No images? Click here
Staff training day Thursday 26 May
Paradigm staff in the Contact Centre and our Neighbourhood Team will be attending a training day on Thursday 26 May to improve how we carry out our work providing services.
You can still report urgent repairs, where there is an immediate health and safety risk to you or your home or you have an issue with your heating or hot water. Calls will be answered by our out of hours provider. However, if you can wait for a day, we will be able to help you better.
Where your enquiry is not urgent please email the customer service team at Enquiries@paradigmhousing.co.uk or to raise a non-urgent repair email CustomerServices.Repairs@ParadigmHousing.co.uk. We will respond to your email within three working days. We expect to be busy on Friday 27 May when we return to the office, so your patience is appreciated if you are trying to reach us by phone.
General news
Meet our new Assistant Directors of Customer & Neighbourhoods
We recently introduced you to our Executive Director – Customer, Hannah Manyewu in Paradigm News.
Hannah would now like to introduce two new members of staff who will be helping to make sure we are delivering excellent services.
Welcome to Steven Peach and Rachel McFarlane, both Assistant Directors of Customer & Neighbourhoods. We asked Steven and Rachel how they are getting on...
Meet Steven...
What was your previous role and what attracted you to Paradigm?
I was the Head of Neighbourhood Services at Moat Housing Association. I wanted to work with Paradigm as the vision for engaging customers and improving customer service was what I was looking for in an organisation.
What are your first impressions of Paradigm?
Really friendly staff that have helped me settle in, and there is a real passion for the journey we are on. I really feel an energy from everyone to get the service right!
What are the key things you are focusing on over the next year?
To review how we do what we do and work with colleagues to deliver an excellent customer service, and to really understand who our customers are, their experiences and what they need.
Tell us something about yourself?
I try to get to the gym every morning as it gets me focused and energised. I love getting out and about and being active so I am sure to be in the neighbourhoods as often as I can meeting our excellent team members and customers.
Meet Rachel...
What was your previous role and what attracted you to Paradigm?
I’ve spent the last couple of years at Settle Housing in North Hertfordshire as Director of Housing. I’ve come back to Paradigm, where I worked before Settle, as I’m keen to work with customers and colleagues to lead on some of our specialist support services. The specialist housing services are great to work in as we get lots of opportunities to help people who need it, resolving issues in the ASB team or providing much needed help with complex issues in the Customer Support team - every day is different.
How has Paradigm changed since you last worked here?
I’ve seen more emphasis on listening to customers and working to meet their needs. With a new strategy launched and customer care standards being rolled out, I’m really excited to work in a focused way to get great outcomes for our customers.
What are the key things you are focusing on over the next year?
Some highlights for me will be defining our offer to customers who might need extra support and improving the way we manage anti-social behaviour.
Tell us something about yourself?
I’m a proud Mum to a sassy eight year old girl who keeps me on my toes and when I’m not busy driving her to various clubs, I love walking with friends and cooking.
Does part of your neighbourhood need a bit of a facelift?
If so, send us your ideas about how your neighbourhood could be improved.
This should be something that would benefit the overall look and feel of where you live, where some small changes could really make a difference. Some examples could be:
- Tidying up your car park
- Planting in communal areas
- Line painting in car parks
Send us your ideas and we will let you know if it's successful and can go ahead, or explain why we have not been able to do it this time.
Please contact our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 303 1010 choosing Option 3 to talk to our Neighbourhood Team.
Photo competition
If you're joining an event to mark the Queen's Jubilee we'd love to see your pictures.
Why not send us your Jubilee photos for the next edition, you could win a £20 shopping voucher?!
Send photos to this link.
Getting the best value for your energy
With energy costs increasing, it’s more important than ever that we secure the best available contract for the energy supplied to your communal areas.
We are looking at a five-year contract. As you pay for this through your service charge, we usually follow a Section 20 process which allows consultation time. However, due to the current volatile nature of the energy market we need to be able to act quickly which doesn’t give us enough time to follow the process.
You should have received a letter with some frequently asked questions and the opportunity to comment by emailing AssetConsultation@paradigmhousing.co.uk.
Mental Health Awareness week
This year’s focus was on combating loneliness. With more of us working from home or seeing our friends less, loneliness has increased during the last couple of years.
Paradigm has signed the ‘Time to Change’ pledge, which commits us to making changes to conversations we have about mental health. We also have a new partnership with Hertfordshire Mind Network to deliver support to residents in Herts, Chesham and Amersham.
