A Day in the Life of: Jan , Hillcrest Housing Officer

Have you ever wondered what our housing staff get up to on a typical day? How vital are their roles in operating services for our tenants? Here, we share a look behind the scenes with one of our Housing Officers, Jan, who shares some insights into what her role involves, taking us through her typical day:

Hello! I am part of a team of four Housing Officers covering Edinburgh. My role includes dealing with housing enquiries from our tenants. I also investigate anti-social behaviour complaints as well as carrying out housing visits.

How did you get into a career in housing?
I had never considered a career in Housing, however I was made redundant and saw the post of Housing Assistant advertised. I joined Hillcrest in 2007 and became a Housing Officer in 2014.

My working day

9 am: My morning starts with checking emails, then sorting out the day’s tasks with the team.

11 am:  I meet with the rest of the housing team to discuss our plans for the week, and share best practice. We’ll also discuss any queries that the Housing Assistants may have.

1 pm: A large part of my day involves responding to enquiries and taking calls passed through by our Customer Service team. The day’s tasks are varied and can include everything from meeting potential tenants, offering housing advice, right through to dealing with complaints.

3 pm: Next, I head out to visit tenants. Firstly, I meet with a tenant who is struggling with finances, so we chat about the help that our Tenancy Sustainment Service and Energy Advice team can provide them. After this, I travel to another home to visit the garden area to check for dumped items following concerns from a tenant. I then checked up on a new tenant to see how they were settling in and if they require any of the assistance mentioned previously.

5 pm: I have one final check of my emails and a look at my calendar for tomorrow before heading home.