Express EPIC
Autumn 2026
All the news from EPIC
A message from Tracey There’s a lot happening across EPIC at the moment, and this edition of EPIC Express gives a real sense of just how much. What strikes me most is how many of the stories connect back to something very simple: people, relationships and the difference we make. Our latest tenant satisfaction results are a great example. An overall satisfaction score of 87.4%, with improvements across almost every measure, is something we should all be proud of. These results don’t happen because of one team or one initiative, they come from the conversations you have, the homes you look after, the problems you solve and the way you treat people every day. Thank you. But The EPIC Connection is also about listening and being prepared to learn. Over the coming weeks, tenants will be helping to shape our next Corporate Plan, colleagues will be helping to refresh our values, and we’ll be asking for your thoughts on our IT and AI strategies and through our People and Culture Survey. Please get involved. The best version of EPIC will always be one that we shape together. There is plenty ahead of us too, from Awaab’s Law, Pride in Place, STAIRS, our Corporate Plan, new technology and to some significant operational projects. At times it will feel busy, but amongst all of that I want us to keep sight of what matters: doing the basics brilliantly, making things simpler where we can, supporting each other and understanding the difference our work makes to tenants and communities. And finally, take time to notice the good things happening around you. Celebrate colleagues’ achievements, congratulate Laura and Kaye on their secondments and perhaps give Lucy some encouragement as she starts what sounds like a slightly exhausting journey towards the London Marathon! Thank you, as always, for everything you bring to EPIC.
Tracey
EPIC News
What’s happening around us.
Tenant satisfaction reaches 87.4% We're pleased to share that EPIC has achieved an overall tenant satisfaction score of 87.4% for 2026/27, with improvements across almost every measure compared to last year. Strong results were seen in repairs, the quality and safety of our homes, communication, and treating tenants fairly and with respect. The results reflect the commitment, care and professionalism shown across the organisation every day and demonstrate the positive impact of investing in our homes, strengthening services, embedding The EPIC Connection and listening to what matters most to tenants. As we begin co-creating our next Corporate Plan with tenants, these results provide a strong foundation for the future. June staff away day It was great to come together for our staff away day back in June. Despite the soaring temperatures, colleagues showed fantastic support for a bake sale in aid of Breast Cancer Now, raising an impressive £117. The day also gave us the opportunity to present prizes to our Stoke Day Quiz winners, Lisa, Rob and Vicky. Congratulations also go to Meryl, who came out on top in the Business Area Facts Quiz.
PlaceShapers member benefits at your fingertips Did you know that, as a PlaceShapers member organisation, all EPIC colleagues have access to a wide range of free resources and development opportunities? The PlaceShapers Members Area and Learning Hub include webinars, events, learning programmes, toolkits, case studies and practical resources covering topics such as tenant voice, governance, sustainability, communications and community impact. There are also opportunities to connect with housing professionals from across the sector and learn from organisations facing similar challenges and opportunities. Whether you're looking to develop your skills, keep up to date with sector thinking or find practical ideas to support your work, there's plenty to explore. Visit the PlaceShapers website and log in to the Members Area to get started.
EPIC News
What’s happening around us.
