Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Thirteen’s Strategic Plan
2020-25
Providing Homes and so Much More
Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Contents

1 About Us..............................................................................................4   Appendices
2 Our Philosophy.............................................................................8              A Financial Plan Assumptions
3 What we can Fix – and How............................................9                                    B 30 Year Financial Projections
4 What our Customers Say..................................................13                                C Board Directors
5 Our Priorities - what we will Deliver....................... 14                                           D Leadership Team
6 How we will Deliver this Plan.......................................28
7 How we will Pay for this Plan.........................................37
8 How we will measure its impact.................................38

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Our mission at Thirteen is to
provide homes, support
and opportunities to grow.
As a not-for-profit housing
association, we’re a caring
landlord and housing
developer.
Over the next five years,
our commitment to our
social purpose means we’ll
invest over £1bn to
improve our services,
tenants’ homes and their
neighbourhoods, as well as
delivering new affordable
homes.

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
1. About Us
At Thirteen, we’re more than just a landlord. We
believe everyone is an individual. That’s why we
don’t just provide properties; we offer a home
to suit each person’s needs. And we don’t just
offer a home; our range of extra services means
we can give people a helping hand specifically
tailored to them if they need it.
Our strength, capacity and ambition to deliver
what our customers need means we can
change things for the better.
We started business as Thirteen in 2014 and
we’re still the largest housing association in
the North East and among the biggest 25             England organisations needing construction          In 2018/19 Our EBITDA-MRI operating margin
nationally. Through mergers and consolidations      and building services too.                          was 17.9%, a measure of our operating surplus
of companies, today we own and manage some                                                              but adjusted by adding back non-cash items
                                                    But our role as Thirteen doesn’t stop there.
34,000 properties in the North East region,                                                             such as depreciation, and deducting major
                                                    For people that need a helping hand, we offer
30,000 of them in the Tees Valley. We’re still                                                          repairs spend, which has been capitalised.
                                                    a continually developing range of thoughtful
very much local at heart.                                                                               The reason for these adjustments is to
                                                    and effective services to give people the
We’re continually investing in our homes and                                                            arrive at a closer reflection of our operating
                                                    opportunity to be truly independent. Currently,
neighbourhoods to ensure people can be safe                                                             cashflow generation (by stripping out
                                                    we’re delivering these services to 3,000
and happy where they live, building strong                                                              accounting effects). Our EBITDA-MRI of
                                                    customers to help them live the best life they
communities. In fact, we invested £38m last year                                                        £32.2m demonstrates our healthy operating
                                                    can.
alone. We will invest a further £400m over the                                                          cashflow generation, which can be invested
                                                    All this delivered to over 70,000 customers by      back into our existing stock and development
next five years to improve tenant’s homes.
                                                    our committed and talented colleagues, led          programme.
But that’s not all. We build new homes for rent     by a dedicated team of board directors. Our
and sale, as well as offering affordable sales                                                          We also have a comparatively low level of
                                                    people are passionate about what they do and
options to help people get that first essential                                                         gearing - a measure of our borrowing as a
                                                    thrive on making a difference.
foot onto the property ladder. We built 401 new                                                         proportion of our asset base - compared to
                                                    Consolidating our group of social landlords and     most other large housing associations. This
homes last year and we’ve got plans for this
                                                    care and support arm in 2017 not only made          translates into Thirteen benefiting from greater
to grow year-on-year to meet housing needs.
                                                    things simpler for customers, colleagues and        financial capacity and lower financial risk than
That’s just one of the reasons we’re thrilled
                                                    partners alike, it increased financial stability,   many of our peers.
to be one of 23 strategic partners to Homes
                                                    spending and bargaining power, saved
England. We will invest £499.4m to build 3,200                                                          What’s more, we have a culture of strong
                                                    money to fund new services, and released
new affordable homes and 308 homes for                                                                  governance.
                                                    financial capacity to invest in our homes and
market sale, with the proceeds reinvested, over
                                                    neighbourhoods.                                     So, 2020 will bring new challenges and
the next five years.
                                                                                                        opportunities and we’re ready to face them.
                                                    We’re now well placed to make even more of a
To help deliver our ambitions, we don’t just                                                            Because there may be preconceptions about
                                                    difference.
work alone. That’s why we welcomed Gus                                                                  the number thirteen, just as there are with
Robinson Developments to the Thirteen family        Our financial metrics and operational               some people and places. But at Thirteen
in 2018, in a move that’s already playing a         performance are strong, with turnover up 13%        we’re about taking a fresh look to create
significant role in the development of Thirteen’s   to £180m and an operating surplus of £34m           opportunities and seek out the potential in
housing offer and helping other North East          last year, which was reinvested into our social     everyone.
                                                    purpose.
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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Thirteen at a Glance

