Thought leadership interview with Rob Quayle

What will be the biggest issue you hope to hear more on at Housing 2023?

I spend most of my time with sector CEOs and colleagues who are working to support the sector, and there has never been a more challenging time for housing. The competing demands for investment and the pressure on capacity is at breaking point and I’ll be really interested to hear from a range of speakers on how the sector is tackling such complexity, in particular the blend of new and existing homes, decency and decarbonisation and improving customer experience.

What will you be speaking about in your session?

I’ve spent my whole career in customer facing businesses and have always designed products and services based on a deep understanding of customers needs and preferences, so I’m really pleased that Jonathan Cox, my Director of Data and Insight will be sharing his sector leading experience on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) and challenging us to think about the relationship between data quality and positive outcomes, and how to make the data accessible and engaging for tenants. He will also be exploring how the TSMs are an opportunity for improvement and really taking stock of the reality of current sentiment.

Tell us a question for the Secretary of State

Does the Secretary think that political pressure and increased regulation is too blunt an instrument to tackle stock decency and in particular damp and mould? Are the issues with the age of stock, stretched financial capacity and digital and data maturity going to be solved by current policy direction.

What are you most looking forward to?
Connecting with my network and meeting new people through the combination of events, networking and spending time in the exhibition. It’s always good to hear from so many thought leaders in one place so I’m also looking forward to squeezing in as many sessions as possible.

Name us the housing speaker of your dreams and why?

I would love to hear from Octavia Hill. I know that she was often seen as a controversial figure with strong views on social reform, but what I really admire is her holistic view of human needs, the fact that she understood how green spaces and nature supports well-being and how joining the dots on education, children and employment has an impact on poverty. We still have a long way to go in taking a holistic view of homes, people and neighbourhoods.

Why is it vital the whole sector has a place to meet each year?

With the sector facing unprecedented challenges, we are all juggling so many balls and it’s often tempting to internalise priorities. It’s great to come together in one place where you can meet people, network, dip into great content, hold meetings and not worry about co ordinating diaries. I first came to Housing in Manchester in my first 6 months in the sector and it was invaluable to me as new entrant.