Tracy Hughes

Responsible for leading the Customer Complaints function, ensuring full compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Code and internal policies.

Designed and delivered a comprehensive customer, stakeholder, partner and community engagement programme across North Yorkshire and South Lakes, embedding customer voice and insight throughout the organisation.

As a member of the Operational Leadership Team, I have overseen recruitment, selection, and development across all levels—from frontline colleagues to Heads of Service.

I have mentored new operational managers and directors, led investigations and disciplinaries, and developed new and revised policies to strengthen compliance, innovation, and service quality in organisational structures.

I have driven continuous improvement using Systems Thinking methodology, delivering measurable operational, cultural, and customer-focused outcomes.

Key Achievements:

• Redesigned the complaints process and established an in-house Complaints Team, increasing customer satisfaction from 64% to 98%, reducing investigation times from 18 days to 7.6 days, and cutting compensation payments for complaint-handling failures by 75%. Achieved 100% compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Code and secured top-quartile national performance (TSMs 2025). Increased senior leadership engagement, resulting in organisational priorities directly shaped by complaint insights.
• Delivered a customer-led service review programme, using dissatisfaction data, and high-waste analysis to prioritise reviews. Trained customers in Systems Thinking frameworks, enabling them to diagnose issues and present insights directly to the board. Delivering organisation-wide improvements across Annual Gas Servicing and compliance, Grounds Maintenance, communal area maintenance, and complaints handling. Recognised by HQN as a best practice for customer scrutiny.
• Embedded a Continuous Improvement (Systems Thinking) culture, resulting in the team’s apprentice winning National Apprentice of the Year (2025) and CEO recognition for consistently high customer satisfaction, zero complaints, and a proactive approach to root-cause analysis and problem-solving over an 18-month period.
• Appointed organisational representative for mediation cases, providing credible, balanced, and solution-focused input to resolve complex issues and conflicts between Broadacres and customers.

Responsible for the operational delivery of large‑scale Systems Thinking change programmes with clients, including methodology development, training design and the creation of high‑performing in‑house practitioner teams.

Delivered programmes across multiple organisations and sites—Lancashire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Great Places Housing Association (Manchester) and Stoke City Council—working collaboratively with Learning & Development, HR, IT, senior leadership and internal transformation teams to ensure successful contract delivery and sustainable capability and service resilience.

Lancashire Constabulary (June 2017 – June 2022)

Recruited and developed a 35‑strong Systems Thinking practitioner cohort and trained over 200 frontline colleagues and 24 senior leaders (including the Chief Constable) in Systems Thinking methodology and leadership.

Led communications and performance reporting to senior leaders and created a bespoke, force branded Systems Thinking resource library.

Provided 1:1 mentoring to frontline and senior leaders up to Chief Superintendent level.

Key Achievements:

• Led a major transformation of the Force Control Room, improving 999/101 call handling for 1.2M annual calls. Reduced call waiting times (999 calls, less than 10 seconds), eliminated call redirection to other forces, released 12 Sergeants back to frontline duties (£540k annual saving), halved sickness levels and improved morale and retention.
• Facilitated a full redesign of Domestic Abuse and MARAC services with a multidisciplinary partnership (Police, NHS, Social Services, Probation, Councils, Mental Health, Victim Support). Achieved SafeLives best‑practice recognition, delivered £1M efficiency savings, and improved victim/perpetrator/child response times from 8 weeks to 24 hours. The 'Keep Me Safe' people centric approach and system design was highlighted in the HMICFRS report.
• Strengthened support for vulnerable victims of child criminal exploitation, creating a multidisciplinary Violent Crime Reduction Unit and reducing knife‑crime incidents in Lancashire by 25%.
• Restructured the forces Public Protection Unit, reducing attrition and cutting staffing costs by 34% through leadership development, mentoring and continuous improvement planning.
• Created an inclusive Systems Thinking training offer, ensuring materials and delivery methods were accessible and effective for colleagues with neurodiverse needs and disabilities, including autism, ADHD dyslexia and sight impairment.

Cumbria Constabulary (March 2019 – June 2022)

Recruited and trained 15 Systems Thinking practitioners, delivered training to frontline colleagues and senior leaders, and produced branded training packages for force‑wide use.

Provided regular updates to senior leadership on performance, impact and contract delivery.

Key Achievements:

• Delivered 11 FTE savings, reduced 999/101 waiting times from four minutes to under 30 seconds, and improved departmental retention.
• Reviewed customer engagement strategies, recommending improvements to community engagement, victim support, staff welfare and stakeholder management.
• Led a comprehensive review of the employee lifecycle, covering recruitment, onboarding, vetting, payroll, HR, training and welfare services.
• Supported recruitment of civilian and officer roles for new IT software implementation and contributed to Systems Thinking‑aligned process redesign.

