The housing association that believes in life without barriers

That vision is shared by its staff and its customers, and it is helping to enhance lives and create secure futures, ensuring that everyone is working together in a cohesive and supportive way that is mutually beneficial.

Alan Smith, believe housing’s executive director of investment, growth and performance, explains how they put the vision into practice across the organisation.

LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS - COLLEAGUES

“The way that we view our vision statement is that it’s incredibly aspirational, and we believe that life without barriers can be interpreted by many people in many different ways,” says Alan.

“It’s not a case of ‘one size fits all’, so we listen to our colleagues and our customers about what they think we can be doing to improve both their lives and their time at work.

“Different things suit different people, but we don’t know what suits who, unless we ask them. There’s a broad range of things that create barriers for people – or are perceived as barriers – and once we know what they are, we can look at addressing them.

“And it’s an on-going vision. We’re constantly evolving our culture, shaping our colleague offer for existing staff and those wishing to join. In the context of levelling up, we want to be a market leader – an employer of choice in the North East.”

One area of success throughout the organisation has been the introduction of an agile working environment. The hybrid of working from home combined with working in the office has met with unequivocal approval by the staff.

There was substantial investment in technology just before lockdown, and the process of looking at agile working had already begun, so staff were very quickly productive from home when lockdown was announced.

“It afforded them greater flexibility to manage their work and home lives, especially in cases where they might be home-schooling when all the schools were closed,” explains Alan. “And, because we’ve carried on with it, it is now allowing our colleagues to have a better work/life balance.”

The values of the organisation are very much reflected by the staff. Through regular culture surveys it is clear is that the personal values of their workforce very much aligns with that of the organisation, which, ultimately, translates into the way that they work with customers.

LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS - CUSTOMERS

believe housing applies its “life without barriers” ethos to its customers as well, and works with them to remove or reduce any barriers that are preventing them from having full lives. Whether this is making adaptations to their homes, helping them find employment, enhancing their skills through training, renting a warm and comfortable home, or getting onto the property ladder.

“We want our customers to succeed in their homes so we have tenancy support mechanisms that they can access. Whether it be to signpost them to financial assistance, further training opportunities, acquiring employability skills, or other barriers that may be preventing them from living independent lives,” says Alan. 

“In 2021, we spoke to 1,040 customers and, as part of that work, we secured about £1.5m of additional welfare support for people who needed it.”

The association also provides classes on CV writing skills, and helps with travel costs for people going to interviews. Last year, it supported 194 people into employment, and works towards changing perceptions and raising aspirations.

“We’re investing in growing the team around employability to encourage people to be independent. We try to focus on need wherever we can, and that need is obviously going to be a growing one in the coming months and years, given the cost of living crisis.

“We engaged with more than 7,000 of our customers last year to get a flavour from them about what works; what doesn’t work; what can we do differently; and what they think about our current customer offer. 

“We’re fostering a more inclusive approach with staff and customers to get the best out of a limited resource base.”

LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS - ENVIRONMENT

With the government’s agenda of working towards zero-carbon homes, believe housing is constantly monitoring emerging tech so that it is able to source the most efficient, sustainable innovations in order to build homes that are as “green” as possible.

Where they own existing stock, they have a rolling retro-fit programme to replace roofs, heating systems, and windows, which all contributes to improving the energy efficiency and carbon footprint of the homes. 

A more recent initiative has been the introduction of a new fleet of vehicles as the organisation moves from a flexi-lease arrangement to a sole contract hire supplier. This will save thousands of pounds that will be reinvested in homes and services for its customers, and will ensure a safe and comfortable working environment for frontline staff.

It also fits with an environmental pledge made by the housing association last year to take significant steps to reduce its carbon footprint, by reducing fuel consumption.

Some of the vans in the fleet have been downsized and, in the first year of the contract, 10 per cent will be electric vehicles (EVs) – with a view to increasing this number in the future.

To support the operation of EVs, extra charging points are being installed at believe housing’s offices in Seaham and Bishop Auckland, and at the homes of trade colleagues, so they can charge their vehicles overnight.

Because the van is, effectively, that person’s office, they consulted members of each trade group to ensure that their van was a safe and comfortable working environment, as well as fit for purpose.

The move to a sole provider, and new funding model, will reduce operational costs by about 30 per cent over the next five years, and, as a not-for-profit, all the money saved will go back into providing affordable housing in the region and a wide range of support services for customers.

LIFE WITHOUT BARRIERS - COMMUNITY

It’s not just the staff and customers that believe housing is engaging with. They get involved with the wider community through investing in groups with grants ranging between £200 and £20,000. In 2021, they gave out £183,000, and have supported 2,320 people. The money they give also helps groups to generate further income with match funding.

“We set aside a certain amount in our budget every year,” explains Alan, “and it’s a number that has grown over the years. The grants are made through application, and our grants panel includes a number of our customers.

“We want our customers to be able to approach us and let us know what’s going on and where we can help. Community groups do tremendous work with not a lot of money.

“We have been able to help in a wide variety of areas, such as social groups for the over-50s; a community grocer shop; coffee mornings; helping a church put in a new kitchen while also supporting their own community activities.”

The housing association made a significant impact during the pandemic when they very quickly gave out small amounts of money to groups who were helping with social isolation; picking up medication and shopping for vulnerable people.

They’re also doing more work in schools to help students identify career paths, and equip them with the skills they need to join the job market.  They not only offer positions within the many roles that the organisation employs, but can help to steer young people to potential employment within other organisations. 

believe housing is also proud to be silver accredited on the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve, or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly. The organisation’s role is in supporting people with getting homes and settling into the community.

As Alan says: “We listen to the growing voice of our customers – what they are telling us will help develop our service offer and improve it along the lines of what they expect from us. A key channel of communication with our customers is through our Values Group. 

“Most members of the Values Group are customers, and they meet regularly to monitor and review customer insights; analyse complaints trends; assist with the annual customer survey; and engage with customers to feedback information about our plans. The Values Group really does influence our decision-making.

“We also have more than 200 engaged customers who’ve told us that they want to help shape our service delivery, so we consult when we’re reviewing specific services or issues.

“Our ethos encompasses the whole business, front to back; everybody is part of it.”

The vision statement has served them well over the years, and, with no plans to change it, it should lead them into a successful and bright future.

• To find out more about believe housing, go to believehousing.co.uk

• As a Premier Partner in The Northern Echo’s Level Up campaign calling on the Government to recognise the case for greater investment in the North East, Alan says that their mission statement – We believe in life without barriers – is a good fit with the government’s levelling up agenda.

Any business interested in becoming a partner of The Northern Echo’s Level Up campaign, please contact Ryan Fenwick at ryanfenwick@localiq.co.uk