Why are Housing Association’s so Inefficient?
After three months as a board member I had attended two board meetings, an away weekend and the NHF Board members conference. My background is very commercial. So I came to the conclusion that the housing sector was inefficient and filled it’s time with unnecessary paperwork, charts and policies.
While not strictly public sector (depending on your definition) housing association’s seem to be run in a public sector style. This is most likely because the majority have been spun-off from local authorities. My view as a commercial outsider of public sector bodies has always been that of being wasteful and inefficient.
Within most HA’s you can find a policy, procedure or strategy for nearly everything. Not only has someone had to spend a lot of time creating these but they also have to review them at least every 3 years if not before. Then as a board we sign them off (or don’t).
My philosophy is essentially Ready, Fire, Aim. If in my business we are going to do something we do it, see if it works and if it does then create a strategy around it. If it doesn’t work change it, bin it or move on to something else. It can be cheaper to just get on and try something to see if it works than expend time, money and effort overly planning.
Hear comes the but..
Housing Associations are responsible to tenants. They are essentially guardians of tenant money. They also receive a not so insignificant amount of public funds. Without stock, rental and housing benefit many HA’s would not exist. Unlike commercial organisations they do not have the luxury of spending money on potential failures. They are accountable to tenants and the regulator for everything they do. At anytime they may be called upon to explain why such an expenditure was approved. So they need a paper trail which includes due diligence and reasoned arguments.
The key phrase is Value For Money (VFM). HA’s must show everything they do is VFM. They must demonstrate that in both the strategies, procedures and policies as well as in the continual reviews of department operations.
A commercial organisation is rarely put under as much scrutiny. In many cases it is just the bottom line that matters.
It is wrong of me to brand the whole sector as inefficient. But I am willing to bet that every HA has some form of excess administration leading to inefficiency. If not for them but to keep the HCA happy and that G1 rating.
What next?
I feel HA’s need to become more agile. A reduction in red tape should ultimately lead to additional value for money. But it is important that they remain accountable.
There must be some middle ground and I want to find it. I have no idea what it would look like or how it will manifest itself but I have started the search. I need to think a little less commercial and more value for money. In the commercial world we call that Return On Investment (ROI). But getting maximum ROI for a HA does require more commercial thinking.
