“What I like the most is trying to modernise and automate processes, data and workflows to make things work better and people’s lives easier. I honestly love being able to do that, add value, share knowledge with others.”– Gary Swan, Data Analyst

I work with the IT team as a Data Analyst. So, my main tasks include reporting on data, and maintaining databases, all the fun the stuff that makes people’s eyes glaze over! The challenge is communicating why the data is relevant and important. In a lot of roles, it’s easy to get caught in the technicalities, so the fun part for me is looking at the data and thinking, ‘how can I make this resonate with people?’. A lot of the time that means trying to visualise it in some way with graphs and charts.  The most important part of being a data analyst is being able to communicate that data.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist at times. What I like the most is trying to modernise and automate processes, data and workflows to make things work better and people’s lives easier. I honestly love being able to do that, add value, share knowledge with others. I love starting a conversation with ‘Did you know you could do this instead…?’.

There have been a few projects I’m proud of. One of the recent ones we’ve done and just got over the line is the Fire Safety forms. We have an obligation to complete fire safety checks regularly on our homes and apartment blocks, for example, ensuring there are no hazards in communal areas. The fire safety check process was old school done on pen and paper and wasn’t centralised; it was completed on an ad hoc, informal, basis. We looked to standardise it and digitalise it. We transformed it into an online form which keeps an automatic record of every time someone completes an inspection. Every apartment block has a QR code which opens a map to allow Neighbourhood Specialists, or Asset Management Property Services (AMPS) staff members, to do a fire safety walk. It saves each recorded check onto a SharePoint site. AMPS can now see automatically how many checks have been done. It has made the process much quicker. We’ve created similar processes around mould inspections and have recently started streamlining HR processes for work approvals too. We’ve created a process around onboarding and offboarding staff. These processes hopefully make colleagues’ lives a lot easier.

My work has changed a bit since I’ve joined, we’re not a huge organisation so it is hands-on. I wanted to learn more about housing and that’s why I joined CHI. Most of the work is the same but I’ve moved more into more IT work. The IT team wasn’t as firmly established when I first started, but now there’s a team and we are formalising what we do.  The exciting thing is that the organisation is growing. We’ve transitioned from being a small organisation to something bigger. We’re at a point where we’ll have a lot more formal reporting tools. My goal is to create a single platform where we’d have all of our data, starting with information arounds arrears, and asset management and repairs.

I have a degree in economics; I’ve always liked numbers. After college, I worked in the airport. From there I worked in a large pharmaceutical company for four years. I’ve always focused on data reporting and wrangling. When I joined CHI, I had just finished an MA in data analytics, which I completed part-time. The first year was totally at home, and the second year was in person.

What I love about CHI is that we have plenty of opportunities to get together throughout the year and the people are great.

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