Celebrating Housing Director Tim Sheail’s 16-year career at Honeycomb Group

Today we say goodbye to our Director of Housing Services, Tim Sheail. Tim joined Honeycomb Group in January 2007 and has spent the last 16 years leading our property services, housing, compliance and customer services teams.

Tim leaves the Group to spend a year travelling and deciding his future steps. Although a sad day for all at Honeycomb Group, we wish Tim the very best and thank him for his continuous commitment to customers, dependability during difficult times, his much-loved humour and precision, as well as the incredible knowledge and expertise he has brought to the Group.

Honeycomb Group Chief Executive, Julie Guildford Smith said it has been a pleasure working with Tim. “It has been wonderful working with Tim. Since joining the Group, Tim has been so supporting and welcoming. I wish him very well and hope he enjoys his well-earned break.”

Finance Director Rob Morton has worked with Tim for nine years. He said Tim will be missed by all. “I first met Tim in 2014 and remember how welcome he made me feel. He was instrumental in me finding my feet in what was a brand-new sector to me. Tim has always made sure we remain resident-focused and that our social values remain implicit in all our decision making.”

Head of New Homes & Growth Marshall Fear has worked alongside Tim for 27 years, he said. “I first met Tim quite some time ago while working together at Coventry Churches Housing Association, which later became Midland Heart. We then joined Honeycomb Group at a similar time so not working alongside Tim is going to feel a little strange after all these years. Tim is an honest, social-minded and thoroughly nice bloke. Although we’ve had many debates over the years, I truly respect Tim and his passion for residents.”

Housing Manager Laura Dalton explained how Tim’s passion for the Group was clear to see as soon as she met him. She said: “I was interviewed by Tim for my role at Staffs Housing and could tell very quickly he was a kind person, who cared about the organisation and residents, as well as the staff. He is thoughtful and thorough (especially when it comes to our KPIs). I have always appreciated that there is no hierarchy with Tim, he makes you feel respected and appreciated. I wish Tim good luck with his future endeavours and thank him for his support.”

Tim has been Head of Housing Dave Allcock’s line manager for the past 16 years. Dave said: “Throughout that time Tim has been very supportive of me and the wider housing team in our attempts to deliver the best possible services for our customers. Tim has always put the interests of our customers first and he has always been passionate about doing the best for our customers. It has been a pleasure working alongside Tim, a person who you can rely on and always trust to give you the support, advice and challenge needed”.

After working with Tim closely over recent years, Head of Assets and Property Services Jon Parkes said “I have seen first-hand how honest, conscientious and practical Tim is. He has always put customers at the heart of everything he does."

It is clear to see the impact Tim has had across teams at Honeycomb Group. He said he will leave the organisation ‘with some sadness but enormous appreciation for the support, personal development and experience’ he has gained.

Tim continued, “I have been with Honeycomb Group for 16 years as Director of Housing Services, so I have seen a lot of changes: the creation of a Group structure: two rebrandings, four regulator name changes and substantial growth in the range of homes and services we offer.”  

“However, some things have remained constant – such as working to improve and get better in what we do for the people we affect. This has been very challenging to achieve at times. What I have most valued and appreciated is the ongoing support of the exec team and colleagues in the organisation who are all committed to the same purpose of doing the best we can for the people we are here to serve.”

All at Honeycomb Group wish Tim the very best and hope he has the most fantastic year travelling, relaxing and deciding his future plans.

There will be an announcement regarding the future Director of Housing Services on Monday 3 April.