    £127,000 of support for projects                        365 vehicles
       run by community groups

     Care and support service help                     Found jobs, employment or
    1515 people giving 29,000 hours                      training for more than
               of support                                      700 people

      We completed more than                              One course to deliver
       2,100 major and minor                            144,000 repairs this year
        adaptations last year

                                 £2.4m in efficiency
                                  savings last year

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Thirteen at a Glance

                                        Just under 34,000 homes
  £3.7m gained for customers
  by our money advice service

     Creating 3,300 homes               We reach out to more than
                                           70,000 customers

         £180m turnover                 Over 1,600 colleagues

     Over £400m to be invested in           Asset base of £1bn
             our homes

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Operating area

                                                            1 Gateshead
                                                            2 Newcastle upon Tyne
                                                            3 North Tyneside
                                                            4 South Tyneside
                                                            5 Sunderland
                                                            6 Hartlepool
                                                            7 Stockton-on-Tees
                                                            8 Middlesbrough

                                                                  Thirteen Core Area
                                                                  Thirteen Operational Area
            Northumberland

                                  2        3
                                                4
                                  1
                                             5

                       County Durham

                                                        6

                                   Darlington       7   8       Redcar and
                                                                 Cleveland

                                                                            Scarborough

                 Richmondshire
                                         Hambleton

                                                                           Ryedale

           Craven
                                 Harrogate

                                                                 York

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
2. Our Philosophy

  Why we exist                                                            Our geographic focus
  Thirteen is a housing association that believes every                   We operate across the North East and North Yorkshire.
  relationship matters, choices can make a difference and we can          Our regeneration and social value work is focused on the
  change things for the better.                                           Tees Valley.

  Our vision                                                              Colleague promise
  We provide homes, support and opportunities to grow. We’re              Be the best you can be at Thirteen and we’ll do our best
  here for anyone who needs a home and maybe a helping hand               to create great days at work, working with you to create
  too.                                                                    an experience that helps you feel proud, valued, energised
                                                                          and challenged, as well as connected and informed
  Our mission
  We are a caring landlord and housing developer. We’re about             Our essentials
  investing in neighbourhoods and making a major contribution             Keeping everything safe, we understand customer need,
  to the regeneration of the Tees Valley.                                 we have strong financials, are looking to reduce our
                                                                          environmental impact, simplify the way we work and have
  Our core activities                                                     clear communication.
  We offer homes to rent, buy outright or part buy, we have an
  in-house building contractor, we offer specialist support
  services, we offer great customer service no matter how you
  come into contact with us, we manage neighbourhoods and
  build new homes.

  Customer promise
  We promise a home for your life, whether that’s a space to enjoy,
  a haven to return to every night, or somewhere to put down
  roots; we’re here to provide what you prefer. We want you to be
  safe and happy where you live so we invest in neighbourhoods
  too.
                                                                                  We’re about investing in
                                                                                neighbourhoods and making
                                                                                 a major contribution to the
                                                                               regeneration of the Tees Valley.

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
3. What We Can Fix – and How

