This week is ASB Awareness Week, and in line with the theme of #MakingCommunitiesSafer, we’d like to shine a light on the people that play a massive part in doing so. We take all reports of ASB seriously and we’re committed to doing all we can to prevent, investigate, manage, and tackle ASB and harassment.
Our Community Safety Officers are at the frontline of our communities, doing the much-needed work to ensure we continue to deliver on our commitment to create thriving communities. We’re proud to say that one of our CSOs, Hayley McMillan, was included in Housing Today’s most recent Every Person Counts campaign. The campaign is an initiative that seeks to give insights into workforce issues within the housing sector and share best practices from those doing it right.
Hayley has also been listed in Housing Today’s Top 30 Housing Champions, which celebrates individuals in the sector that have gone above and beyond in their day-to-day roles to improve services for customers.
Today, Hayley is sharing her experiences with us.
Meet Hayley
‘As a Community Safety Officer, my focus is on how best I can help to make our customers feel safe and welcome in their own homes and neighbourhoods. There are many challenges I face in doing so, a big one being ASB. Luckily for me, my background as a former police officer has helped me hone skills that are very well suited to tackling the varying cases of ASB that come my way.
For me, the role of a CSO is one that involves stepping into the community to understand what our customers need. This gives me the opportunity to truly connect with the community, learning not only how best to resolve ongoing issues but also how to avoid others. By interacting with our customers in-person, I’ve also been able to earn their trust, which allows them to feel more comfortable coming to me with their concerns.
An important part of my role is having tough conversations. ASB isn’t a pleasant situation to be in and, unfortunately, there isn’t usually a perfect solution that keeps everyone happy. I’ve found that the most important thing is to stay transparent about what can and can’t be done, or I risk losing trust if I’m unable to deliver on my promises. While this role can be a lot to handle, what makes it all worth it is seeing how the work I do improves lives.’