I joined Accent Housing in 2005 as a Payroll & Finance Administrator, returning to work after my youngest child started full-time school. Having come from a commercial background, I was quickly drawn to working for an organisation with such a strong social purpose and a genuine commitment to its values.
After three years in Payroll, I made the move into IT and found my niche supporting the technology needs of Accent colleagues. I spent three years on the Service Desk learning the ropes, before moving into Application Support when Project Tristar launched. This was a major step for Accent, bringing multiple housing systems together into one – ActiveH.
I stayed in Application Support for another three years (there must be a bit of a three-year itch!), before being asked to manage the Service Desk. In 2025, I also took on responsibility for the Application Support Team, and I’m now proud to be the IT Service Operations Manager.
Even after more than 20 years, I’m still incredibly proud to tell people where I work and what we do at Accent. The best part of working here is the people. I’ve built lifelong friendships (I even met my best friend here) and I encouraged my daughter to join Accent when we opened our Contact Centre. Over the years, I’ve worked with some amazing colleagues. Sadly, we’ve lost a few along the way who are greatly missed, but I’ve also seen so many people grow, progress and succeed, just like I have. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such a supportive and committed team.
One of my most memorable moments was during the Covid shutdown. A customer came to Charlestown House to return her keys and found just me there, rattling around the building on my own, dealing with post and IT kit. She’d come in person on the off chance she could hand them back to someone, because she wanted to say thank you. She told me she was moving into her own home that day, and that without Accent, she would never have been able to save for a deposit and get onto the property ladder. I’m not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye, it meant so much. For me, that’s what working at Accent is all about: making a real difference in people’s lives.
Happy 60th birthday to my Accent colleagues, our customers, partners and all who make Accent the place it is today, and that plays a huge part in my life.
Julie Thompson is the IT Service Operations Manager at Accent.