The Tenant Talent Pool (TTP) is a key initiative developed by ForHousing to support the Greater Manchester 20% Movement, which aims for 20% of the social housing workforce to be tenants by 2034.
Before introducing the TTP, it was estimated that ForHousing would take around 9.6 years to reach our target level of tenant representation. Following the pilot, this has reduced significantly to around 5 years, demonstrating the impact of a more proactive and inclusive approach to recruitment.
Alongside this, we’re proud that our Tenancy Resilience Manager, Michelle Tomlin-Flack, has recently been appointed Chair of the 20% Movement, helping to drive this ambition across the sector.
What is the Tenant Talent Pool?
The Tenant Talent Pool (TTP) is an initiative where we identify and assess ForHousing tenants in advance of vacancies arising.
Tenants who successfully complete the recruitment process are added to a central pool. When suitable roles become available, hiring managers can consider these candidates without needing to advertise externally.
We carried out a pilot in October 2025, followed by a full launch in February 2026.
Impact so far
Since launching the TTP, we’ve already seen strong results:
- 29 tenants added to the pool across two intakes
- 7 tenants offered roles at ForHousing
- Recruitment time reduced from over a month to under a week
- Significant engagement from hiring managers across the organisation
This early success shows the TTP is not only working, but adding real value for both tenants and our teams.
Why we created the TTP
The TTP supports our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by helping us better reflect the communities we serve.
Tenants bring invaluable lived experience. By increasing tenant representation within our workforce, we can:
- Strengthen understanding of customer needs
- Improve services and processes
- Ensure tenants feel seen, heard and represented
How it works
- Promotion – via social media, e-zine, email and word of mouth
- Application – tenants apply via iTrent with a CV and cover letter
- Shortlisting – applications assessed against five criteria (February intake: 52 applicants, 29 invited to interview)
- Interview – structured and scored in line with standard recruitment
- Talent Pool – successful candidates added with skills, interests and scores
- Matching process – hiring managers meet candidates informally
- Offer – candidates can be appointed directly into roles
Success so far
- Pilot (Nov 2025): 10 tenants added → 5 offered roles
- Spring intake (Mar 2026): 19 tenants added → 2 already offered roles
This has been supported by strong collaboration across the organisation, with managers contributing time to interviews and actively recruiting from the pool.
“Using this method made the recruitment process much quicker and easier… and the successful candidates bring valuable first-hand insight into how our services impact tenants.”
— Nicky Simpson, Income Manager
The value of the approach
The TTP is already improving recruitment and outcomes:
- Faster hiring – reducing time to recruit from over a month to less than a week
- Better candidate experience – informal conversations replace high-pressure interviews
- Reduced bias – multiple hiring managers involved in interviews
- Stronger candidates – ongoing support, development and engagement
- Improved services – lived experience helps shape better outcomes for customers
The value of lived experience
Tenant candidates are highly competitive.
Last year:
- 17 tenants were recruited through standard processes
- 9 secured roles against an average of 305 applicants per vacancy
- 6 existing tenant colleagues progressed through promotion or new roles
This demonstrates that tenants not only succeed in joining ForHousing but continue to grow and add value.