Focusing on our operating                                                                           Deprivation in neighbourhoods
environment means we have                                                                           Public sector cuts and welfare reform
a wide understanding of the                                                                         changes are badly affecting some customers,
                                                                                                    with crime, fear of crime and financial distress
challenges as well as the
                                                                                                    being real issues in some neighbourhoods.
opportunities facing us and                                                                         We can help customers deal with money
how we can shape our business                                                                       matters and help them into work and we
further to grow, enhance                                                                            can also look to make further improvements
services and address issues to                                                                      in neighbourhoods with our partners. As
                                                                                                    part of this, we can maintain and create new
fix problems.                                                                                       neighbourhood support that helps alleviate
                                                                                                    public sector cuts in services that affect
Working in Partnership the areas of
                                                                                                    customers’ lives.
focus will be:
Supporting the local economy                                                                        Creating new housing markets
The Tees Valley already has a world-class          homes for customers on low incomes but
                                                                                                    Where areas need improving, we can deliver
reputation across key sectors in the offshore,     we can deliver new affordable and shared
                                                                                                    development and improvement projects
advanced manufacturing and engineering,            ownership homes to meet these needs
                                                                                                    to improve the area’s economy, as well its
chemicals and process and logistics sectors.       through our development programme and
                                                                                                    environment as a place to live, including
                                                   our in-house contractor.
There’s also been major investment in                                                               bringing old properties back to life. Within
infrastructure and facilities, creating sectors    Tees Valley                                      Tees Valley, we are concentrating our
that are full of potential for future investors.                                                    development and social value work on former
                                                   There are big gaps between high price
Key emerging sectors include life sciences,                                                         Housing Market Renewal Areas. This year we
                                                   and low-price areas; and some core urban
digital, energy and renewable and business                                                          completed West End Gardens in Stockton
                                                   areas suffer from low value, unpopular
services.                                                                                           and are bringing forward proposals for
                                                   stock. Tees Valley has very high levels of
                                                                                                    Gresham in Middlesbrough and South Bank
The Tees Valley Combined Authority has an          social deprivation and areas of significant
                                                                                                    in Redcar & Cleveland. This builds on our
ambitious Strategic Economic Plan to grow          affluence. The population and the number
                                                                                                    promise to deliver projects that help create
the local economy, creating 25,000 new jobs        of households in Tees Valley will continue to
                                                                                                    new housing markets.
over the next ten years, adding £2.8bn to          rise. Growth will be driven to a great extent
the economy by 2026. We can help support           by an ageing population and a rise in the        Older people
the local economy with a housing offer that        number of single person households. The
                                                                                                    There’s a growing elderly population
not only attracts people to the area but that      housing market underperforms in comparison
                                                                                                    and we can help ensure people can live
keeps them here too.                               to national and regional benchmarks. There
                                                                                                    independently as long as possible by
                                                   are many very successful parts of the Tees
                                                                                                    providing new places to live that best meet
Housing affordability                              Valley’s housing markets, and there are
                                                                                                    their needs. Not only that; we also adapt
Houses still aren’t affordable in many areas,      opportunities to further develop new housing
                                                                                                    homes and provide specialist support
with average house prices between five and         products and services to enable people to
                                                                                                    services through our Thirteen Plus range of
seven times the average household earnings.        access quality homes. Requirements for
                                                                                                    services and can even help create support
In every area of the North East and North          housing that is suitable for older people will
                                                                                                    packages so that people don’t need to be
Yorkshire, there’s not enough new affordable       increase greatly.
                                                                                                    admitted to hospital or care homes.

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Thirteen's Strategic Plan 2020-25 - Providing Homes and so Much More - Thirteen Group
Our Core Services                                  Neighbourhood coordinators                       Anti-social behaviour
Looking after our homes                            The face of Thirteen on every estate is the      Everyone wants to live comfortably so this
Thirteen’s housing properties are worth            neighbourhood coordinator, who can help          is something we take really seriously. It can
almost £1 billion. To keep them in good order,     with a range of matters including tenancy        range from barking dogs or loud music next
we have 365 vehicles transport and employ          issues and concerns such as bills or rent        door to threatening behaviour and hate
450 plumbers, plasterers, electricians, joiners,   accounts. The coordinators also work             related issues. Customers can report this to
gas fitters, decorators and bricklayers to carry   with local councils and police to improve        us on our website or by phone. A dedicated
out tens of thousands of repairs every year        neighbourhoods and lead estate walkabouts,       officer will contact people within a day to
– with 97.79% of them completed on the first       keeping an eye open for issues like fly-         plan a solution and support them through it.
visit last year. Additional services including     tipping, minor damage to properties and          Customers recently scored the service 9.7 out
concierge and cleaning in some properties          graffiti.                                        of 10.
means people can feel safe and comfortable
in their homes.
                                                   The local environment                            Bespoke residential services
                                                   Our grounds maintenance team looks               Our specialist team offers a range of
                                                   after public and communal areas, keeping         accommodation from student properties and
                                                   the grass cut and trimming hedges, trees         NHS accommodation to supported properties
                                                   and shrubs. We’ve introduced grounds             for people with learning disabilities. The team
                                                   maintenance inspectors - customer                also offers a service working with private
                                                   volunteers who check on the quality of           landlords to manage their homes for them,
                                                   the work and report their findings. We           including renting and repairing them.
                                                   also work with partner organisations on
                                                   projects to transform local areas, with £5m of
                                                   environmental work already in the pipeline.

