, this stability is enormously attractive, offering emotional and financial peace of mind.
- Strong sector network. The social housing community is just that: a community. Being part of that can feel very special. Harvard Business Review report that when people have a sense of community at work, they’re 58% more likely to thrive, 55% more engaged, and 66% more likely to stay with their organisation. They also experienced much less stress. Good stuff.
- Clear management structure. Social housing providers tend to have a clear management structure and well-defined roles laying out responsibilities and accountability. For many people, this clarity is extremely appealing.
Build your housing association’s brand
These pointers should help you get started on addressing social housing’s sometimes-poor reputation. But one proviso: there’s no shortcut to developing your own employee value proposition and building your employer brand.
You need to ‘sell’ candidates not just on the idea of working in the social housing sector but the idea of working in the social housing sector with you. Otherwise you risk investing time and effort only for another organisation to benefit.
Lots of the elements we’ve spoken about could form part of your employer brand. But take the time to really drill into what makes you different from the housing provider next door.
Digging into the unique elements of your culture, environment, people, and way of doing things helps you create an authentic brand that stands out. And ultimately, that’s the best thing you can do to tackle a poor sector reputation.
What’s next?
Ready to hear more about Tribepad and how our tech can solve your biggest hiring headaches in social housing?
Find out all about our products, and who we’re already working with to make recruitment fairer, faster and better in housing.
As an official NHF supplier, we’re trusted by major UK housing groups including Gleeson, Notting Hill Genesis, Yorkshire Housing, and the Wrekin Housing Group.