Stoke City Council (UNITAS) (April 2019 – November 2019)

Key Achievements:

• Reviewed and enhanced the existing Systems Thinking repairs and logistics model, identifying improvements based on evolving demand and external changes.
• Delivered an effective IT system implementation, improved same‑day repairs performance, redesigned reporting formats and removed the need for agency cover (3 FTE’s).
• Facilitated Board and leadership sessions on future service vision, strategic priorities and continuous improvement planning.

Responsible for the implementation, development, and organisation-wide delivery of the Systems Thinking approach, reporting directly to the CEO with a mandate to embed the vision of becoming a fully Systems Thinking organisation.

Led the rollout of training, service redesign, and structural change across all levels, managing an annual budget of £250k.

Key Achievements:

• Built and led an in-house Systems Thinking department, responsible for leadership training, interventions, service reviews, introductory training, and colleague mentoring.
• Systems Thinking Leader and Transformation Specialist, driving complex change and service excellence. Designs and delivers efficient, high-impact public sector services by strengthening people, systems, and processes to achieve sustainable results. Recognised for leading high-performing Systems Thinking teams, shaping ambitious change programmes, and delivering end-to-end transformation across diverse services.
• Successfully transitioned delivery from external consultants to internal capability, ensuring continuity, quality, and long-term sustainability.
• Dynamic professional committed to enhancing organisational performance through robust Systems Thinking methodologies. Empowers teams by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and customer engagement, resulting in significant operational efficiencies, and elevated service quality. Champions collaborative approaches in cross-sector partnerships to drive strategic goals.
• Supported and trained colleagues from board level down, advising on the creation of a bespoke transformation framework tailored to the organisation’s needs and strategic direction.
• Developed the organisation’s in-house Systems Thinking methodology, 'The Flagship Way', designed to drive cultural change and service improvement for the benefit of customers.
• Designed and delivered a five‑year Systems Thinking change programme, including: guidelines for the output.

480+ colleagues trained in Systems Thinking fundamentals

65 colleagues trained to run interventions

38 interventions delivered, with 12 follow-up reviews after 12 months.

8 leadership programmes for current and emerging leaders

Six internal Systems Thinking audits delivered in collaboration with KPMG.PMG

• Generated £173k income by establishing an in‑house Systems Thinking consultancy service focused on improving services within the social housing sector.
• Collaborated with the Head of People to design and implement mentoring and talent management programmes, including maintaining a Systems Thinking skills matrix for all colleagues.
• Served as lead chair for grievances, disciplinaries, and internal investigation appeals, ensuring fair, consistent, and compliant decision-making.

Responsible for the delivery of Systems Thinking interventions and training programmes across the organisation.

Originally part of a responsive repair and logistics intervention team (2011), I was then selected to work alongside external consultants (Vanguard) to learn how to run an intervention and deliver their fundamental training.

Fourteen months of training and mentoring resulted in an ability to independently deliver System Thinking interventions and fundamental training programmes.

Navigating the handover from consultants to an in-house team, I lead the training and recruitment of 12 in-house interventionists.

Key Achievements:

• Responsible for a £9M repairs budget during the implementation of a new logistics team.
• Recruitment and training of a new Logistics manager.
• Systems Thinking Leader and Transformation Specialist driving complex change and service excellence. Designs and delivers high-impact public sector services by strengthening people, systems, and processes to achieve sustainable results. Leads high-performing teams, shaping ambitious change programmes, and delivering end-to-end transformation across diverse services.
• Strategic Change Manager fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and customer engagement. Empowers teams through effective mentoring and training, enhancing operational performance, and service quality. Advocates for cross-sector collaboration to drive organisational goals and elevate stakeholder satisfaction.
• As a team, we saved over £4M by identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing changes based on service and systems reviews, including:
• Insourcing the annual gas servicing and repairs, saving £1m per year.
• Increased income collection and reduced housing waiting times by redesigning how empty homes are processed, and improved. Achieving an annual saving of £350k.
• Collaborated with internal audit, uncovering £250K stock discrepancies and significant cultural issues around bonus schemes, and procurement of contracts.
• Delivered supplier review resulting in reclaim of £150K overpayments to suppliers.
• Project managed implementation of bespoke housing logistics IT system.
• Realised £200K savings in a system for warranty claims.
• Secured £120k in savings following a fleet review.