Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor

  • What’s in a name?

    How do you describe what you do? A few months ago an incredibly wise guy by the name of Bob Battye delivered a session to our Leadership team. He challenged us to re-write our Linkedin profiles describing what we were… Continue reading

  • Let’s make job descriptions inspirational….

    About 3 months ago I posted a blog/rant about why most Job Descriptions are complete rubbish. You know what I’m talking about. You read the one for the job you are doing now. Uninspiring: Although you said it was really… Continue reading

  • Future Service: Everything is Connected to Everything

    This is a future blog. It’s from Jack, a tenant. He wrote it in August 2017 and sent it to us to give a glimpse of how our services have changed. In a world where everything is connected to everything. He… Continue reading

  • Break Your Own Rules

    I had a couple of great little customer service experiences recently that I’d like to share. On both occasions the employee admitted breaking the rules.  They had done something that I , the customer , thought was great service. But… Continue reading

  • Social Media: A Trust Thing

    I’m lucky. I’m part of an organisation where everyone has access to social media. Anyone can set up a Facebook or Twitter account. Anyone can blog. Without restriction. No Policy. One Rule – “If you wouldn’t say it out loud… Continue reading

  • Disrupt your Industry. Or be Disrupted.

    A customer called us recently. His call was answered really quickly. A repair was needed to his home. His problem was diagnosed with just a couple of questions. He was given a time and date for the repair. He was told it… Continue reading

  • Young People are not the problem. But Employers often are.

    The other day I was sitting with my colleague , James Walsh , and a Recruitment Consultant – talking about the difficulties of employing young people.  And how employers , and outdated recruitment practices,  are all too often part of the… Continue reading

  • Is expecting a contribution to community such a bad thing?

    Yesterday ,on the  Guardian Housing Network , I asked whether it’s right that a Housing Association should expect a resident to make some sort of contribution to the community they move into. That we expect , as the default position ,… Continue reading

  • Listen to customers. But don’t feel you have to do what they say…..

    “Do your customers agree with what you are proposing?” was one of the questions our Board asked me this week. My response went something like this: “I don’t know. We’ve listened to what they have told us. We’ve observed how… Continue reading

  • It’s all about people…….

    Yesterday I blogged on the dangers of just talking about what you do ,rather than what you actually change. Today I saw a lovely poem – on our internal social network. It’s written by one of our “Opportunities 4 Employment”… Continue reading

  • What do you do again?

    I work for a Housing Association. We build homes and we house people. And I dread people asking me what I do for a living. If you work in the same profession, or any other that doesn’t instantly ignite animated… Continue reading

  • It’s our Birthday – Top Learnings of Bromford Social Media Year One

    Last night – at our Board – the Chair opened the meeting with a question that I was utterly unprepared for. “Does anyone have an objection to people tweeting during this meeting? As long as they keep the comments relevant… Continue reading

  • Two things you can’t say on Twitter…..

    There are two opinions that are definite no-go zones amongst the liberal left twitterati. Opinions that , if you were to express them openly , could see you banished to the most remote, uninhabited and hostile parts of the social… Continue reading

  • Job Descriptions are rubbish…..My Top 5 new rules

    Did some work on some JD’s this week. I’ve been messing around them for some time – really struggling to articulate what I wanted. On Wednesday morning at 9:40am it struck me. Somebody , somewhere , about 50 or 60… Continue reading

  • 12 Weeks To Change Your Online Life (or hand your iPad back…)

    I’ve had a breakthrough that I want to share. Last Week  I threw down a special challenge to some of our Board Members and Customer Stakeholders who we had struggled to get engaged in Online collaboration and Social Media. 3… Continue reading

  • The Amazon Test – #CustomerExperience Blog Post

    I ordered a Kindle Touch yesterday – expecting a delay as you usually get with new product launches. It was ordered online at 15.38pm. 1-Click. It arrived at my door at 7:35am this morning. It arrives charged. It knows my… Continue reading

  • Highlights from Facebook for the Public Sector – Guest Post

    It’s great when a colleague comes back really enthused from a conference. The following is a guest post originally published on our internal Yammer. Take it away @Helenatbromford : Attended a brilliant conference/’unconference’  in Birmingham which left me buzzing with ideas… Continue reading

  • Thoughts from #nhcsocmed…….

    Loved yesterday at the Northern Housing Consortium “Social Media Unconference”. As one of the presenters it is probably inappropriate that I enthuse too much. But for me it was a much needed firecracker amid the general tedium of UK Housing events.… Continue reading

  • Feeling like a somebody rather than a nobody…..

    The other day I blogged about the negative press surrounding work experience. And about how employers have to think differently to create a positive experience that unlocks potential in people. Especially the people who are the future of work and… Continue reading

  • On this work experience thing……..

      Designing The Experience of Work I hated my work experience. Two weeks spent making cup’s of tea and doing the filing for embittered old men. It instilled in me a fear of offices, old men and filing that took 6 years to… Continue reading