Making the most of the first 100 days of membership

When you join CIH, the first 100 days are vital to make sure you’re getting the most out of your member benefits. In the article below, which has been adapted from a webinar of the same topic, we explore how you can maximise your CIH professional membership.

If you prefer to watch the webinar you can do so via the link at the end of this article.

Selecting the right membership

Before you sign up for membership, you should consider which membership level is right for your experience and role in the sector. CIH has four membership grades: standard, certified, chartered and fellow.

• Standard – is for everyone who works in, or is passionate about, the housing sector
• Certified – is for practitioners who have a level 3 or 4 qualification in a relevant field
• Chartered – is for professionals with a level 5 or above qualification, or who can demonstrate their experience via one of our alternative experiential pathways
• Fellow – is for chartered members who can show that they have made a significant contribution to the sector. 

A framework for utilising your CIH membership

To help make your membership journey as simple as possible, our member engagement team have put together a framework for making sure that you can follow the road to successful membership. We explore each of the steps below.

Stage one: Getting started

• Create and complete your My.CIH profile – Creating an online login and completing the profile section allows access to all member-only areas and benefits. Visit our log in page for more information.
• Connect with the CIH community – Join your regional CIH group to find out more about your local housing news and get updates when we host events in your area. Here you’ll be able to build your own local professional network.
• Join us on social media – Find us on LinkedIn and Bluesky , or search for CIH or Chartered Institute of Housing on either channel for a wider range of topical or regional accounts with more tailored updates such as policy news, events or CIH Futures.
• Subscribe to CIH publications – Stay informed with all the latest updates with our CIH Unlocked, Housing Matters and regional newsletters sent direct to your inbox, and receive news from our media partners, Housing Today, via their own digital subscriptions. Ensure our domains ‘@cih.org’ and ‘@housingtoday.co.uk’ are added to your safe senders and not going into your spam folder, and make sure you are subscribing to these with the same email address you used when signing up for membership.
• Read our codes of conduct and ethics – As a housing professional you should be adhering to the CIH codes of conduct and ethics which you can read on our website.

Stage two: Building knowledge

• Complete our professional standards self-assessment – Our professional standards tool allows you to find out where you are with your development on key skills needed to work in the housing sector. Once you’ve identified your strengths and weaknesses, you can find tips, advice and guidance on what to focus on for your own continuous professional development (CPD).
• Pick a standard to work on for your first CPD – Pick one specific area from your self-assessment report to focus on for the 100 days of membership.
• Access our Knowledge Hub – Utilise CIH’s extensive library of resources, including publications, blogs, good practice examples and podcasts.
• Read the UK Housing Review – A crucial resource for housing professionals, leaders and policymakers across the UK’s public and private housing sectors, this annual publication is the go-to resource for housing sector data.

Stage three: Connect and develop

• Engage in CPD – As well as our online knowledge resources, we also have a range of discounted training courses through our CIH Housing Academy, and a range of level 3, 4 or 5 qualifications available from CIH and our study centre partners. You can track all your CPD in your online account.
• Attend webinars: Starting with ‘Making the most of CIH membership’ – By reading this blog you’re already ticking the box on the first webinar you need to watch - if you’re still interested you can rewatch the recording at the bottom of this article. Remember, we record almost all our webinars so you can catch up in your own time.
• Participate in CIH events – As a member, you get free access to CIH events both virtually and in person. Stay up to date on sector trends and network with other housing professionals. You can find all our events on our website.
• Engage in policy discussions – We welcome all members to join our networks and contribute to CIH’s policy work and campaigns, helping to shape and influence our governments work around the country.

Stage four: Reflect and grow

• Explore leadership potential – With our CIH membership you also receive discounted membership to the Institute of Leadership, enhancing your leadership skills within the sector.
• Join our mentoring scheme – Connect with experienced professionals through CIH’s mentoring programme to broaden your perspective and learning in the sector as either a mentor or a mentee.
• Re-do your professional standards self-assessment – Now you’ve been busy learning away for a while, resubmit your self-assessment to see where you’ve grown and record your progress.
• Continue your CPD – Now you’ve hopefully seen growth in one area of your development, pick another area and repeat the process!

What next?

Just because you’ve finished with your first 100 days, you still have another 265 days left (or 266 depending on the year!). Keep growing, learning and making the most of all the benefits available to you.

Find out how to access all your benefits

If you’re still unsure on whether to sign up for membership, you can find all you need to know about grades, benefits and fees in the membership section of our website here.

Learn more about CIH membership

Watch the full webinar