My career in Progress | Alice, Business Systems Support Officer

What's it like to work at Progress Housing Group?

Our people say we're a fantastic place to work. That, here at Progress Housing Group, we are 'friendly', that we 'value' our colleagues, and that they feel that they are empowered to 'make a difference'.

If this sounds like the kind of place you want to work, a career in Progress Housing Group is one you won't regret.

We recently spoke to our Business Systems Support Officer, Alice, about her career journey.

Hi Alice, how did your career at Progress Housing Group begin?

I started at Progress Housing Group temporarily with the Data Protection Team. I enjoyed working for the company and the team I was based in (Digital Services at the Group is such a positive team to work for), and I was eager to get a permanent position.

I was already part of the Digital Services Team, so when the Business Systems role became available, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to grow my knowledge and further my career within IT.

Can you tell us about the career progression, learning, and development you've received at the Group?

I started as a Data Protection Assistant and then had the opportunity to progress to a Business Systems Officer Level 3. I have since furthered my career and progressed to Business Systems Officer Level 2, allowing me to learn new things and widen my knowledge within IT.

I have also attended additional learning and development courses through Progress, where I got my Level 2 certificate for Information Advice and Guidance and have taken additional Microsoft 365 training courses, which are helpful for my role.

What is it like working in Digital Services here at Progress?

One thing that stood out to me when joining five years ago was how friendly everyone was. Although we often work from home now, the willingness to help each other is still there, and we always work together to improve things and make a difference for our tenants.

No two days are the same in digital services and business systems; we work to resolve issues across the multiple systems we support, liaising with third-party suppliers and our internal and external customers to fix problems and develop improvements and solutions. There's always a variety of tasks to work on, including managing the daily calls logged, adding new properties to our housing system, setting up new starters across our systems, and producing and delivering ongoing training for any new systems we are migrating to.

I would recommend working for Progress Housing Group if you want a career in business systems.

What are the challenges for business systems professionals in the housing sector currently?

Technology is constantly changing and developing; part of our role is to keep up to date.

And the opportunities?

Constantly working to implement and improve things gives us further opportunities to learn and grow our knowledge.

What's something you're proud of achieving? 

Starting in a temporary role five years ago to now being a Business Systems Officer Level 2, working full-time and having a separate part-time business with two young children! It's not a breeze (as many will know!), but I am very proud of my progression, both professionally with Progress, and personally.

What are you looking forward to getting involved in as part of your future career?

Continuing to develop and learn new things within business systems to help me progress.

What would you recommend about working for the Group?

Working for Progress Housing Group gives you a great work-life balance, which is essential, especially if you have young children. It's given me some brilliant opportunities, and I've been able to work with some really great people.

What can someone expect from coming to work for the Group?

You can expect to be given opportunities to learn, grow and develop yourself and see first-hand the amazing people who work here and support our services. Everyone goes above and beyond!

What makes you most proud about working for Progress?

We are always One Team, and even though I don't directly work with our tenants, I'm proud to be working for an organisation that hugely impacts people's live

Famously Proud to be Progress

Our teams come from a variety of backgrounds bringing a wealth of knowledge, skills and experiences to the Group, and we've got one thing in common - we are immensely proud and passionate about changing lives.

Every day our team of almost 900 colleagues rise to the challenge of delivering high-quality homes and related services that make a real difference in our communities and to the people who live in them.

As one team, we work together and empower and support each other, to ensure we do everything we can to make a positive difference.

Thanks to Alice for sharing her career journey with us so far.