           £38m
      spent on repairing and
     maintaining existing homes

Improving neighbourhoods
Tenants and customers want to see our
staff more in their neighbourhoods, helping
them deal with day-to-day issues. That’s
why we introduced an operating model that
puts neighbourhoods at the heart of the
business, working closely with customers and
communities.

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Building new homes                                of guidance and life skills to help them live
We build a range of new homes for social rent     independently.
and affordable rent to buy-in part with shared
                                                  Profound learning disabilities
ownership, as well as rent-to-buy and homes
for market sale. Through Gus Robinson             It’s right for people with complex needs to
Developments, we’re also building homes for       move from institutional settings out into
other housing associations and developers.        the community wherever possible. That’s
                                                  why, along with our NHS partners, we plan
Building contractor                               and build high quality housing that allows
Gus Robinson Developments provides a wide         maximum independence, cushioned by
range of construction and building services,      expert care and support and we also find
working with local authorities, health trusts,    appropriate homes for people with mental
education authorities and private businesses      health and physical disabilities.
to build high quality, cost effective and award
winning homes and other facilities to meet
the aspirations of clients and their customers.
                                                                                                     Supported living
INDEPENDENT LIVING                                                                                   We manage purpose-built self-contained one
For younger people                                                                                   or two-bedroom apartments or bungalows
Because housing is our business, we’re                                                               across the North East. Available for a range
perfectly placed to use our skills and                                                               of tenures, they’re grouped in supported
resources to construct or convert buildings                                                          living communities, featuring full wheelchair
tailored to particular groups of young people                                                        access, lifts, CCTV and secure entry, out-of-
who would welcome a protective roof over                                                             hours repairs service (some with a part-time

                                                  Over 6,000
their heads.                                                                                         caretaker) and regular social activities.

Leaving care                                                                                         Sheltered housing
We provide a bridge to ease a young person’s             people benefitted from                      On-site support officers assist with housing
passage into the working world: secure                     additional services                       management, coordinate repairs, respond to
and supported accommodation in houses                                                                queries and look after the building’s health
with ensuite bedrooms, communal kitchen                                                              and safety. They’re linked to community
                                                  Older people
and lounge, staffed 24/7. Key workers help                                                           monitoring centres which respond to
                                                  The proportion of older people in the Tees         emergencies with telecare options to monitor
people deal with issues such as health and
                                                  Valley’s population is growing, with the           long-term health conditions. We offer similar
relationships and develop life skills – from
                                                  number of over-65s predicted to increase           schemes with special features for Chinese
cooking to managing money – to help them
                                                  by 41% in the next 20 years. But that doesn’t      elders.
stand on their own two feet.
                                                  mean their quality of life has to diminish. We
Teenage parents and young                         offer a range of affordable housing options        Extra care housing
families                                          to match the needs of people as they grow          Extra care schemes allow people to live
                                                  older, as well as adaptations not just for older   independently for longer, through the
Becoming a parent is never easy, especially
                                                  people but for customers needing a change          provision of on-site care and support to meet
for a teenager – whether single or in a new
                                                  to their home to enable them to stay living        individual needs. Schemes feature communal
relationship. That’s why we provide high
                                                  there independently.                               spaces to encourage social integration,
quality accommodation that’s safe and
secure, and work with young parents to                                                               bistros and commercial units.
develop personal support plans and a range