If you have concerns about your mental health, seek help from your GP or see the information below:
Our Support Hub wellbeing section
Information about Reducing loneliness | Buckinghamshire Mind Guide (bucksmind.org.uk)
Resident Services Panel news
The Resident Services Panel (our customer group which monitors Paradigm’s housing management performance and challenges us when performance is not as expected) is looking for new members. To find out more click Join our Resident Services Panel – Paradigm Housing
The Resident Services Panel (RSP) has a new Vice Chair!
We say a big thank you to Gordon Thomson, who has stepped down as Vice Chair at the end of his three-year term.
Gordon, who is 75 in July, wanted to slightly cut back on his work with us after being involved since 2009 - originally with the Chiltern Area Panel and later the Resident Forum which preceded the RSP.
Gordon has been an amazing support to fellow members and championed all customers in holding us to account on performance and tenancy contractual obligations. We have been very fortunate to have him as Vice Chair, and luckily for us he will continue to be an RSP member. We look forward to him being involved for a long time to come!
Welcome to Shiffy Razak, voted in as new
RSP Vice Chair!
Taking over from Gordon as Vice Chair is Shiffy Razak who has also been a member since the panel was created in 2019. Shiffy is actively involved in other customer groups at Paradigm and is keen to encourage more customers to get involved. Shiffy gave us this inspiring quote: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
We wish Shiffy a successful term as Vice Chair and look forward to working with her and the rest of the panel over the coming months on their next scrutiny challenge.
Customer engagement news
It's a very exciting time for us in customer engagement and we are looking forward to getting more of you involved! To find out more, please contact Customer.Involvement@paradigmhousing.co.uk
Are you thinking of buying or leasing an electric car now or already own one?
Paradigm, like all landlords who provide affordable homes, need to consider how customers can charge their electric vehicles on driveways and in communal areas. With 60% of homes across Britain not being suitable for electric car charging, and an increase in demand for electric vehicles, we are wanting to create a policy on electric charging points for Paradigm customers... with your help.
Later in May, we will be holding a virtual workshop to consider questions like who should pay for the installation and maintenance of communal charging points, what should be the process for requesting permission to have a charging point installed, and how can we protect shared charging points from being used by non-residents who live nearby.
We particularly want to engage customers who already have an electric vehicle and those thinking of buying one in the next couple of years.
The workshop will run for about an hour and a half, will be online on a weekday evening, and participants will receive a £30 supermarket voucher for taking part. Please email Customer.Involvement@paradigmhousing.co.uk to register your interest.
Coming soon...
You will shortly be receiving a letter regarding your service charges for the coming year. We have updated the information on our website including some frequently asked questions, which you can find here.
New system for tracking repairs
From June we're launching a brand new service that lets you know exactly when to expect your repair or servicing technician. You’ll be able to track their arrival using your mobile phone and give them any instructions. You can also use the service to give us feedback on how everything went. The new system will be rolled out for appointments from 30 May so watch this space for more details...
Check out our support hub...
...And for more information on any of the topics below, please go to the Support Hub on our website here.
- Foodbanks
- Help into work
- Managing your home
- Managing your money
- Your energy
- Your family
- Your wellbeing
Home of the month
We're proud to welcome new customers to five new homes for affordable rent in Stewartby, half way between Milton Keynes and Bedford.
A warm welcome to our new customers!
Want to work for us?
We're hiring
If you are interesting in working for Paradigm, check out our job vacancies on our website here. It could be the start of a whole new career!
We are currently looking for skilled technicians, housing, H&S, finance staff and more!
Answers to last month's spring quiz
Answers to the last month's quiz
- According to the UK Met Office, on what day does Spring commence? 1 March
- Who is the Roman Goddess of Spring? Flora
- When does a Spring Tide occur? After a new to full moon
- In British horse racing which two races make up the Spring Double? Lincoln Handicap and the Grand National
- What do we in the UK call the vegetables known as scallions in the US? Spring onions
- Popular in SE Asia, what do we call the filled pastry appetiser of meat or vegetables? Spring rolls
- What type of animal is the Spring Peeper (Pseudacris Crucifer)? Frog
- Which town in central Australia takes its name from the wife of an ex-Postmaster General of South Australia? Alice Springs
- The song 'Younger Than Springtime' features in which Rodgers and Hammerstein musical? South Pacific
- What happens in the North Pole when spring comes? 6 months of uninterrupted daylight
