Housing Technology interviewed technology and social housing experts from Acutest, FLS – Fast Lean Smart, HTG, NEC Software Solutions, Nexus Open Systems and Plentific on how housing providers can foster a culture of ‘bright ideas’ and then successfully transition those ideas into their daily operations.
Is IT innovation driven by technology or business teams?
John Brett, operations director at Nexus Open Systems, said, “IT innovation should be a collaborative effort, led by business teams with input from technology teams to ensure alignment with the overall business goals.
“Business teams can identify opportunities based on market needs, while technology teams contribute expertise on feasibility and emerging technologies, with IT-led governance and security frameworks to support innovation without stifling it.”
Jeremy Squire, UK managing director of FLS – Fast Lean Smart, said, “Technology experts drive IT innovation with their technical expertise, but this comes from a broader culture of innovation stemming from the overarching vision of housing leadership.”
Niall Quinn, director of operations at HTG, said, “From my experience of housing, IT innovation is driven primarily by technology teams. However, it’s only as good as the end-users’ experience; success is down to the business teams working diligently to ensure it is sufficiently adopted and understanding how best to use it internally.”
Cem Savas, CEO of Plentific, said, “Technology teams take a lead on IT innovation driven by business needs. Innovation is a way of achieving significant business growth, with technology teams collaborating across the housing business.
“With higher expectations from residents, greater regulatory pressures and a challenging operating environment, technology innovators will be asking themselves how they can support housing business growth by connecting all stakeholders efficiently, using data to optimise and streamline property operations.”
Background requirements for innovation
Jess Winfield, senior assurance consultant at Acutest, said, “Innovation relies on several key factors. A housing provider should have a culture that nurtures creativity and problem-solving skills among its staff: creative thinking for generating new ideas; critical thinking for triaging these new ideas; and design thinking to approach problems from a user-centric perspective.
“The housing provider must also be willing to invest in research and development. Access to financial, technological and human resources are all necessary for innovation, with organisational support through a culture that encourages experimentation and risk-taking, leadership that prioritises innovation, and open communication channels.”
Trevor Hampton, director of housing solutions at NEC Software Solutions, said, “You need to first understand the capability of technology and what you want it to deliver for residents and staff.
“For instance, if your main aim is to free staff from mundane administrative work, then AI could automate many manual tasks. Introducing AI-enabled technology helped PA Housing flag when rental payments started to slide much earlier than a human could analyse the data. Staff could also use the AI-generated insights to differentiate between a short-term late payment problem and a more serious situation where there’s a significant risk of arrears.”
FLS’s Squire said, “In developing innovation by framing and realising new creative concepts, there’s always the possibility of failure; the skill is to realise this and ditch those unsuccessful ideas as quickly as possible, saving on development costs.
“If we look at Bromford’s Innovation Lab launched 10 years ago as the first in the housing sector, its mission was to grow the brightest ideas to tackle issues facing its housing business, with the lessons learnt helping the overall housing sector as a whole. Ideas for improving services for residents are tested at the Innovation Lab, such as developments in IoT, home automation, energy management or asset performance.”
HTG’s Quinn said, “The most important aspect is fostering a culture of experimentation and providing a cultural and technical environment where new ideas can be explored, discussed and tested without fear of failure.
“You also need an understanding of both the wider housing challenges and staff and residents’ expectations, combined with ‘horizon scanning’ of new technologies and assessing how they might help.”
Formal frameworks vs. ‘freestyling’
NEC Software Solutions’ Hampton said, “Freestyling innovation can bring benefits, particularly during the first phases of a project when you’re defining what needs to be achieved or brainstorming ideas to solve a problem. This is when you want the creative juices to flow as freely as possible. However, having an overall framework which includes deadlines for research, IT development and live trials helps to keep projects moving forward.
“There’s an element of risk when doing anything innovative. Having a framework can reduce the likelihood of time and costs spiralling out of control. It can also ensure safeguards are in place to protect residents and their data.
“For example, if AI-assisted technology is being brought in to prioritise the most vulnerable and speed up the process of allocating social housing, a framework will help to ensure the data security team is involved and that final decisions are fair, inclusive and always made by a human.”
Nexus Open Systems’ Brett said, “Housing providers shouldn’t need to choose between a formal innovation framework and flexible ‘freestyling’; both can complement each other.
“A structured approach, using frameworks such as Cyber Essentials, can ensure the technology aligns with business goals and meets security standards, with regular internal audits and assessments helping to identify risks and opportunities for improvement. At the same time, allowing flexibility encourages creative thinking and adaptability to new trends and challenges.”
Is innovation inspiration or perspiration?
Acutest’s Winfield said, “It might only take a moment to have a flash of inspiration but to turn that inspiration into reality almost always requires hard work, resources and persistence – perspiration, if you like.
“In a sense, the initial idea is the easy part. The process of turning that idea into a robust, ‘industrialised’ implementation is the hard part, involving meticulous planning, problem solving and iterative improvements to refine and implement the inspiration behind the idea.