some of the country's most treasured landscapes, including places closer to home such as Hawksmoor, Downs Banks, Ilam Park and Dovedale. To showcase some of the National Trust locations she has visited, Lucy has put together a short video, which you can watch here. As part of her preparations, Lucy will be taking on a series of challenges over the coming months, including the Potters 'Arf and hiking Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) three times in a single day before beginning her marathon training. A warm thank you from Thrive at Five Thrive at Five has thanked EPIC for choosing them as our Charity of the Year for 2026/27. In a letter to Tracey, Programme Director Karla Capstick expressed her appreciation for the support of colleagues and Board Members and highlighted the difference our fundraising will make in helping more children develop strong foundations for life and learning. The team at Thrive at Five is looking forward to working with us over the coming year and keeping us updated on the impact of our fundraising activities. Click here to read the full letter from Karla. Supporting Lucy's London Marathon challenge Congratulations to Lucy Walker, who has secured a place in the London Marathon on 24 April 2027 and will be raising money for the National Trust. As a keen walker and runner, Lucy is passionate about the positive impact that spending time outdoors can have on both physical and mental wellbeing. Through her fundraising, she will be supporting the National Trust's work to protect and care for
If you'd like to support Lucy's fundraising efforts, you can donate by clicking here. Good luck Lucy! Pride in Place webpage We've launched a new Pride in Place page on the EPIC website, bringing together information about the programme, its aims and EPIC's role in supporting local communities. The page explains how Pride in Place will invest in neighbourhoods across the country, including Bentilee and Ubberley and Meir North, and outlines EPIC's role in supporting the programme locally. The webpage also shares the news that Tracey has been appointed to the local Pride in Place Board, ensuring EPIC has a voice in discussions about future investment and priorities for the area. You can view the page here – epichousing.co.uk/pride-in-place
EPIC News
What’s happening around us.
Upcoming events Alice Charity community garden volunteering On Monday 12 October, colleagues from across EPIC will be volunteering with Alice Charity to help create a new community garden in Bentilee. The project will provide a welcoming space where local people can come together, grow fresh produce and enjoy the outdoors. Thank you to everyone taking part and helping to make a positive difference in the local community. Save the date – all-staff event and Christmas lunch We're looking forward to bringing colleagues together on 10 December for our next all-staff event and Christmas lunch at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Festival Park. The day will include business updates, time to connect with colleagues and festive celebrations. Further details will be shared nearer the time, but please save the date.
Wellbeing reminders As we head into the autumn months, here are a couple of important reminders to help you look after your health and wellbeing. Looking after your vision and eye health Regular eye tests are important for both your vision and your overall eye health. As well as checking whether you need glasses, eye tests can help identify conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts and other eye-related issues. Remember, you can claim up to £55 per year towards the cost of an eye test and glasses through Westfield Health. If you opted out of this benefit, you can still request a Specsavers voucher. Flu jab benefit returns for 2026 Following the popularity of last year's scheme, we're pleased to be offering our flu jab benefit again this year for all employees. Bookings open on 22 September 2026, and vouchers will be valid until 30 November 2026. We encourage colleagues to book early as appointments can fill up quickly. To request a flu jab voucher, a Specsavers voucher, or if you have any questions about either benefit, please contact Oliver.
EPIC News
News and updates from inside EPIC.
Resources (IT, People & Change, Finance and Governance & Compliance) Statutory accounts update The draft statutory accounts were presented to ARAC on 18 August and have been recommended for Board approval in September. We delivered a surplus of £789k last year and invested £1.4m in our homes. That's £200k more than planned because, thanks to your continued strong performance, we had additional financial capacity during the year, largely driven by improved void performance. The auditors were particularly complimentary about the finance team, both in preparing the accounts and supporting the smooth running of the year-end audit. A big thank you to the team from all of us for their hard work and dedication. Half-year financial position A quick heads-up that we're approaching the halfyear point, so your inboxes will soon be filling up with requests to review budgets and dust off your crystal balls for reforecasting to year end. If you're already aware of areas where budgets are likely to be underspent, please let us know as soon as possible. This allows us to redirect funding to other priorities and deliver even more for our tenants. Civica V25 upgrade A key priority for the IT, People & Change team over the coming weeks is testing the new V25 version of Civica, which moved into the test environment on 1 September. Testing is progressing well, with the IT, People and Change team completing an initial round before the system is handed over to colleagues for User Acceptance Testing (UAT). So far, no major issues have been identified and, if this continues, we're aiming to go live with the new version in late September or early October. While the upgrade won't bring significant visible changes straight away, it will provide the secure and up-to-date platform needed to restart the
Tenant Portal project and support future developments. As a result, colleagues should be aware that some IT and Change requests, projects and improvement work may be delayed or temporarily paused unless they are considered business critical. Help shape EPIC’s values As part of the development of our new Corporate Plan, we're refreshing EPIC's organisational values. Workshops will take place at Meir from 9:30am – 11:30am on 5, 6 and 14 October, giving colleagues the opportunity to help shape values that reflect who we are and where we're heading as an organisation. If you can't attend your allocated session, please let Kelly know so an alternative session can be arranged. STAIRS update The first phase of the Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRS) comes into effect in October 2026. This focuses on making key information available to tenants, including company performance, decision-making and tenant engagement activity. We've completed a gap analysis and already publish much of what is required. Over the coming months, we'll continue developing our website and preparing for the next phase of STAIRS, which begins in April 2027. Further guidance will be shared as implementation progresses. IT and AI Strategy update We're currently refreshing our IT Strategy and developing EPIC's first AI Strategy as part of the wider Corporate Plan review. Colleague feedback will be gathered during September and October, with simple and accessible ways for everyone to get involved. If you have ideas to share, please speak to Kelly, Garry or a member of the IT team.
