National Career's Week - meet Laura, Customer Relations Partner (Tenancy)
Introduce yourself and your role at Silva
Hi, I’m Laura and I work as a customer relations partner in our tenancy team, which means that I help the customers who live in my patch to manage their tenancy and live comfortably in the community. This includes supporting customers with anything from the condition of their home to neighbourhood challenges such as fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, parking disputes and more serious issues like safeguarding and domestic abuse. I’ve worked at Silva for nine years, starting in learning and development, before moving into HR, and then tenancy.
What is a typical day in your role?
My role is so varied and no two days are the same. One day, I could be visiting someone with the police to sort out an anti-social behaviour case, another, I could be inspecting one of the neighbourhoods in my patch to make sure it’s in good condition.
A big part of my role is being visible in the community so that our customers know they can come to me if they need any support from Silva. Often, when I’m out and about, I’ll be approached by customers who need help with something or just want to chat.
What drew you to working for a housing association?
I was looking for a part-time role so that I could work whilst also looking after my children. I had administrative skills from previous jobs, so I managed to get a job at Silva Homes as the learning and development administrator.
I was always encouraged and supported by my manager to progress and develop my skills. So, when I was able to, I went full-time, moved into HR and completed a professional HR qualification. I was also given opportunities to shadow Silva colleagues in different areas of the business, including tenancy. My role then changed to learning and development partner, which was less colleague-facing than my previous role.
After realising that I missed speaking to and working with colleagues, I began to question my role and what I wanted to do. Then, a role in the tenancy team came up and having enjoyed shadowing the team, I decided to apply for it.
While I didn’t have specific experience working in tenancy, I was able to showcase that I had transferrable skills and the knowledge of Silva needed to get the job- and I haven’t looked back ever since!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I absolutely love the variety of the role, as well as speaking to different people and building relationships with them. One of the most satisfying aspects of my job is when I know that I’ve helped someone to be more comfortable in their home.
And when the job isn’t so easy, I’m very fortunate in that my team is filled with brilliant, experienced, and supportive people who can provide advice, or just have a laugh with me to make some of the more difficult days that bit easier.
I also love working with different professional services, such as the police and social services. At the end of the day, I always feel like I’m doing something good and contributing positively to my community.
Laura’s story is a great example of how much opportunity there is to grow and change your career path in housing. Like Laura, you could enter the industry working in one role and end up in a completely different one. You learn so many transferrable skills and work with such a variety of people, anything is possible!