The Importance of “RPA Champions” in Social Housing

Why social landlords need RPA Champions?

Housing associations are not short of processes that could be automated. The harder question is which ones are worth automating first. With ongoing budget pressure and rising service expectations, social landlords need to focus automation on the processes that will deliver the greatest value. 

That is where RPA Champions add value. They bring the operational context needed to prioritise automation opportunities, not just identify tasks that can technically be automated. 

What is an RPA Champion? 

An RPA Champion is someone close to day-to-day housing operations who understands how the work happens in practice and is willing to explore better ways of doing it. They do not need to be an IT specialist or know how to build a robot. Their role is to bring operational knowledge into automation decisions, helping teams understand the process, the pain points, the exceptions and where innovation could improve service delivery. 

What are the key responsibilities of an RPA champion in an organisation? 

An RPA Champion doesn't need to manage every automation project. Their role is to provide the operational knowledge that helps make automation work in practice. 

1. Identify and prioritise opportunities 
RPA Champions spot repetitive, rules-based processes in areas such as income management, Universal Credit Verification, Direct Debit changes, customer contact and back-office administration. They also help prioritise opportunities that deliver genuine value quickly and support meaningful organisational change. 

2. Map the process and define best practice
Before automation begins, the process needs to be understood. An RPA Champion helps map how housing processes work today, including local workarounds, handoffs between teams and the best-practice approach the automation should follow. 

3. Help define the rules for robots  
The robot needs clear rules to follow. An RPA Champion helps define how the process should work, where automation is appropriate, how exceptions should be handled and where human judgement is still needed for resident or compliance-related decisions. 

4. Support implementation 
Champions support implementation and testing by checking that the automation reflects the real process before wider rollout. For example, with Direct Debit Uplift, rent rules and resident circumstances need to be carefully accounted for, so we work closely with income teams to test the automation and make sure the bot is doing what it is supposed to do.

5. Keep improving after go-live 
An RPA Champion’s role does not end once the automation is live. As teams start using the process, Champions help gather feedback and highlight where the automation could be refined. We have seen this with Universal Credit Verification, where ongoing input from income teams has helped improve automation performance over time. 

The role of an RPA Champion doesn't necessarily stop at their own organisation. 

From our experience working with social landlords, some of the most valuable automation opportunities start with a simple conversation. A client might come to us with a repetitive process that is taking up significant staff time and ask whether it could be automated. We work with them to understand the process, identify the rules and exceptions and explore what an automation should look like. In some cases, that process reveals a challenge that isn't unique to one organisation. 

Universal Credit verification is a good example of this. Some social landlords first approached us because the manual process was creating significant pressure for their teams. By exploring a practical automation solution with them, we were able to help demonstrate the value of a different approach and contribute to the case for automation being formally permitted through the DWP Landlord Portal in early 2024. 

The Vico Homes case study shows what this looks like in practice. Its Universal Credit Verification automation has processed more than 51,000 claims and saved over 7,300 manual operating hours, reducing peak processing from more than 20 staff to one person providing oversight. For income teams, that means less time spent on repetitive checking and more capacity to focus on residents. 

This is where RPA Champions have an influence beyond their own organisation. By identifying common challenges and sharing what they have learned, they help other landlords see how automation solves similar problems. 

What starts with one organisation asking “Could we automate this?” can lead to an approach that has value for many others. 

How do I become an effective RPA champion within my organisation? 

An effective RPA Champion acts as a bridge between the people doing the work, the teams delivering the automation and the colleagues affected by the change. 

Introducing new technology can create uncertainty, especially when people are unsure how it will affect their day-to-day role. A Champion helps make that change easier by acting as a familiar point of contact, explaining what the automation does, where human input is still needed and how the process will work in practice. 

By involving colleagues early, they can surface concerns, gather feedback and identify where the same approach could support other housing processes, from rent account checks to customer contact and back-office administration. 

Want to explore where RPA could help? 

If there’s an income, customer contact or back-office process in your organisation that feels repetitive or time-consuming, it could be worth a conversation. 

We can help you review manual checks, updates and exceptions that create pressure for housing teams, assess where RPA will deliver practical value and identify the right starting point for automation. 

Speak to us about your next RPA opportunity