Harriet had an unusual start to her career in housing, having worked in a variety of customer services roles, from retail to hospitality. She then joined Mount Green in a customer service position and quickly progressed to Complaints Officer. As part of our women in housing series, Harriet discusses how she began her career in the housing sector, the challenges she faces and why she loves her role.
Tell me about your career – how did you get into housing?
I’d been mainly retail based before coming into housing – I’ve always had customer facing jobs. Then I worked as a manager at a pub for a couple of years, where I learnt lots about customer service and multi-tasking! After that, I considered working as a 999-call handler but I wasn’t sure I’d like the pressure of the role, so I went into housing instead and I’ve been here at Mount Green for three years. I started on the phones in customer service and then after a couple of months I progressed to Complaints Officer. I’ve had a few different roles already in such a short space of time, which has been great for my progression and learning.
What are some key milestones/achievements/personal highlights you’ve experienced during your time at Mount Green?
The day-to-day of supporting residents and being able to resolve complaints. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I feel like in this kind of role, you often get people who repeatedly complain, and some people might get frustrated at that, but I don’t. I feel like I’m advocating for them on their behalf throughout the business, and I’m banging the drum to try and get things resolved for them, as often people are complaining for a genuine reason.
I really like supporting people. When someone comes back to you and they say, “Oh, thank you, you’ve really helped me” or “you’ve understood my concerns”, I enjoy that part of my job, it’s not always doom and gloom.
What are some key things you’ve learnt/challenges you’ve faced in your role?
Working in complaints, it’s really fast paced. I have deadlines every single day that I need to meet – I can’t miss them. The guidelines and the guidance are constantly changing, so you are always refreshing your knowledge and making sure you’re up to speed with everything too.
Last year we entered into partnership with Stonewater, so we’ve been integrating and learning from their approaches to complaints, so there’s been lots of learning, finding out how they handle them and adapting to be aligned. It’s been challenging at times, but you learn something new every single day, which I enjoy.
Do you have any advice for women wanting to start a career in housing?
Speak up for yourself, work hard and be seen to be making a change. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, so you can give back where needed. Always make sure you are working collaboratively, we’re not a one-man band.
Now I feel like a lot more women have joined teams in more senior roles. I find it really inspiring that there’s so many strong women in our organisation that are really thriving and striving for the best for residents and for us.