The social housing sector is experiencing a rare combination of pressure and possibility. While government commitment and new funding streams are creating optimism, landlords are also facing intense challenges: tighter regulation, rising expectations, financial strain, decarbonisation demands and growing operational backlogs.
Plentific’s The Future of Social Housing: What´s Next for Leadership webinar brought together four influential voices: Cem Savas, Gavin Smart, Leanne Hearn and Nick Atkin, to discuss what strong leadership looks like now and how data and technology can help organisations move from reactive firefighting to proactive, resilient operations.
Below, the TOP THREE key insights.
1. Leadership for Today: Authentic, Fast and Purpose-Driven
The panel agreed: leadership in social housing must evolve.
Nick Atkin stressed that people want leaders who communicate plainly and honestly—especially when decisions are difficult:
People want leadership that’s authentic and clear. Glossy messages no longer work.
For Leanne Hearn, great leadership means being able to adapt quickly and remove unnecessary complexity:
Great leaders move faster, not slower—and focus on the biggest enablers: data, technology and people.
Both she and Gavin Smart highlighted the need to empower younger professionals who bring digital fluency, new thinking and a strong sense of purpose.
Gavin summarised modern leadership in three essentials: curiosity, clarity and compassion- All qualities that help leaders solve problems collaboratively, not defensively.
2. Data and Technology: From Operational Afterthought to Strategic Backbone
Across two million properties supported through Plentific, the pattern is clear: fragmented systems and unreliable data are the root cause of service failures.
Cem Savas emphasised that digital transformation is no longer optional:
Without clean, connected data, you can’t deliver reliable services or use automation and AI effectively.
True transformation requires:
A strong, connected data architecture
Systems that communicate
Real-time insights for boards and frontline teams
Technology that orchestrates people and contractors
Plentific’s platform plays this role today by creating a single ecosystem that connects landlords, residents and suppliers and turns data into actionable intelligence.
With decarbonisation, safety and stock costs rising, efficiency is now fundamental. Cem noted that many organisations risk having no capacity for future investment because of excessive spend on responsive repairs and disrepair.
Connected data, automation and platform-led workflows can dramatically reduce this avoidable cost freeing money for long-term investment.
3. Putting Residents at the Centre: Insight, Personalisation and AI
Nick highlighted a simple but transformative question: Do we actually know who lives in our homes today? Yorkshire Housing’s customer census has allowed them to personalise services, allocate staff dynamically and understand community needs more deeply. Importantly, the data challenges assumptions: two-thirds of their residents say they prefer digital self-service if it works well.
Technology platforms like Plentific make this possible by connecting property data, repair history, contractor performance and resident communication into one coherent view.
Nick captured the moment perfectly:
The AI genie is out of the bottle. Either we shape it or it happens without us.
AI can support faster diagnostics, triage, compliance reporting and risk identification. But it depends entirely on high-quality data and clear governance. All areas where Plentific is already investing to build safe, scalable AI capabilities on top of real operational data.
A Path Forward
The sector faces significant challenges but also unprecedented opportunity.The organisations that thrive will be those that:
Lead with authenticity, clarity and speed
Treat data and technology as strategic assets, not IT projects
Use connected insights to deliver proactive, personalised services
Embrace AI with purpose and control
Empower their people especially emerging leaders
Plentific equips the industry to make this shift, providing a platform that connects housing and service provider, residents and contractors in one intelligent ecosystem to enable better decisions, better services and better outcomes.
To explore all insights from Cem Savas, Nick Atkin, Leanne Hearn and Gavin Smart:
