Can you please tell us who you are and what you do?
I’m Christopher Hunter, Director of Improvement at Lambeth Living.

Can you give a brief description of what your role involves?
My role is to lead the development and improvement of services within Lambeth Living for the benefit of residents.
Specifically I am the lead at Lambeth Living for: Service improvement and change management, Performance management, Resident engagement and TMO liaison, Communications, Policy development, Customer care, complaints and members enquiries, Equality and diversity in customer services.

How long have you been doing this role?
3 months

How do you feel residents could be encouraged to get more involved in local organisations?
Residents are more likely to get involved in issues if they can see their involvement leading to positive changes. Traditionally most housing organisations have not been good at feeding back how residents views have led to improvements to services.

Who or what inspires you and why?
Nelson Mandela. He has demonstrated amazing courage, humility, wisdom and generosity. He is an inspiration to us all.Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?Still living in London, still working in housing. Apart from that, I don’t really know!

Do you feel there is enough communication between Lambeth Living and the community?
I think there is a lot of communication between Lambeth Living and its residents, and our residents groups are very active. However there is definitely room for improvement in this area. I hope that the communications review we are carrying out will deliver this improvement.

Do you ever get the time to leave the office, and visit estates?
Would you like to do this more often?I have visited some of our estates, such as Ethelred and I took a very enjoyable stroll along the lambeth walk just before christmas. I look forward to seeing more estates over the next few months.

What is your favourite place within the Borough of Lambeth?
Lambeth Palace. A beautiful building and a magnificent view of the Thames and London.

Unfortunately Lambeth Living often gets bad press, how do you feel Lambeth Living as an organisation is improving?
I think Lambeth Living is trying to improve in very difficult circumstances. It has inherited substantial legacy problems from the Council that date back several years, and below standard housing services. Added to this were substantial budget cuts in its first year and a half of operation.There have been some improvements despite these challenges, such as bringing 150 empty properties back into use, and maintaining a 90+ per cent satisfaction with repairs that are carried out. However we do know there is still a lot of work to do to get our services to where residents want them to be.

What improvements are you hoping to bring that will particularly benefit residents?
I will be overseeing the implementation of new and updated tenancy conditions, improving information provision to residents by developing new tenant and leaseholder handbooks, and improving customer care by learning more about our customers and then shaping our services around them.

What immediate improvements do you feel can be made in your role for the benefit of Weir Estate residents?
Improving Lambeth Living’s communications and the amount and quality of information available to residents. The recent local newsletters and soon to be consulted on customer care standards are examples of this.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
People who always focus on or chase what they don’t have and do not appreciate or are not thankful for what they do have will never be truly happy and content with life.

What role do you think residents have in shaping Lambeth as a Borough?
The residents are Lambeth! They are what makes it such a unique and exciting place. One thing that has struck me since I started working in Lambeth is the pride people take in their local area and its history. And this is right across the borough, from North Lambeth to Streatham. The number of TMOs in Lambeth is an example of this.

Do you think more can be done to listen to residents views?
Always. One thing I have implemented recently is the idea of service user consultation, as opposed to just resident consultation. This is very important as a service user will have recently experienced a service such as repairs and will have a more up to date view of what could be done to improve it. Another resident may not have experienced that service for some years. It’s also important to offer more ways to become involved. Telephone based focus groups, online surveys, community events etc are new ways to consult people that compliment traditional ways.This is an area that will always be crucial to an organisation’s success.

What was your first job?
I worked in my local supermarket as a cashier and stacking shelves to support myself through university

What steps could be taken to get the youth more involved in residents associations?
This is a difficult one, but it can be done. It needs a different approach, and one that does not patronise young people or try to ‘get down’ with them. One initiative I have previously involved in provided 10 and 11 year olds with disposable cameras and asked them to take photographs of their estate. it taught us a lot about how they see their estate.

Who would you most like to meet and why?
My Irish Grandfather. I was born on his birthday, but unfortunately he died when I was very young. I would have liked to have got to know him when I was old enough to have known him.

What aspect of your role do you most enjoy, and why?
I enjoy improving things, so the most enjoyable part of my role is seeing something working much better than before.

How and when should residents contact you?
Residents can contact me through the call centre, or by using our feedback@lambethliving.org.uk email address.