“For example, we have organised our internal teams to ensure there is sufficient time for both inspiration and perspiration, fitting them around our customer commitments. We do this by assigning teams (pods) to look at specific topics to incubate new ideas and solutions as well as having internal ‘lunch and learn’ forums designed to encourage cross disciplinary discussions and spark new ideas.”
FLS’s Squire said, “Thomas Edison’s famous quote holds true, regarding one per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration; innovation is enabled for housing providers by using the expertise of their internal IT teams combined with external software innovators who have a view of the wider technology landscape.”
Plentific’s Savas said, “Innovation comes from integrating technology expertise across housing providers’ business models. We know the pain points of property operations such as missing data security and transparency, complex technology stacks and the fear of teams being able to integrate a new tool into their existing systems.
“Automation is reducing the need for perspiration to achieve innovation; at Plentific, we’re striving to use innovation in technology and data to streamline and create efficiency in housing operational models.”
Fostering a culture of innovation
HTG’s Quinn said, “Creating a culture of innovation starts with empowering employees to think creatively and feel empowered to challenge the status quo if they believe there is a better way to do things. That said, this is easier said than done because it requires a lot of buy in and support from housing providers’ senior management.”
Nexus Open Systems’ Brett said, “Empower your team to be brave. Let them explore new technologies to generate solutions that address real-world challenges by promoting a culture where innovation is allowed to both succeed and fail.
“Embrace a ‘no blame’ environment to encourage experimentation, demand more from your technology suppliers, and look at innovation from beyond the housing sector.”
Responsibility for innovation
Acutest’s Winfield said, “Innovation thrives when it is both a specific responsibility of some staff and also part of everyone’s daily work, ensuring it is prioritised and strategically managed while tapping into the collective creativity of the entire workforce. This works best when there are incentives for employees suggesting innovative ideas which are subsequently taken forward.
“On the one hand, having roles with dedicated responsibility for innovation or investing in R&D teams to find and incubate new ideas ensures focused effort, specialised skills and strategic alignment with the organisation’s goals. These teams can work on long-term projects with clear accountability and resource allocation.
“On the other hand, making innovation part of everyone’s job fosters an inclusive culture, drives continuous improvement and results in the practical integration of new ideas. Often employees involved in the detail of daily operations can identify insightful, practical, quick-win, innovations.”
NEC Software Solutions’ Hampton said, “It depends on whether the innovation is designed to support a specific role or if it potentially has a much broader impact. For example, drones used by building surveyors to predict maintenance needs should be the responsibility of someone on the team who will understand how to get the most from the technology.
“Mobile devices, on the other hand, could give staff across all housing operations the ability to update housing records or access residents’ information, anytime, anywhere. With such huge potential to reduce costs, improve services and increase efficiency, this type of innovation should become part of everyone’s day job.”
FLS’s Squire said, “Innovation should be an essential part of the overall culture of every housing provider. For example, a growing number of housing providers already have innovation managers who are ambassadors for business transformation and service improvement.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility to ensure housing providers have a culture of education and openness, with events such as Housing Technology’s annual conference, events and webinars supporting this vision.”
From innovation to business as usual
Plentific’s Savas said, “How can we help the UK housing sector to grow, creating superior resident experiences if stakeholders aren’t connected efficiently, using data to streamline property operations for day-to-day activities? How can we come up with the perfect way to build and develop relationships with contractors to ensure the housing provider doesn’t face disrepair claims? The answer is technology.”
Acutest’s Winfield said, “Transitioning innovations into mainstream, day-to-day housing activities involves a series of strategic steps, starting with small-scale tests to evaluate the innovation in a controlled setting in order to spot any potential problems and gather feedback.
“Engaging all stakeholders early in the process is crucial because their involvement ensures buy-in. Integration with existing systems and processes is vital to minimise disruption and enable a smooth transition, alongside regularly gathering feedback to help with iterative enhancements and to find areas for improvement.”
NEC Software Solutions’ Hampton said, “Piloting new technologies in a controlled environment is a great way to successfully integrate specific innovations into mainstream housing activities.
“When implementing significant changes, such as altering work processes, consider the added need for training and be prepared for resistance from staff. A methodical approach that includes regular consultation and communication eases the transition and minimises disruption.”
HTG’s Quinn said, “What I’ve seen work well is when housing teams are invited to workshops to highlight their challenges. And once you understand the challenges, start small; use pilot projects that allow for testing and refinement.
“The ideal world is where innovation is just a part of ‘business as usual’, and the end-users and residents’ experience (IT or otherwise) is constantly being improved.”
Housing Technology would like to thank Jess Winfield (Acutest), Jeremy Squire (FLS – Fast Lean Smart), Niall Quinn (HTG), Trevor Hampton (NEC Software Solutions), John Brett (Nexus Open Systems) and Cem Savas (Plentific) for their editorial contributions to this article.
