‘Ey up, welcome to our ‘Raising the Roof’ podcast series! If you’re looking for an interesting new podcast to listen to, you’re in the right place. Join our host and Chief Exec Nick Atkin as he sits down to chat with industry leaders to tackle topical issues head on, in the housing world and beyond.
Season 3 episodes
Episode 8 – New government, new deal for the North?
In this episode of Raising the Roof, Nick looks into the future of housing in the North with chief exec of the Northern Housing Consortium, Tracy Harrison. They discuss government master plans, challenges, solutions and benefits of topics like new towns, renewed towns, meeting net zero, and devolution.
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Episode 7 – How to manage change in the workplace…
In this episode of Raising the Roof, Nick taps into the expertise of director of Agile Change Management and 10-time author, Melanie Franklin. Melanie shares tips, tricks, and potential hazards to watch out for, to help you master successful change management in the workplace and beyond.
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Episode 6 – Is AI a threat or an opportunity?
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we're joined by Guy Marshall, Chief Technology Officer and Director at PorthouseDean. Nick and Guy get into the nitty gritty of AI in business, including the role it can play in the housing sector, the risks, and its impact on the carbon footprint.
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Episode 5 – How can we make UK homes more sustainable?
In this episode of Raising the Roof we’re joined by Jan Rosenow, ranked among the world's top 25 influencers in renewables in the future of energy! Nick and Jan talk about how likely it is the government's target of net-zero by 2050 will be met, whether car batteries could run our homes, and the potential for a hybrid approach to heating tech in the future.
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Episode 4 – How to create inclusive workplaces...
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we're joined by Amazon best-selling author, and internal comms and workplace culture strategist - Advita Patel. Advita tells us what workplace green flags you should be looking out for, how to incorporate diversity into your recruitment process and diversity in leadership too.
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Episode 3 – The secrets to a happy workplace
In this episode of Raising the Roof we're joined by Henry Stewart, founder and chief happiness officer at Happy Ltd. And with a job title like that it’s easy to know what topic’s on the table. Henry chats to us about what it takes to create a truly positive workplace, and how that impacts productivity.
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Episode 2 – Unravelling the energy efficiency enigma
In this episode of Raising the Roof we’re joined by one of our own customers! Steve Mackenzie, our homes and environment champion, talks us through what he thinks needs to happen to see more people enjoy safe, healthy and energy efficient homes.
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Episode 1 – The tweet that changed everything
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we’re joined by Kwajo Tweneboa, ‘Britain’s brightest social housing champion’ for an honest chat about where the housing sector’s at, what needs to change (and how we go about it) and consumer standards.
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Season 2
Episode 1 – To flex or not to flex
In this episode, we look at flexible working, the four-day week trial, Elon Musk’s controversial email to employees and workplace wellbeing.
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Episode 2 – Reputation and stigma
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we tackle reputation in the housing sector and ask ‘How do we change the stigma around social housing?’
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Episode 3 – The cultural truth... ED&I
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we’re joined by Lucy Malarkey, Managing Director of Women in Social Housing (WISH) and Akin Thomas, CEO and Founder of AKD Solutions to discuss equality, diversity and inclusion.
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Episode 4 – Recruitment
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we’re joined by Suresh Lal from Odgers Interim, James Leighton from Andersen James Group and Yorkshire Housing's Sarah Hutchinson to discuss recruitment; how to attract new talent and retain the best people.
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Episode 5 – Workplace wellbeing
In this episode of Raising the Roof, Nick is joined by Professor Cary Cooper a world leading expert on wellbeing and 50th Anniversary Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, and Marie Jenkins published author of ‘Burnout to Bold’ and wellbeing business owner. The guests talk about strategically changing culture to retain the best people and promote a positive culture.
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Episode 6 – Regulation
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we take on regulation in social housing. Nick Atkin is joined by Gavin Smart, CEO at Chartered Institute of Housing and Laura Magezi, Policy Leader at National Housing Federation as they cover how we must take a collective approach as a sector.
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Episode 7 – Retrofitting: The road to net-zero
In this episode of Raising the Roof, our host Nick is joined by Kate Henderson Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation and Steve Ellard our Director of Assets and Sustainability, to talk about our role in tackling the climate crisis and the main challenges when it comes to retrofitting.
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Episode 8 – Is the customer still King or Queen?
In this episode of Raising the Roof, the topic on the table is customer service. Listen to Nick Atkin's conversation with experts Jo Causon, CEO Institute of Customer Service and Richard Beevers, Director Customer Plus as the trio talk about customer experience.
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Season 1
Episode 1 – Emerging from lockdown: The things to look out for
In this episode we reflect on the impact Covid-19 has had on our personal and work lives. We also look to the future and at what we can expect in the months ahead as we emerge from lockdown.
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Episode 2 – The Martini Principle
In this episode we take on the future of the work debate. Our chat is centered around the ‘Martini Principle’ and the idea of working any time, any place, anywhere post-pandemic.
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Episode 3 – Disruption and digital
In this episode we look at all things innovation. We explore the challenges the housing sector faces and how we can learn from other sectors.
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Bonus episode – Housing & me: A Mayor’s view
In this special bonus episode we take a close look at housing in West Yorkshire. We talk about how we can work together to better our homes and communities.
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Episode 4 (part 1) - The future of homes: Homes of the 1950s or 2020s?
In this episode we chat about how we’re currently using innovation in social housing and looking ahead, what the homes of the future could look like.
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Episode 4 (part 2) - The future of homes: The role of shared ownership
In this episode we zoom in on shared ownership and look at how it’s changing the housing market.
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Bonus episode – Tackling climate change: The importance of customer engagement
In this episode we look at how we get customers on board with retrofitting and take them with us on the journey to net-zero.
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Episode 5 – The power of brand
In this episode of we focus on the importance of branding and getting your messaging right.
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Episode 6 – Building homes fit for the future
In this episode of Raising the Roof, we zoom in on modern methods of construction (MMC) and how they could help solve both the climate and housing crisis.
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Get in on the action
Got an idea for a future topic you’d like to see us cover? Or fancy being a guest? We’d love to hear from you!