GPSJ Autumn 2024 ONLINE - Flipbook - Page 36
GPSJ
SOCIAL HOUSING
How digital project management can help
ensure compliance with the new Social
Housing standard
By Katie Fradley, Product Development Director at Flowlio
Katie Fradley
The first half of 2024 saw major
changes to social housing rolled
out, starting with the Regulator
of Social Housing’s (RSH) new
standards in February 2024, and
the landmark Social Housing
Regulation Act, which came into
effect in April 2024.
These changes applied to all social
landlords, including councils and
housing associations, and requires
them to ensure tenants’ safety in
their homes, listen and respond
promptly to tenants’ complaints, be
accountable to tenants and treat
them with fairness and respect, know
more about the condition of every
home and the needs of those living
in them, and collect and use data
effectively across a range of areas,
including repairs.
In order to hold landlords to
account, the RSH advised it would
inspect larger landlords regularly,
scrutinise data about tenant
satisfaction, repairs and other
relevant issues, continue to push
landlords to protect tenants and
address any problems, use a range
of tools including new enforcement
powers, and continue to focus on
the financial viability and governance
of housing associations as part
of its integrated regulation. This
inspection programme began in April
and will run in four-year cycles, with
action taken against landlords when
required.
Combine these regulatory shifts
with the Labour government’s
ambition to create 1.5 million homes
over the next few years, and it would
be fair to say local councils and
social housing stakeholders will be
stretched to new limits.
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So what can social landlords,
councils and housing associations
do to help ensure compliance with
the updated regulations while helping
to deliver the huge programme of
house building? Deploying robust
project management software is
critical.
How digital project management
governance can help ensure
compliance with the new consumer
standards.
Research has shown that 83.8%
of projects are not delivered on time
or to budget, which at best, results in
wasted resources and public funds,
and at worst, could now mean noncompliance to the new standards
and the repercussions this could
bring.
Visibility and document control
Digital project management tools,
such as Flowlio, can increase visibility
across compliance-focused projects,
as relevant data is stored in one
place. This allows projects to be
easily and efficiently audited, ensuring
no aspect of the new consumer
standards is overlooked.
Real-time reporting
non-compliance in several ways.
This includes the ability to record
and track potential risks in one
place. For example, if there’s a risk
of missing a compliance deadline or
failing to meet a regulation, the risk
can be documented centrally within
the software. This centralisation
makes it easier to monitor these risks
throughout the project lifecycle and
ensures that no potential compliance
issues are overlooked.
Furthermore, the use of approval
workflows within software can
provide additional governance and
assurance that compliance activities
have been completed. For instance,
before a project phase is marked as
complete, the necessary approver
will be notified to review the work and
make specific compliance checks
before signing off. This additionally
provides an audit trail, creating a
clear record of what was done to
meet compliance requirements and
consequently making it easier to
prove compliance to regulators.
The importance of digitalisation
to streamline project
management processes
Automated reporting features can
track progress against requirements,
enabling timely identification of
risks or delays that could lead to
non-compliance, and affording the
opportunity to correct or address
these potential barriers to compliance
before they become a problem.
As well as the heightened level of
compliance facing the social housing
sector, the new house building
targets are placing unprecedented
burdens on operators. As such,
driving efficiencies and implementing
more streamlined processes has
never been more vital, which is
where digitalisation is key.
Digitised approval processes
Integration of systems
By having set approval processes
within a project management tool,
an extra layer of governance is
added, ensuring the right people
have oversight, are checking key
documentation and therefore,
reducing or preventing errors entirely.
Digital project management
platforms can integrate with other
enterprise systems, creating a flow of
information that supports compliance
efforts and drives efficiencies.
Accountability
Clear assignment of tasks within
digital tools ensures that individual
responsibilities are well-defined and
traceable, with a detailed audit trail,
which is crucial for demonstrating
compliance.
Risk management tools
Risk management within project
management software can help to
identify and mitigate risks related to
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2024
Data-driven decision making
By digitising project management,
social housing providers have quick
access to data analytics that enables
them to make informed decisions,
and prioritise projects that are critical
to maintaining compliance with the
new standards.
Scalability
Digital tools can easily scale
to manage multiple projects
simultaneously, ensuring that all areas
of compliance are addressed across
different sites and operations.
Standardising project
management to remain
compliant and viable
There are many single points of
failure within projects which if not
managed, can not only halt a project
in its tracks, but could lead to noncompliance of the new regulations
and standards.
Social housing providers need
to deliver projects successfully to
remain well-governed, viable and
compliant. A well-delivered project
will produce measurable benefits
that ultimately improve the customer
experience, whilst keeping them safe
in their homes.
Flowlio brings a new organisationalwide approach to project delivery.
Our platform connects projects,
teams and people with technology
and knowledge, enabling end-to-end
collaborative change to be delivered
Our framework and software
introduce standardised working
practices across the board and
the governance needed to provide
oversight and assurance that projects
are prioritised properly and are being
delivered effectively. Flowlio ensures
alignment with strategic objectives,
minimises risk and helps to ensure
that the best possible outcomes are
delivered.
As an enterprise solution designed
for all people involved in delivering
change, Flowlio speeds things up
through automation and workflows.
System-driven alerts embed
ownership and accountability,
providing early sight of when things
may be going wrong and identifying
where support might be needed to
put things right before it’s too late
The sector needs a new delivery
approach which gives assurance,
introduces efficiencies and increases
the chances of project success,
minimising the risk of waste, and
project failure. It needs an approach
that supports people to focus
on delivering organisational and
customer-led benefits, while adhering
to the new evolution of the social
housing industry.
