Day in the life of a Property Services Manager

Allen discusses his history in housing, being able to say no and his love of food…

I joined Squared about six months ago, but I’ve spent many years working in the housing sector. I started out as a labourer before taking up roles as a roofer, plumber, locksmith, multi-skilled operative and then started supervising empty properties to be ready to let. This included pre and post inspection and managing sub-contractors. Fair to say that I have had a range of experiences in my career! My previous role at Guiness was more focussed on managing complaints, with a team of 14 engineers and 2200 properties. I wanted to take on a broader and more varied role, which I certainly have got now at Squared.  

As Property Services Manager I oversee the day-to-day operations of all property maintenance. This involves managing an in-house team of engineers and schedulers as well as working with several local subcontractors to deliver the work that needs to be delivered.

I enjoy the fact that my role has that variety. You never know what will happen on any given day at any property, so you have to be able to react quickly and effectively. Being close to the action also means that every day provides opportunities for me to learn and spot things I otherwise wouldn’t know or hear about.

Managing necessary repairs and improvements while being able to respond quickly to any emergencies is a careful balancing act. By working with local subcontractors on more complex repairs and our in-house team on emergency repairs within their skillsets, we’re able to improve our efficiency and most importantly provide better response times and service delivery for our customers. 

I review customer satisfaction for maintenance from surveys we send out to see where we can improve and to address any issues. I also conduct property inspections to look at complex issues; to figure out what work is needed to resolve issues and potentially look at possible causes.

One of the most important parts of my role is balancing our resources and prioritising work based on what and who is available. Sometimes I am the person that says ‘no, we can’t do that today’. I’m comfortable doing this and you really have to be for this role. We can’t do everything we want to do at once and we do have to keep our budget in mind. Ensuring we get value for money doesn’t necessarily mean not doing work or doing it cheaply, sometimes it makes sense to do more so that the condition of our property improves for the long term.

Another challenge in my role includes recruitment, as it’s important to get the right person for every role, not only for delivering our services but for building the right culture more widely. Working together is essential not only within my team but also for coordinating with our Homes team so we can deliver the best possible services for our customers.

Having worked for larger organisations, working at Squared has been an interesting contrast. Team members are trusted to get on with their role, not being labelled or restricted in contributing ideas. Even the most senior members of the team will regularly encourage all team members, regardless of their role, to contact them and engage with any questions or ideas. Having that mindset encourages innovation and critical thinking in all areas while helping team members to feel valued and empowered. That kind of openness also has the benefit of contributing to an inclusive culture, which is essential to our vision of inspiring lives.

Before I went into housing and maintenance, I became a qualified chef at 16. Unsurprisingly, my big passion is food. Whether it’s cooking, eating, experimenting with dishes. I really enjoy trying new things and find cooking to be quite relaxing and a way to take my mind off other things.

Even my holidays are partly affected by food. I always make sure there are great places to eat near to wherever I’m going. It’s the one thing that I won’t compromise on, why would you go on holiday and not ensure you can have great food?