Suburban queen bids standards rise

It’s won merit for its activities, but that’s no excuse for not doing better - so Ealing Homes’ new chief executive is determined to push standards that extra mile

Get the basics right and all else will follow, that’s the view of Ealing Homes’ new chief executive Susmita Sen. Later this year, in September, her philosophy will be put to the test when the organisation faces its next Audit Commission inspection.

Back in 2005, when the inspectors last called, Ealing Homes was rated two stars with promising prospects for improvement. The following year, on the basis of plaudits earned in the area of anti-social behaviour, it was asked to host the launch of the Government’s Respect Standard for housing management. And earlier this year, the
organisation underwent a robust mock inspection.

All this happened before Sen joined the organisation from Hackney, but it points towards the strengths in the organisation. Those strengths she fully intends to use as the foundation for driving standards and services forward to ever higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness.

“I have a solid background in housing management core services and I am focusing very much on improving frontline services for residents,” Sen said. “For me it really is about delivering the basics and getting the bread and butter right, with a view to us becoming the landlord of choice.”

Among that bread and butter basket of services is the day-to-day repairs and maintenance along with tenancy management. Leaseholder relations are another core service that Sen is looking to see developed and improved upon in what is an increasingly difficult time for leaseholders.

Ealing Homes manages around 19,000 rented and leasehold properties on behalf of the borough council. The ALMO was established in 2004. As for Ealing itself, though densely populated, the borough enjoys a leafy suburban look and feel, with over 100 parks and open spaces within its borders. Little wonder, then, that it’s known as the ‘Queen of the Suburbs’. However, there are pockets of high deprivation.

The borough is the fourth most ethnically diverse in the country, with a large Polish community, and apparently the largest Sikh community outside of India. Some 40 per cent of the borough’s population are from ethnic minorities, and over 100 languages are spoken in the borough. This is a tremendously diverse environment, and Sen is keen that the ALMO plays it part as an interwoven part of that vibrant social tapestry.

Traditionally, these groups are under-represented in social housing, though times are changing and these days more people from a BME background are involved in the tenure.

“What I am very keen to do is build the relationship with these residents, though not at the expense of our non-BME residents,” Sen said. “It’s really about attracting more people to get involved in our tenant structures. I want to ensure that we are delivering for a group that has traditionally lost out in services.”

It’s about building bridges, promoting the concept of community cohesion, and otherwise fulfilling that service culture of getting the basics right - whatever and whoever you are - that Sen is determined to tighten the focus.

“I’m very conscious of the fact that I have just arrived and I think the staff are feeling a little overwhelmed,” she said. “I do believe in driving service delivery very hard, so that does mean that staff are going to be pushed that extra mile.

“There’s a lot of local good practice here in Ealing, but I think the most challenging question we can ask is whether what we are doing is actually making a difference and whether residents see this.” she added. “So this is the mindset I am trying to introduce amongst our employees. It means that some tough decisions may have to be made. We are currently evaluating how we provide services and will be making those decisions shortly.

Questions are very much the order of this approach. It’s about taking a long hard look at ourselves and asking if we are doing all that we can,” Sen added. “Are we challenging ourselves - because we already have two stars. There is no room for complacency, therefore we’ve got to challenge ourselves and ask some difficult questions. There is little point, after all, in carrying out activities for the sake of it.” “From that it sounds as if Ealing Homes is ready to face some tough questions, with some tough answers forged in the cutting edge of those core services.