The new year is a natural time to reflect on the previous 12 months and look towards the year ahead. As January emerges and I look back, I see a year of growth, challenges, and meaningful contributions; and I’m drawn to thinking about what 2024 is likely to bring.
2023: Recaps
Building Safety
The Building Safety Act that was granted Royal Assent at the end of 2022 came into force this autumn. All ethical management companies have building safety and the safety of the people who live in their buildings in their line of sight on an ongoing basis anyway, but the increased responsibilities for managing agents and accountable persons (AP) has meant a much bigger administrative workload than was previously the case and more complex and process-driven procedures. This has meant some operational updating has been required in many firms such as ours but, at the end of the day, the driving force behind everything I do is wanting to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people around me, including the residents of our buildings, and so any support and additional business infrastructure that has been required is all for the good.
Beyond Four Walls
Launching my own podcast, Beyond Four Walls, has been really exciting as well as lots of fun. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to explore the stories and experiences of those living in the developments we manage and those working within the industry. As anyone who works in our industry knows, it’s a real community, and hearing some of the stories has already been an incredibly insightful journey. I can’t wait to carry on with this next year.
The Hollie Gazzard Trust
I’ve continued to work with The Hollie Gazzard Trust as Corporate Ambassador and am thrilled to support such a worthwhile charity doing so much to make a difference and contribute meaningful change. Collaborating with them is incredibly rewarding and it allows me to help create safer environments and support those most in need.
The Trust developed Hollie Guard, an advanced personal safety app that helps keep you safe and collects evidence if your safety is compromised. I take the responsibility I have for my employees and the people who live in my buildings very seriously and so all of our staff have Hollie Guard Extra on their smartphones. We also provide it for our clients who are most in need. My commitment to fostering safety, wellbeing, and professional growth in our field is an ongoing mission and I would love to see Hollie Guard rolled out across the entire industry.
I am filled with gratitude for the impact I’ve been able to help make by getting involved in The Hollie Gazzard Trust and, when I look back and reflect, proud of the progress the Trust has made. It’s a wonderful organisation to be involved with.
Resilience
This year has presented a number of challenges for most business owners and I am aware that many in the property and building management sector have especially felt it. There have been extra pressures because of economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis; and this has come on top of having spent so long dealing with the pandemic and its aftermath. It’s been tough for everyone.
For me, part of being resilient as a business is paying extra attention to the people who work in it and looking out for anything that might signal extra pressure on them. The same goes for the people who live in the buildings we manage. It’s vital to us that they are safe and feel that way; and that their environment can be regarded as “home.” We’re all a team and working together in this way to steer through is what I believe makes us strong.
Company Growth
No one is immune to the challenges I’ve described above but our ability to be resilient and dynamic has meant we’ve been able to fulfil our ambitions for growth over the last 12 months, which has been incredibly satisfying. The growing company means that I’ve been able to focus a lot more on business development than I’ve been able to in the past because the team is big enough and established enough now to be managed without me most of the time!
2024: Predictions
More Sustainability
There is an increasing drive towards sustainable housing and ways of living and it seems clear to me that the demand for this will only increase across next year. During 2023, sales of sustainable products have grown 2.7% faster than any other and 78% of consumers feel that sustainability is important. If we put this together with the effects we’re still feeling from Redrow’s 2016 survey that found sustainability in pursuing a new home is critical to most homebuyers, we can see this as an increasingly important concern for those who rent, too, and a greater emphasis on it being an expectation in the rental market.
Leasehold Reform
The changes that have come into force this year as part of the Building Safety Act (2022) are bound to make themselves more felt across 2024. The changes are designed to eliminate bad practices and unscrupulous players, are immediately understood to be a “good thing,” and businesses such as ours have had time to put any additional required support in place. But now the legislation has actually come into force there will inevitably be an increased focus on how each part of the Act is enforced and emphasis on leasehold reform more generally.
Rising Rents
Due to the continued issue of demand outstripping supply, along with evolving client expectations and the lack of available new rental stock, I would expect to see rents continue to rise next year. The fact that there are fewer home completions of course contributes to this situation too.
Collaboration
Working together really is the way forward, not just in this field, but in so many sectors where it’s important to put people at the heart of company approach. I often collaborate on projects and believe it’s a great way to build business relationships. For example, it was such a joy to be invited onto Janet Shreeve’s podcast, You Care, I Care, earlier this year, to talk about the care system. I have experience of dementia from looking after my grandmother and I felt pleased to be talking about what many think of as very sensitive issues in the compassionate space of Janet’s podcast.
In a way, of course, Janet’s business, Shreeve Care Services, is completely different from Fraser Allen. We specialise in block management; she specialises in business consultancy for the care sector. However, what our businesses and the way we run them have in common is a drive to make the spaces that people occupy and the relationships they encounter in their day-to-day lives as compassionate, nurturing and safe as they can be. There is an understanding that has come about in the last few years that people and businesses are stronger, more positive and healthier when they get to know each other and celebrate the ways in which they complement each other, rather than seeing each business as competition. I think this is why business owners are collaborating a lot more than they used to and it can only be a good thing. Everybody wins.
Health and Wellbeing
Just over a year ago I was hospitalised with a very serious episode of sepsis and had to take an extended period off work. My health is now doing very well but I did have a recurrence of the illness at the beginning of this year and it really floored me to be dealing with it for a second time. Thankfully my team were amazing and immediately stepped up on both occasions to run the business in my absence and keep things running smoothly for our clients and residents.
This period of ill health has really brought into sharp focus the importance of taking time to rest and how integral doing so is to good health. As an ambitious business owner is can be so easy to overwork. There is always more to do and achieve and I am conscious of how much I want to continue making environments where people can be healthy and feel safe. I realise too though that I am not indestructible and that, if I’m unwell, I can’t be there to help create spaces that promote good health and wellbeing for so many others, which is after all what I really want to do. I don’t think I’m alone in this and I predict that in 2024 we’ll see more work environments feel more responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees. I certainly hope so.
As we move towards the end of the year, I look at the lessons learned, the challenges faced, and the victories achieved in 2023 that have set the stage for greater aspirations. I am fuelled by a renewed sense of purpose and am looking forward to 2024 enormously. Let’s see if these predictions come true!
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