EPIC News
News and updates from inside EPIC.
Resources (IT, People & Change, Finance and Governance & Compliance) The EPIC Connection update In July, colleagues from across EPIC took part in a coaching skills workshop with The Connectives, exploring practical techniques to support better conversations, stronger relationships and a coaching culture across the organisation. Recent follow-up feedback shows The EPIC Connection is continuing to have a positive impact. Six months after the initial training, 65% of colleagues said their confidence in handling challenging conversations had increased further, while 100% understood the programme's purpose and their role in delivering it. Positive application of the learning also increased from 82% to 88%, with negative responses falling to zero. These results suggest that The EPIC Connection is becoming increasingly embedded in our everyday behaviours, conversations and decision-making. Annual People and Culture Survey Look out for our annual People and Culture Survey in late September or early October. The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and provides a confidential opportunity to share feedback on what's working well and where we can improve. Your views help shape EPIC's future, so we encourage everyone to take part. EPIC video project We're working with Reels in Motion to produce two new videos for EPIC. One will showcase our organisation, the communities we serve and the difference we make, while the second will focus on what it's like to work at EPIC and the people behind our services. Filming is now underway with colleagues, tenants and partners, and the finished videos will be used to help tell the EPIC story to both existing and future tenants, colleagues and stakeholders. We'll share them with everyone once they're complete.
Employment law changes coming in October We're preparing for a number of employment law changes coming into effect in October 2026, including enhanced trade union rights and strengthened duties around preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Over the coming months, we'll be reviewing policies, procedures and training to ensure EPIC remains compliant. Further information and training will be shared with colleagues nearer the time.
EPIC News
News and updates from inside EPIC.
Housing Management Your Voice, Our Future On Friday 18 September, six tenants joined us for Your Voice, Our Future, a special event designed to help shape the future of EPIC. The event brought tenants and colleagues together to explore what matters most over the coming years and to begin co-creating our next Corporate Plan. Through discussions, workshops and feedback sessions, tenants shared their experiences, priorities and ideas for how we can continue to improve our homes and services. The insights gathered will play an important role in shaping our future plans, helping us ensure that the decisions we make reflect what tenants want and need from EPIC. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed. The passion, honesty and ideas shared throughout the day will help us build on our successes and continue delivering great outcomes for tenants and communities. This is just the beginning of the conversation, and we look forward to sharing the next steps as our new Corporate Plan develops. Introducing the Tenant Insight Group Following a project that began around a year ago, our Tenant Ambassadors have now formally disbanded and been replaced by the new Tenant Insight Group (TIG). The TIG has been designed to strengthen tenant engagement and influence at EPIC, with clearer links to our governance structure. The group is chaired by Board Member Chris Elliott and also includes Board Member and tenant Jemma Richards, helping to ensure tenants' voices are heard at the highest level of decision-making within the organisation. The new group provides a more formal approach to engagement, with a clearer remit and greater opportunities to influence the services we provide. By bringing tenant feedback closer to our governance processes, the TIG will play an
important role in helping us understand what's working well and where we can improve. We're looking forward to working alongside members of the Tenant Insight Group as we continue our commitment to being a housing provider of choice and delivering services that are valued by tenants. Showcasing EPIC's Engagement and Influence Log In July, EPIC's Engagement and Influence Log was showcased to tenant engagement professionals from across the sector at both an in-person conference and an online demonstration. The system attracted significant interest for its ability to capture and evidence the impact of tenant engagement on our services. Colleagues shared how the purpose-built system helps us track tenant influence and demonstrate the difference engagement makes across EPIC. Feedback was so positive that several housing providers are now exploring the development of similar systems within their own organisations. The sessions also generated ideas for further enhancements, with updates made to our dashboards following questions and feedback from attendees.
