Not as great as they think they are! - Anonymous employee Southern Housing Employee Review

So, I work with some great people on the ground, people with real passion for what we do and who want to do the best by our residents. We also get paid well for the industry we work in, and we get some good benefits such as BUPA Healthcare. We get our Birthdays off, on top 6 weeks annual leave, plus all the Bank Holidays too. My direct line manager is very good, supportive and caring, plus also passionate about what we do. Some of our residents ae lovely and make our jobs really rewarding.

Above my manager and within other teams there are some managers, directors and even a couple of Executives who just aren't good enough and are leading us nowhere. As an organisation we seem to have no direction, every one seems to be working in silos making sure their behinds are covered. No one is working well together consistently enough to take the organisation forwards again. No one knows what anyone else does or where to go to find out how to resolve challenges. Our IT systems seem to be going backwards making our jobs so much harder instead of supporting us in being more efficient. We were promised at our merger that we would be bringing more repairs in-house, making it easier for other frontline staff to get things done and support our residents; and yet we seem to have more contractors than ever, and no one seems to actually manage them. Housing Officers have to deal with the brunt of constant complaints from our residents, and we are unable to explain why things are the way they are. Sadly, there is a huge amount wrong at Southern Housing. I worked for Southern Housing Group before we merged with Optivo, and things were poor there; many of us hoped Optivo and it's reputation would bring us up a level, but we seemed to have carried on as we were and dragged Optivo down to our level. It's so sad and depressing.

The advantages of working for Southern Housing are varied. There is a great working environment - you feel supported, they are always attentive to your progress and learning and they listen when you have personal situations where you need their support. I am very satisfied and truly appreciate everything they have helped me with in this company. There have been many technological changes and new ways of working, which have put my endurance to the test. With the help of my team and the wider teams in general, I've been able to break through the barriers that come with new ways of working.

The workload can sometimes be quite heavy and demanding. However, I have always felt supported by my team and my manager, who reminds me that what matters is progressing little by little and doing things well, rather than feeling overwhelmed. At the same time, I feel that every day you learn something new and you never get bored.