Q&A with Paul Watson, Group Operations Director

As part of our ‘University Update’ newsletter on LinkedIn, we spoke with Paul Watson, our Group Operations Director.

Paul touches on delivering a great welcome for residents, an exciting new tech solution for our operations and how we adapt to evolving student needs.

Q: Hi Paul! With the new academic year just weeks away, how do we deliver a great welcome to students?

A: A great welcome starts well before arrival. Residents access key information through our website, receive personalised communications from us and even connect with their future flatmates through our resident app.

When they arrive, we focus on three essentials. Their room and building must meet their expectations, so the room and building need to be representative of the pictures or show flats; everything should be clean and working; and our team must be ready to offer a warm, helpful welcome. That initial impression is crucial in setting them up for success.

After that, the first six weeks are all about helping them settle in. We encourage small steps – getting to know flatmates, then neighbours, then the wider community. Our ‘kitchen talk’ initiative makes sure our residents have had an opportunity to meet their building’s Student Experience team and Resident Ambassador, and creates space for open conversations around fire safety, wellbeing and much more.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE framework: how we Connect, Act, Respect, and Encourage our residents. We’re deeply aware that we don’t just operate in any building – our buildings are home for our residents during their time at university. CARE isn’t just about what our teams do; it’s how they make residents feel.

What are some of the most exciting innovations or improvements coming to our operations for 2025/26?

One of the most exciting developments is the rollout of ResX360, our new operational platform, which is now live across all our properties and used by over 1,600 team members.

ResX360 integrates our systems – including the resident app – to streamline processes, improve transparency and drive more proactive service. Through real-time visibility for residents and our teams and built-in escalation pathways, it’ll help us better manage wellbeing and conduct cases while meeting residents’ expectations more effectively with maintenance requests.

This enhanced visibility helps us identify patterns, link welfare and conduct concerns, and take timely action. Feedback from our teams has been overwhelmingly positive; they’re already seeing the benefits in how they support residents.

The 2025 Applicant Index report continues to highlight young people’s challenges with mental health and wellbeing. What steps are we taking to create a supportive living environment where residents can thrive?

Our approach is simple but powerful: get the basics right, build a sense of togetherness and be there when students need us.

Our Resident Ambassadors host engaging events and help residents to build their social networks, and our teams are available 24/7 – residents often develop a rapport with them over the course of their stay.

When a resident’s wellbeing or behaviour raises concern, our Support to Stay framework helps teams deliver a timely, appropriate intervention, working closely with university partners’ support teams to get them the right support. This year, we’ve also launched ‘Prepare to Stay’ in advance of residents arriving: a programme of refreshed comms to help them get ready for independent living both pre- and post-arrival.

There’s also our Student Assistance Programme, which gives residents phone, video and app access to trained counsellors if they need it. Together, these initiatives create a living environment where students feel safe, supported and connected.

Resident needs are constantly evolving. How do we adapt our service and operations to meet these shifting expectations?

We stay close to our residents through data and dialogue throughout the year.

Our annual Applicant Index surveys thousands of university applicants to understand their concerns and confidence levels across different areas. We hold annual ‘Class of’ events to share the findings with our teams at local level and encourage them to think about how they can meet the unique needs of each cohort in their city.

In terms of dialogue, we gather resident feedback from social media, online reviews, the Global Student Living Index and direct interactions with residents and Resident Ambassadors.

That continuous feedback loop helps us respond to what matters most to our residents. It led to us developing our new resident app, which we launched last autumn and gives residents easier access to relevant information on their phones. It’s also reinforced the value of community and the support we offer, and we’ve continued to invest into initiatives that boost that sense of community and wellbeing.

Don’t miss Paul’s appearance at the UK Living Series: Student Accommodation Summit on Thursday 9th October – he’ll be talking all things operational excellence.