Introducing our five new Customer Forum members
We’re delighted to be able to welcome a number of new members to our Customer Forum.
As part of a new way of working for us, we launched the Customer Forum last year and it’ll have regular contact with our Group Board to check we’re taking the right approach, track our performance and influence the decisions we make.
This Forum will help to give our customers a voice, ensure customers are part of meetings and the decision making process, provide opportunities for customers to learn new skills and gain qualifications and ultimately help us to improve our services for everyone.
The work that the Forum will do is highly valued by the Group. It’ll help keep us on track and ensure the customer voice plays a key role in our decisions.
That’s why we’re delighted to be able to welcome five new members to our Customer Forum. Here, we find out a bit more about each of them as we introduce our new intake. We look forward to working with them all in the coming weeks!
As a single mum to a 13-year-old autistic son, Natalie says she tries her best at everything she turns her hand to and utilises her skills in every situation.
As well as working part-time in retail, she’s studying for a BA(Hons) degree in Business Management and Accountancy with the Open University – showcasing her ‘sky’s the limit’ philosophy.
In her spare time, Natalie likes to play games with her son, bake, go swimming and enjoy long bike rides in the summer. She also likes to go to the cinema, bowling and socialising with friends and family.
Natalie’s also a governor at her son’s special educational needs school and says she’s excited to be joining the Customer Forum to learn more about the housing sector and help make a difference for customers.
John and his wife moved to Carrington Gardens in Humberston, near Cleethorpes, 35 years ago.
He has two children and three grandchildren and says he’s enjoying the new chapter in his life in his new freehold home.
John is retired, having worked for more than 40 years in the food additive industry, where he was involved in sales and marketing. This work involved travelling across the UK, Europe and the USA.
He’s also had experience as a local Town Councillor, serving as Chair of the Planning Committee, as well as Vice-Chair and Chair of his local Council over a 12-year period.
John says he’s excited about the challenges the Customer Forum may bring and to be working in a team environment once more.
Michelle said a difficult personal situation led to her becoming a Longhurst Group customer in Lincolnshire in 2017.
She said she’s very passionate about helping to ensure people’s voices are heard, especially the voices of those that are in vulnerable situations like she found herself in previously.
This is why she was very keen to get involved with the Customer Forum and she says she’s looking forward to getting involved and bringing her skills, passion and expertise to the work it’ll do.
Michelle has a qualification in mental health training and she currently works on a sports show on a radio station in Lincoln.
Angela has been a Longhurst Group customer for 10 years and wanted to get involved to have a voice for herself and other customers.
She said she likes to ensure everything is fair and she’s happy to speak up for other people.
Angela enjoys having a voice for herself and other customers and feels she can bring her experience
as a customer to the Forum as she has empathy for both sides, and is a real a people person.
Angela wants to be able to help ensure customers understand any changes to their tenancies or services, as she knows sometimes they have problems communicating with their landlord.
Now retired, Angela has experience from working in a number of sectors, including retail, housing and nursing.
Sinead is a mum of two and has been a customer with Longhurst Group for almost to two years. She
says she’s excited about getting involved with the Customer Forum and helping to make a difference
for all customers.
She works full-time in school governance – a role she says she thoroughly enjoys. Sinead believes
the skills she possesses and uses every day in her job will come in useful in her role with the Forum.
Sinead has also been involved in multiple community projects in her local area and says she’s
passionate about helping and supporting others – something she’s determined to help do via the
work of the Forum.