The Organisation
The Community Housing Group is based in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire. The group manages and develops quality affordable housing within the three towns of Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport and surrounding areas. The first company in the group, Wyre Forest Community Housing, was launched in March 2000 following the large-scale voluntary transfer of approximately 5,500 homes from the local district council.
In winning tenants’ support for the transfer of the housing stock from the council, Wyre Forest Community Housing made a series of promises to tenants, including: significant improvements in the quality of existing homes; an increased say in the management of the service; and a promise to build new homes to help meet the growing demand for accommodation in the area.
"Some people think it can be expensive and time consuming. That’s just not true, we found Investors in People offers excellent value for money and our assessments are conducted in normal working hours without disturbing normal operations."
In April 2005 the new group structure for the company was launched with The Community Housing Group as the parent company and three separate subsidiary companies looking after the main housing stock, the sheltered housing stock and land management.
At the point of transfer from the council, the company had employees of around 370, which has now grown to approximately 470 with a mix of both full and part time employees. According to Marina Banner, HR director for The Community Housing Group, back in 2000 the company faced substantial people-related issues, including: a workforce which was fearful that the transfer would mean worse terms and conditions; a lack of buy-in to the company’s new vision and different ways of working; few opportunities for career progression and advancement; and an aging workforce. Summing up the challenges faced Marina Banner states: "We had big cultural challenges at the beginning. We needed our people to break out from the council mindset and recognise we were now operating in the commercial world where good customer service and efficiency were vital for the future."
Experience with Investors in People
While The Community Housing Group’s own engagement with Investors in People only started in September 2000, the organisation had to overcome the disappointment some employees felt having sought and failed to gain recognition as part of the local council in the late 1990’s.
Keen to ensure that the company was fully prepared to meet the requirements of the Standard, The Community Housing Group decided within weeks of committing to achieving Investors in People to undertake a "mock assessment" in order for them to judge the effectiveness of the changes they had implemented thus far and to identify where more progress was needed. Marina Banner admits to being "astonished and elated" when told that they had in fact met the full requirements of the Standard. She explains: "Because we wanted an honest assessment of our position and to judge whether the changes we’d implemented were working we didn’t inform employees of the assessment. We wanted the assessor to see our organisation as it really was. Gaining the Standard was, therefore, a tremendous result which was really motivating for all in the business."
Since first being recognised in December 2000, the company has been successfully re-recognised twice in 2003 and most recently in 2007 when the company was a pilot for the new choice-based approach to working with Investors in People.
Motivations for using Investors in People
According to Marina Banner the following five motivating factors were key to The Community Housing Group’s decision to engage with the Investors in People Standard:
- Senior managers recognised that they needed to foster a new culture within the new organisation, different to that which had existed formerly within the council’s housing department. By working with the Investors in People Standard managers believed they would be able to set out clearly both their expectations and the new ways of working they wanted to see thrive within the new business;
- Many of the people transferring into the business from the council were initially apprehensive about whether they would fit into the new organisation. By working with Investors in People the company wanted to clearly signal their commitment to supporting people within the organisation and helping them adjust to the new organisation and the new roles many were taking up;
- Improving communication between staff at all levels in the business was identified early on as vital to creating the type of environment senior managers desired. Senior managers within The Community Housing Group were aware of Investors in People impressive track record in supporting more effective communication within organisations;
- Strong commitment among staff to the business’ vision was seen as fundamental if it was to deliver on the commitments it made to tenants in winning their support for the transfer from the council. By working with Investors in People the company hoped to create a culture of continuous improvement which would support innovation and excellence in all that it did;
- By working with the Investors in People Standard the organisation hoped to test out the quality and effectiveness of its personnel and training policies against recognised quality standards;
"If you want to send out a message to your employees and stakeholders that you’re a company with a clear vision, strong ethics and a commitment to staff development, Investors in People is definitely for you.”
Benefits of Investors in People
By working with Investors in People The Community Housing Group have gained significant benefits including:
- As desired, the business has developed a positive culture in which the executive team operate an "open door" approach to both staff and tenants, who are now frequent visitors to the organisation’s offices. The organisation’s staff satisfaction survey has shown that, as a result, employees now feel more valued and content, with 80% agreeing with the statement "I would tell people that this is a good company to work for" a rise of 11% over the last year;
- The company believes Investors in People status has helped its recruitment efforts over recent years. Marina Banner explains: "We’ve seen for ourselves that people want to join companies that demonstrate their commitment to developing their workforce and Investors in People has definitely helped us do that."
- The assessment feedback reports produced by the assessor have been very helpful to the business in identifying areas of good practice as well as those where further work is necessary. The effectiveness of team briefings was an issue identified in the last report as needing further attention and as a result the approach has been redesigned and staff are now benefiting more;
- Investors in People status has been found to be of value to the business when tendering for work with other housing associations. Marina Banner explains: "Investors in People helps us demonstrate our commitment to staff development and this is increasingly being taken into account by other organisations when awarding work."
- By working with the Investors in People standard the organisation has radically improved its approach to communicating with its people. Employees are now confident that they can voice concerns about issues and problems, and that managers will consult and engage with them on important matters.
- The training and development process within the Community Housing Group has been completely redesigned. As a result, all requests for training now have to clearly demonstrate their alignment with the business’s objectives and how they will help the individual improve their own effectiveness.
- The strong ongoing relationship the company has developed with their assessor has helped them gain even more value from their assessments than would have been the case. Marina Banner explains: "Because our assessor now really understands our business, he can really get behind issues and truly challenge us to go even further."
- Collectively the changes brought about by working with the Investors in People Standard have, according to Marina Banner, contributed significantly to the organisation’s ability to deliver on its original commitments to tenants and significantly expand its business.
Where next with Investors in People
The Community Housing Group continues to value their engagement with the Investors in People Standard. Marina banner states: "Investors in People has been a key tool we’ve used to build our business and we are committed to using it to drive continuous improvement right across the organisation." The company is also clearly impressed with the new choice-based approach to assessment as it will enable them to shape future assessments to meet their particular business needs at the time.
“Investors in People has been a key tool in improving our business and it can do the same for yours too.”
Asked what advice she would give to other companies thinking of engaging with Investors in People for the first time, Marina Banner is clear: "If you want to send out a message to your employees and stakeholders that you’re a company with a clear vision, strong ethics and a commitment to staff development, Investors in People is definitely for you." She is also keen to dispel some myths about Investors in People: "Some people think it can be expensive and time consuming. That’s just not true, we found Investors in People offers excellent value for money and our assessments are conducted in normal working hours without disturbing normal operations."
Summing up her advice Marina Banner states: "Investors in People has been a key tool in improving our business and it can do the same for yours too."
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