EPIC News
News and updates from inside EPIC.
Housing Management (cont’d) Renters’ Rights Act The Renters Rights Act, a key element of which is the abolition of shorthold tenancies, became law in May this year. At present, the changes apply only to the private rented sector, with social landlords expected to come within scope from October 2027. To help ensure we are well prepared for these changes, we intend to stop issuing new shorthold tenancies from April 2027 and we will begin transitioning to our new arrangements in advance of the implementation date.
Staff training on mental capacity Following the valuable and engaging training session in April on understanding and managing hoarding behaviours, we are now exploring the opportunity to provide further training focused on mental capacity. This would help strengthen our understanding and confidence when supporting tenants, as well as provide a firmer foundation for managing tenancies effectively, including the small number of cases where tenancy enforcement action may be necessary.
We are currently finalising a draft Assured Tenancy Agreement, which will be shared with staff and Board members for feedback before undergoing a legal review. We also plan to consult with tenants on the final version to ensure their views are considered.
Asset Management & Building Compliance Preparing for a busy autumn The next few months will be a particularly busy period, with several important pieces of work coming together. These include preparing for the introduction of Awaab’s Law 2, bringing a new contract into service and completing an audit of our responsive repairs. Each is focused on helping us remain brilliant at the basics in keeping homes safe and improving the experience of our services and helping us respond effectively when tenants need us. Pride in Place We’re delighted that a Pride in Place Impact Fund bid for the garden space at our Meir office has been successful. Developed on behalf of the community, the funding will transform underused land into an accessible community garden, with seating and space for people to meet, connect
and take part in local activities. Our aim is to create a safe, welcoming place that strengthens pride and belonging. Work will begin shortly, and tenants, colleagues and local partners will help shape the space together so it reflects what matters to the people who will use it. Home Standard Thank you to everyone who shared their views on our Home Standard. Your insight has been invaluable in shaping the future contract for empty homes, kitchens and bathrooms, helping us focus on safe, comfortable homes and services that work for the people who use them. Your feedback has also helped us introduce a flexible ‘Can Do’ budget, giving colleagues greater freedom to respond to individual needs and achieve fair outcomes. It is a practical example of listening, acting and doing the right thing for the right reason.
OUR PEOPLE Work Anniversaries SEPTEMBER Adrian (2 years) Mark (3 years) Clair (4 years) James (4 years)
OCTOBER
Mel (4 years) Jo A (2 years) Vicky S (20 years)
NOVEMBER
Natalia (5 years) Paul (17 years) Jon (3 years) Rob (3 years) Simon W (4 years) Helen (4 years)
JANUARY
Polly (4 years)
FEBRUARY
Vicki (5 years) Kaye (4 years) Lucy W (3 years)
DECEMBER
Oliver (4 years) Jade (1 year)
Birthdays SEPTEMBER Garry Jon Sharon
OCTOBER Elliot Helen Simon O
NOVEMBER James Chris Oliver Sophie Tracey Vicky
DECEMBER Charl
JANUARY Kaye Mel
FEBRUARY Kelly Lucy H Nic Simon W
Internal moves We're pleased to announce that Laura and Kaye have both been successful in securing 12month secondments within the Asset Management & Building Compliance teams. These opportunities will allow them to broaden their experience, develop new skills and share their knowledge across different areas of the business. Supporting internal development helps strengthen collaboration across teams while building skills and expertise that will ultimately benefit tenants. We wish Laura and Kaye every success in their new roles.
