Meet CCS – Resident Liaison Officer

Diary of an RLO - With Senior Resident Liaison Officer, Tina Harvey

This is the first in a series of blog posts about the team at CCS. The first person that we’re featuring is Tina Harvey who has been at CCS for 3 years and is our Senior Resident Liaison Officer (RLO).

Before joining CCS, Tina spent a large part of her career working in the social housing sector, handling housing-related support. She has worked with various housing associations and had roles where she assisted the most vulnerable people in our society.

This experience means Tina is well-equipped to lead our RLO team. She prides herself on being able to pick up any vulnerabilities that residents might have. With Retrofit projects being disruptive for a short time it’s important to recognise and be able to communicate with everyone involved to enable her to alleviate any potential disruption.

Our RLOs are involved throughout the installation process and beyond. This starts long before any other CCS staff are involved. Communication is key to everything running smoothly. Many of the systems that CCS install are cutting-edge technology and this can be a daunting change for some people.

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Most people understand that the measures CCS introduce can reduce energy usage and potentially save them money without impacting comfort and convenience, but knowing how to make the most of the technology can take a bit of getting used to. Our RLOs organise community days to get residents together so they can convey the information and build trust within the community.

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The education side of the installation continues after the engineers have left the site. Information on how to use the equipment is relayed to the resident before and after installation, but as we explained above, this can still be quite a change for some, leaving them with questions that Tina and the team are happy to help with.

The CCS RLOs make sure their knowledge of the various technologies we supply is always up to date so that they can confidently assist with any lingering issues people may have.

Although CCS strive for perfection, due to the nature of the work, things can go wrong. If this negatively impacts a resident, an RLO will be involved to sort out any issues. Good communication between the RLOs and the senior management, both on-site or back at CCS HQ, is vital in those situations as they find a satisfactory outcome for all.

Tina Harvey’s Q&A.

I put together a few questions for Tina so that we could get to know her professionally and gain a little insight into her life beyond CCS.

What are the most rewarding parts of your Role at CCS?

I think probably the most rewarding part of the role is when I go out and do the post-install check and the residents tell me that they've already seen a reduction in their electricity bills because we've installed solar or that their house is now warm because we've added an air source heat pump. They might have had storage heaters for years and they've never really used them because they were inefficient and ineffective.

Or they've had new windows put in and it's just made a massive difference to their lives and comfort. With the external wall insulation, their house not only benefits from that insulation but also the aesthetic improvement has a big impact. When you've got a resident who's really pleased with the end product, that's a win.

CCS is looking for more Resident Liaison Officers to join your team. What are the important traits that someone requires to succeed as an RLO?

Most importantly, you need empathy and resilience. You’ve got to be willing to travel, be quite flexible, happy to stay away from home every so often and be open to learning about the measures that we install. Being interested in solar energy generation, air source heat pumps and the ecological side of things helps. You can learn all about it at CCS but to have an interest is a good start.

How can CCS improve to make your role easier?

To be honest, it’s constantly happening. CCS is happy to evolve. Three years ago, I was the only RLO. Others have been recruited and we're looking to add two more. I think CCS are quite proactive when it comes to making my life easier.

I think we could improve our efficiency in dealing with a problem. We’re in an industry where faults and issues will occur. We do all we can to avoid it, but it’s the nature of the business. It’s not always possible to speed things along due to outside influences but all involved coming together and having a proper phased plan in place with the resident would help. On the whole, though, CCS are very good at recognising when I need support to take the relevant action.

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About Tina

What music genre do you most like to listen to?

All sorts of music. I'd probably say 60s or Motown, early 70s, Northern Soul but I really do like a wide variety.

What do you do outside of work? Any interesting hobbies or things you like to do or places you like to go?

SLEEP! 😂

I’m going to the Olympics at the end of the month and I’m looking forward to that. I'll be watching the equestrian games, so that will be the eventing and the dressage particularly. I used to have my own horse but unfortunately lost him a few years ago. I love horses. I've got a Newfoundland dog, so spend a lot of time grooming and walking her. I also do box fit on a Tuesday.

I also do a bit of crochet which comes in handy as I’m a proud granny to three little angels.

I like to go to new places. Seeing historical things like old houses and little old villages.

What is your favourite food?

I'd have to say roast dinner.

Favourite country to visit?

I do like France, especially the Normandy region.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Just that CCS is growing rapidly and it’s an exciting time to get on board and join the team. There is so much opportunity here and it’s a great place to work. We’re involved in an ever-evolving sector at a time when we’re changing the way we heat our homes and use energy.

I have a challenging job, but I find it so rewarding and I really enjoy working for CCS.

Thanks to Tina Harvey for taking the time to chat with me for this article. It gives readers a great insight into what our RLOs do.

Work for CCS? You could be the subject of the next "Meet CCS" blog. Email me, Ian Pearson ian.pearson@correctcs.co.uk 

Join the team at CCS as an RLO or take a look at our other vacancies.

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