The social housing sector has a new currency- data. As the social housing space continues to introduce advancing technologies and digitise traditionally analogue and legacy systems, a new opportunity has arisen that allows an in depth understanding of organisations and the residents they house. However, this transition is a complex one, and the swathes of data becoming available to housing providers introduces a new digital environment that requires understanding and awareness to result in real positive benefits.
Amid rising expectations of the sector, a key priority for the sector is ensuring that residents feel seen and heard by their providers. Providers now have a duty not just to provide homes to their residents, but also understand their circumstances and additional needs, offering support when necessary and preserving a strong degree of trust between the provider and their residents. To this end, accurate and effective data analysis is paramount for housing providers, and without the necessary information social landlords will find themselves at a harsh strategic disadvantage.
Optimising your data will be the focus of Your Data Is the Problem — And You Already Know It, the fourth panel taking place in zone two of Housing Executive: Future Foundations. The full panel lineup can be found at our agenda page, bringing together professionals from across the technology and housing industries to break down exactly how providers can ensure their data serves them , rather than becoming an obstacle. You can secure your FREE tickets to Housing Executive Future Foundations here.
The automation incentive
This need for accurate data is made even more instrumental by the rapid rise of AI use in the industry. Artificial intelligence could well be likened to the gold rush of the digital era- a wave of enthusiasm not limited to social housing, but present in almost every industry to seize the potential of the most talked about technology in recent memory. However, the first words from any AI expert when discussing the effective implementation of artificial intelligence in a lot of cases will be the same- AI is only as good as its data.
READ MORE: The Waiting Game: Could Empty Development Sites Help Tackle Temporary Housing Demand?
As more and more of the social housing sector moves towards automation, the AI programs responsible will need to be equipped with up to date and high-quality data in order to function effectively. This factor is the difference between AI advancements becoming a bolt-on technology that acts as more window dressing than progress, and an investment that has real operational impact. If providers want to make the most of the current AI boom, there must first be a detailed framework of data for the intelligence to work from.
Undoing the silos
For many providers, the journey of optimising their data begins from a fragmented start point. High-quality data offers organisations the opportunity to build a 360 degree view of their customer base, their interactions so far, faults within the home and more. One of the biggest obstacles to this goal however, is the siloed nature of data collection that has been a common pitfall amongst the sector. With separate departments recording vital resident data, the individual pieces of this complete resident picture remain separated, a situation that results in repeated visits, lost time and frustrated tenants.
For landlords, the task at hand is to streamline this data into one source, collating the relevant data across departments to inform strategic communication and decision making. This oversight will not only inform more efficient operations, but also ensure that residents feel seen and listened to by their landlords.
You can secure your FREE tickets to Housing Executive Future Foundations here.