LEAVERS Duke Langa left EPIC on 23 June, we wish him every success for the future.
OUR PEOPLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS Congratulations to the colleagues below on their recent training and development achievements.
Professional qualifications Jo A – Chartered Institute of Housing (Level 4) Jon – Chartered Institute of Housing (Level 5)
CPR training Charl Chris Clair Garry Kaye Kelly Lucy H Mark Meryl Natalia Paul Sophie Vicky
Domestic Fire and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Systems Simon W
Working Effectively with Hoarders Adrian Chris Cindy Jo A Jo B Lucy H Mark Natalia Paul Simon O Simon W If you have further accomplishments or notice anything missing from this list, please contact Oliver to update your training record.
YOU SAID...WE DID More opportunities to see colleagues' roles in action Could we re-start the programme where if Housing Officers etc were attending court or an eviction (or even just visiting a tenant) that dates were issued to others and we could attend with them. Maybe add Assets to it as well so we have options of joining a surveyor etc.
We really like this idea. Rather than creating a complicated programme around it, could we make this part of how we work day-to-day? If colleagues in Housing or Assets have a court hearing, eviction, tenant visit, survey or another activity that others could learn from, we’d encourage them to share the opportunity with colleagues at the start of the week and invite someone to join them where appropriate. There will naturally be some occasions where confidentiality, safety or the nature of the visit means this isn’t possible, but where it is, we’d love to see more of it. It’s a simple way of helping us understand each other’s roles and putting The EPIC Connection into practice.
Enhancing the new starter experience When we get a new starter at EPIC, they currently get a session with exec team members as an introduction to the business. Would it be useful to include a short (half hour to an hour) session with each SLT member and their team to get a better view of how different parts of the business work, who does what and how, and get a deeper understanding of individual roles and responsibilities?
We agree this would be a valuable addition to the induction journey. We’ll look to expand the time new starters spend in each business area, with individual teams co-ordinating the best people to speak to so colleagues can better understand roles, responsibilities and how our work connects across EPIC.
Meet the team Jo Andrew
Safe homes, Scottish roots and Skye on the retirement wish list – get to know Jo from the Assets Team.
What does your role involve? I lead EPIC’s capital, compliance and asset management programmes, which includes kitchen, bathroom, door, window and roof renewals. In simple terms, my role is about making sure our homes are safe, well maintained and meet the standards our tenants should expect. That means keeping work on track, within budget and delivered safely in people’s homes. I also oversee compliance for gas, electrics, asbestos, fire safety and water hygiene. A big part of my role is supporting the team to keep our asset data accurate, plan future investment and make sure we’re delivering value for money, as well as a good experience for tenants. I also support audits and complaints, work closely with contractors and colleagues, and help make sure our services are safe, compliant and well managed. What's something colleagues might be surprised to learn about you? I’m Scottish! I grew up in Glasgow until I was 15, then we moved to Stoke in 1984. At first, I felt like a fish out of water because it was so different from growing up in a tenement building in the heart of Glasgow. Over time, I found my feet, started a YTS and built my career in social housing. I think being a tenant myself gave me a real appreciation of what a good home means to people.
What song is guaranteed to get you singing along? My favourite song of all time is Boys of Summer by Don Henley. I loved it growing up, and whenever it comes on the radio, the windows go down and the volume goes up, even if it’s raining! What is your favourite place you've ever visited? Skye in Scotland. It’s no secret that my retirement plan is to find a wee butt and ben and spend my older years in the Highlands. Skye is my favourite place it’s beautiful, and every time I arrive there, I feel right at home.