Day in the life of a HMO Team Leader

Phil discusses The Lord of the Rings, void management and why it can be kinder to say no…

I arrived at Squared during COVID, an interesting time to begin any new role. I’d previously worked in the care sector in management roles including as a locality manager. For various reasons I needed a change and applied to be a HMO resettlement co-ordinator at Squared. This involved helping customers to move on from our accommodation to live independently. This could include helping to identify appropriate properties through the local authority, other housing providers or even privately.

After a year I applied for the role of Senior HMO co-ordinator and was successful, helping not only to support our customers but also helping to lead and support other HMO co-ordinators. This felt like a natural step forward for me at the time which, following a more recent restructure of the team, has become the HMO Team Leader.

Part of my role is to provide support to the HMO coaches, providing a sounding board for any issues that may arise and supporting them to best support our customers. Sometimes that means being on hand to provide advice and encourage, other times the coaches just need to vent. I know their roles can be stressful and quite unpredictable so it’s important to be present and available to them. From my own previous experience, sometimes having an external, objective perspective can be very helpful.

Sometimes not knowing what’s going to happen next can be challenging but it’s never dull! A day can go from a brilliant bit of progress for one of our customers to a big step backwards for another within minutes depending on what’s going on. I think that means it’s especially important that I remain calm and consistent both for the team and for our customers.

As team leader, part of my job is to ensure our coaches are following the required standards and policies. This includes areas such as safeguarding, health & safety and license agreements. It is critical that we follow these processes and policies to ensure we deliver our services to the highest standards possible while keeping both our customers and team members safe.

We always try to support people to live in our accommodation. We don’t want anyone to lose their accommodation but sometimes we have no choice but to issue warnings or even evict our customers.

Along with the HMO Service Manager, I support in reviewing referrals/ applications for our accommodation. Not everyone who applies or is referred to live in one of our HMOs meets the criteria. Sometimes saying no can be challenging but we have to think about what’s best both for them and for the other customers living in this shared house. Our customers need to be at least semi-independent and able to live with other adults. Are we helping this person by providing a level of accommodation and support that they are not ready for? Can we find a compromise or find an alternative solution for them?

We try to consider the other customers currently living in that house as well. Is this person the right fit, or will this disrupt other customers and delay their progress? We do what we can but if we have only one room available, then that’s what we’re going to provide for our customer.

As part of the Luton Homeless Partnership, we have strong relationships with other local providers as well as our Hostel and Homes for Independent Living teams internally where we can refer customers to appropriate services. We’re not trying to be all things to all people. Better that we focus on doing what we can do and doing that well.

One of the biggest challenges for us right now is voids (empty rooms). Sometimes a void occurs because we have had to move a customer out, other times it’s because a customer has made great progress and is ready to move onto more independent accommodation.

The reality is that when a room is empty, we are no longer getting rent from that room. Every day a room is empty it is costing us money, money we need to provide support for our other customers and run our services. That’s why it is so important for us to keep on top of voids.

Sometimes we have very few voids and then have to turn people away while other times we have a larger number of voids at once, which can be quite challenging. Not only are we not getting rent if it is void, we also paying other bills such as Council Tax on top. 

Hearing of customers making big steps forward, achieve a positive move-on is very rewarding. I’m Luton born and bred, born at the L&D hospital, so while the town may not always get a good press I know there are plenty of good things going on in Luton (such as Squared!). I know that not only are we helping people but we are helping the town and wider community.

I have worked in places where the culture was very different, where talking in an office was discouraged and relationships were at times cold and distant. The Leadership Team at Squared are not a distant, mythical force based miles away who you never see or hear from. They are present and engage with team members of all levels, genuinely interested in what you have to say and your experience. I’m fortunate to have a strong working relationship with both my manager and my team which makes a huge difference for anyone at work. You’re never going to agree with every decision that’s made, just as others won’t agree with all of your decisions. So knowing that the people your working with do care helps navigate those moments and allows everyone to move forward positively.

One of our values at Squared is play. This doesn’t mean we don’t take our work seriously or are not professional in how we deal with customers. It means we can have fun where appropriate, enjoy what we do and be curious. It’s a great way to bring people together and build stronger working relationships and my manager always has a joke on hand (I’ve lost count how many I’ve heard!). Having more light-hearted moments helps all of us deal with jobs that can be at times quite intense and challenging, bringing much needed balance to your day.

When I’m not at Squared you’ll often find me at a gig or concert. I like rock and electric music and will often go and see live bands, including some with people I know locally. I do dabble in writing my own music, I’m great at starting things but not so much at finishing them off.

I also like to read in my spare time, with fantasy being my genre of choice. Though I’m a big Terry Pratchet fan, my favourite read is a classic – The Lord of the Rings. Unlike some fantasy it is a very human story, heavily influenced by Tolkien’s experience in World War One. That experience of war, the cost and brutality of global conflict and the impact that a normal person (or Hobbit) can have is very powerful even today. Perhaps it’s that triumph over adversity, overcoming the odds and the idea that everyone has their own journey to make is why I really enjoy my role at Squared.