Anne ter Steege, CEO of Mozaïek Wonen: 'Real estate is a means, not an end'

3. How was the execution realized?

Turner developed several products to support the execution of Mozaïek Wonen’s strategic plan, such as the introduction of portfolio management and the implementation agenda. This was combined with attention to the softer aspects, such as clear ownership and stakeholder management. “The strategy wasn’t that difficult to formulate, but how do you make the step from strategic to tactical to execution? That’s where Turner helped us,” says Ter Steege. “Look, our colleagues face a wide range of challenges in practice. If someone hasn’t paid once, you might send them a letter. But in the case of severe neglect or hoarding, it’s a situation where you’d probably visit the home in person to assess things and look for a solution. The concept of ownership, which plays an important role in the strategic plan, is relevant in that context.”

Making the right decision is no easy task for colleagues, she acknowledges. “It’s a constant balancing act. To what extent can you accommodate a tenant without creating a precedent? Moreover, we are not a social work organization—we can’t do everything for people. But by mapping out stakeholder management, we now have a much better idea of which other organizations we can involve, and when. That’s one of the elements that has helped us move from strategy to execution.”

The ongoing challenge is how to make it manageable for employees, so that they know what to do, says Zwaagstra. “That means you have to make it concrete—not just within the management team, but also for team leaders and employees. Initially, the ideas lived only in your mind, but over time they became more transparent for the rest of the organization. The staff day played an important role in that. You can’t simply explain the concept and expect everyone to understand it right away.”

Ter Steege values close contact with other social organizations active in the neighborhoods. She believes this can truly make a difference. “One time it’s with mental health services, another time with Medin, and another with a care organization. Ultimately, it comes down to the colleagues who work in the neighborhoods to implement things. They have a clear view of what’s happening in the community, and that can help us—and other organizations—genuinely improve those neighborhoods. That’s idealistic, yes. But I truly believe we can play a positive role. Not only in existing projects, but also in the new housing developments we’re realizing, by thinking about what kinds of homes you build and how. Housing associations originally arose from the idea of social uplift—ensuring that people had a decent roof over their heads and got sick less often. And in a sense, that’s still the goal, but without the paternalistic approach of the past.”

In hindsight, Ter Steege was surprised by how much still needed to happen before the plans could actually be implemented. “Of course, it started with our desire to engage more directly with the neighborhoods. But how do you do that? Then you start talking to people. But how do you go about that? How do you select those people? Then you need stakeholder management. And then you have to ask yourself what exactly you’re going to do there. What principles are you going to use? That means you need a participation vision. And that’s how it goes—step by step, you see that structure start to emerge. The same goes for the human resources vision: you really have to build that up as well.”