They call me “Mr J”

I didn’t know I had an alias. It took a Subject Access Request sent to GreenSquareAccord to reveal my secret identity!

Innocent enough or is this use of a pseudonym hiding yet another worrying (albeit enlightening) insight? With a proven track record of struggling to find customer data is creating ‘nicknames’ a benefit or hindrance to GreenSquareAccord?

When and where did this start?

To be clear; GreenSquareAccord have yet to provide all the data as required in accordance with the Subject Access Request (SAR) which was acknowledged by GreenSquareAccord on 10th May 2022. GreenSquareAccord have been made of aware of the missing data and have agreed to have another look with a view to providing the missing data by 4th August.

With that in mind the first date I can find for the use of this pseudonym is 4th December 2020, and the first person who opted to use this name was Ross Kuklinski (who was Assistant Director Housing & Support Services for the GreenSquare Group) not sure if he is still with the company.

Now as we all know, people will take on terms, behaviours, and be influenced by those above them in the food chain. This is why it was so worrying to see a senior member of the leadership team referring to residents as ‘rather high maintenance’.

And was this sobriquet used by others? Of course it was which is why the senior leadership team in any organisation need to be beyond reproach. They need to lead by example.

It was still being used by a senior member of the team on 1st February 2022 and now seems to be a common term.

But why?

Is it an attempt to hide email trails?

I think this is a possibility, it has certainly hindered the location of many emails and is another example of systemic failures between internal departments, and their inability to communicate with one another.

Claire Cook is certainly aware of the fallout from writing emails and there are many examples in which she writes ‘shall we meet to discuss’ or words to that affect. While it is possible that after some internal training she wants to be viewed as less of a keyboard warrior, however we must also consider the notion that she wants ‘opinions’ kept offline and out of the public domain.

With GreenSquareAccord first extending the search period to two months and having now advised that they’ll need another month, it is clear that there is an issue in locating all data.

Is it just my data they can’t find?

No. Another residents has also been forced to raise a complaint with the ICO.

Perhaps they have used another ‘nickname’ for this resident. It also seems clear that GreenSquareAccord are happy to blame the merger rather than their inability to correctly merge two associations without losing customer data. The merge seems to be a great cover all excuse, one that is often dragged out to explain failings.

What else do we know about Mr J?

Well for one he isn’t a resident of GreenSquareAccord.

A bizarre statement indeed.

It’s certainly untrue, but don’t take my word for it:

Unfortunately Zoe is a fine example of what happens to great employees when they have bad managers.

‘Spoiling the apple cart’

Some of you might remember a conversation I had with Anthony R (the new data protection manager) where I predicted three potential outcomes for new members to the GreenSquareAccord team.

The three outcomes

So what happens when a new person joins, can they change a rooted culture?

Will Anthony’s dedication to data protection and customer service change the mindset of his colleagues?

There are three potential outcomes:

1. New staff members quickly become disillusioned with their inability to rectify issues, respond in a timely manner and honour agreements; due to GreenSquareAccord’s culture and lacklustre procedures.

2. New staff members take on the current GreenSquareAccord (housing sector) mindset; blame other departments, dismiss residents as ‘ne’er-do-wells’ who should be grateful, and become bogged down with a housing stock that cannot be repaired due to years of failing building maintenance.

3. They strive, thrive and survive and change the mindset and produce results that drive others to do better! They reshape the culture bringing shame to those who won’t adapt and in turn make GreenSquareAccord a ‘simply brilliant landlord’.

When I put these options to Anthony he assured me he was option three. He was customer focused, he was aware of the issues ahead, he was confident that he (and GreenSquareAccord) could overcome these barriers to service.

In conclusion

• GreenSquareAccord are still unable to track, maintain, and perform simple data managements tasks

• GreenSquareAccord use nicknames when discussing residents

• GreenSquareAccord seem unable to distinguish between who is and who is not a resident

• GreenSquareAccord seem unable to manage a merger without losing essential data

• GreenSquareAccord seem undeterred by any threats of action made by the ICO.