Team Leader Review

I am a team leader for Optivo housing association, working in the visiting income team. I manage a team of seven visiting officers who visit our residents at home, either as a cold call if we have been unable to contact them about arrears, or as a booked visit to help with making an agreement to clear debt, or yo help with benefits, such as claiming universal credit or housing benefit. The team has been working at home for the past year during lockdown

yes I have learnt new skills - especially around coaching, and the use of theories and using emotional intelligence to manage my team more effectively. The course has also given me tools to develop existing skills, such as better use of communication. I have grown in confidence and learnt to manage my personal development plan more effectively. I have also found the tools around time management really helpful, and working on the project has been beneficial for the department as it will save us costs and resources going forward

I really enjoyed the programme - especially early on when I was learning new skills and theories, and doing additional on line research to supplement my course work. It only became more stressful in the last couple of months trying to put together the work for the end point assessment, so I would give advice to anyone starting the programme now, to label and file work for their portfolio as they go to save on the last minute time pressures.

I feel that it would have been helpful (as mentioned above) to have known more about what was required at the end point assessment early on. The modules weren't taken in order, though I can see the reasons for this, and many overlap, but it may have been easier if they had been set out in sequence. Some activities were loaded onto Bud with not too much time to complete but on the whole it worked well

My employer has always been very supportive. They arranged the initial sessions to explain the programme, and we chose a mentor to help us. As we were the first cohort it was new to everyone. They were keen to make sure that I allowed time during the working week to complete activities, and my line manager also encouraged me. Choosing the project was hard as I have no direct budgetary responsibility but the project I was given was supported by my head of income

Overall I received good support from my training provider. I do feel that my tutor maybe had too many learners, as it sometimes felt that I was waiting a while for activities to come back marked, and it wasn't always clear what was expected. I feel that more support could have been offered at the end of the programme to ensure that what I was putting into my portfolio was sufficient, and I was also asked for extra evidence at very short notice (sometimes as little as 3 hours)

I learnt a lot about myself, and the qualification has helped me grow in confidence, as I can now apply some of the theories and learning to help me manage my team more effectively. I have also realised that I have not been using my PDP to best advantage, and this is something I will be taking forward into next year, and using it more as a working document and establishing short, medium and long term goals

Not as such. The income team, and in fact the organisation as a whole is spread over 4 regions. My team is half in Kent and half in Sussex, so we do try and get together as often as we can, even if just for a working lunch. As an income team we also have a team building day once a year, and whilst in lockdown I have tried to find other activities to bring my team together (such as a murder mystery virtual activity to support McMillan) Maybe this is something to take forward.

Yes

Optivo is a good company to work for. The executive team is very hands on and regularly organises or attends events to deliver progress updates etc. They have made regular video messages during the past year. Optivo has a very strong culture and values, and these are evident in every day working life - not just something set out at the start of the year. They encourage positive cross team working and also offer good pay and benefits

Optivo has the interests of our residents at their heart, and we do offer a lot of support to our residents. My own department will offer support with maximising income and benefits, as well as signposting where other support may be needed, for example we offer support to get residents back into employment, and encourage residents to have an input into decision making, or to volunteer. We continue to build and offer new homes across the four regions and there is a good focus too on diversity and inclusion