What does it mean to be
impartial?
We are very pleased that you are applying to join us. We are a team of
people who regard the Housing Ombudsman Service as their employer
of choice taking professional pride in who we are and what we do. We
want colleagues who understand the role of the Ombudsman and are
committed to enabling fair and early dispute resolution in housing. In
order to fulfil the Ombudsman’s statutory duty and to meet the need of
users and stakeholders we need people whose personal values align
with those of my organisation.
Justice
Our duty to do justice is also our privilege because we can contribute in
so many ways to effective management and amenity in rented housing.
To do justice we must be impartial. We must gather, prioritise and
analyse evidence. We must then produce a fair conclusion exclusively
based on and with reference only to the relevant evidence. We must do
this clinically, explicitly and transparently, without emotion, without
prejudice and without bias.
Emotional awareness
We have the intellectual and technical skills for the job but emotional
intelligence is equally and crucially important. So, for instance, we need
self-awareness to recognise and rule out prejudice and bias and selfregulation to manage emotional involvement. However, we can only
serve justice by engaging with people. Accordingly, being impartial,
being judicious does not mean that it is proper to treat people in ways
that are robotic, arrogant or defensive.
People matter
It is proper a requirement of customer care agenda that we treat people
decently as human beings; that we aware of self and aware of other;
seeing things from the other person’s point of view; putting ourselves in
their shoes and empathising with their fears, anxieties and discomfort.
This is especially important when people are approaching us for the first
time when there is evidence to suggest that some see us as monolithic,
austere other worldly bureaucrats. It is appropriate to use social skills to
help and support people; to be courteous and friendly.
Balance
The proper exercise of our role depends on achieving the right balance.
We are not tenants’ advocates; we are not landlords’ puppets. We are
what we are – an ombudsman service. We do what it says on the tin.
Justice demands impartiality. Engagement with people demands
emotional intelligence. That’s our job. That’s the balance we have to
achieve.
We hope that this challenge appeals to you and if your values fit comfortably
with ours we look forward to welcoming you to the team.