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REACHING OUT A HELPING HAND                          Gaining employment                              Money management
Thirteen’s support services                          Our specialist teams help people from the       Our money advice team provides information
We believe that people can make the most             age of 15 who want to work, learn or train      about budgeting, bank accounts, savings and
of life’s opportunities, given the right extra       for a job. Team members create a personal       loans and credit unions. They help more than
help at the right point in their life journey. Our   training and development plan and provide       2,000 people a year claim the benefits they’re
support services reach out to people in our          one-to-one mentoring and coaching in            entitled to and deal with benefit and debt
own properties, as well as to others struggling      interview techniques, personal presentation,    problems.
with life’s challenges.                              CV writing and job search skills.
                                                                                                     Support to stay
Preventing homelessness                              Apprenticeships                                 Our expert team visits people falling behind
Our specialist teams work with people who            As one of the largest employers in the          with rent payments to explore what’s putting
are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless         North East, Thirteen is playing a major role    their tenancy at risk, such as financial issues,
to improve their lives by offering advice and        in offering apprenticeship opportunities        welfare benefits or health problems. We
practical support. This can include help with        to gain work experience, earn a salary and      work with them over three to six months to
finding a home or a job, building resilience         work towards a recognised qualification         overcome these issues. In just its first year,
or working towards personal independence.            in plumbing, joinery, gas or electrical         the team helped more than 200 residents
Our trailblazing Key Step programme offers           engineering, business administration, finance   and was recognised for its pioneering work at
fully furnished properties for single people         and much more.                                  the UK Housing Awards.
to share for up to six months, with utility bills
included in a weekly charge. Prison leavers
of any age with nowhere to go can be helped
with single person accommodation.

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4. What Our Customers and
Stakeholders Say
Customer satisfaction                               Involvement in preparing this plan              improve performance through collaborative
Customers are at the centre of what we do           We have engaged with customers, employees       and smart working and it is key to us that
and that’s why it’s vital to hear their voice and   and wider stakeholders as we have produced      they can see the areas where they can make
not just to listen to, but also to respond to,      this plan with a particular focus on ensuring   a difference and understand the improvement
any issues raised.                                  that the impact and outcome of our key          in performance as a result. The feedback
                                                    activities deliver what is expected.            from this group has again helped to inform
We gather our customers’ views in a range of                                                        the Key Performance indicators but has also
ways; including a neighbourhood perception          The feedback that we received during            strengthened the narrative regarding impact
survey and most recently, in our Survey             this process has been factored into the         and outcome which will ensure ownership
of Tenants and Residents (STAR). This is            plan, largely within section 5; some of the     and delivery across the organisation.
carried out by an external company every            key performance indicators that we have
year and measures the satisfaction of our           included have been directly influenced by the   Carbon reduction
customers with a range of areas of our              customer feedback as it is important to us      Our ability to respond to the carbon
business and service delivery.                      that they can see we are measuring the right    challenge appeared quite strongly in
                                                    things and the difference we are making.        feedback from all consultation groups and
Our last results showed that the speed of
repairs and the neighbourhood as a place to                                                         we have included this within priority 2,
                                                    Stakeholders and partners
live were two areas we needed to improve.                                                           specifically the Home of 2030 project; we
                                                    Wider stakeholders have told us that they       have recently commissioned our 3 yearly
That’s why we’ve focused a great deal of our
                                                    agree with our direction of travel and they     stock condition survey and have widened
work in these areas over the last 12 months and
                                                    see us as innovative and ‘ahead of the game’.   the scope to include a review of our ability
we’re pleased to say our recent STAR survey
                                                    They value the open and honest way we           to achieve a zero carbon position by 2030 in
results have revealed the positive impact this
                                                    engage with them and many see us as a           addition to the increased building regulation
has had.
                                                    trusted partner, with an interest for some to   requirements. The output from this survey
Our most recent STAR survey revealed:               do more with us in delivering our care and      will inform our environmental targets going
• Overall customer satisfaction with our            support services provision. They support        forward, setting these once we understand
  service has risen to 89% since last year          our ambitions although they would like to       our baseline and the scale of the challenge
• Satisfaction with their neighbourhood as a        ensure that we do not spread ourselves too      is important to us and will direct investment
  place to live has grown to 87%                    thin, something that we are very aware of       appropriately.
                                                    and keep at the heart of major investment
• The way we deal with repairs and
                                                    decisions as steered by the Board.
  maintenance has also improved with
  84% of customers saying they’re satisfied
                                                    Colleagues and engaged customers
• When it comes to their rent providing
                                                    The consultation with colleagues, as with
  value for money, 91% of customers agreed
                                                    our engaged customers focused on impact,
  this is the case
                                                    outcomes and using the right performance
The survey has also given us some areas             measures to be able to demonstrate that we
to focus on further such as listening and           have delivered our ambitions. Our colleagues
responding to customer views and this is            understand the importance of delivering
already being addressed through our new             a quality service and seeing how we can
customer framework.

                                                                         13
5. Our Priorities

 Priority One – Great Customer Experience

Why it’s important to us                          Our customers carried out a full review to      • Maintain 100% of complaints resolved
We want to ensure our customers see us as         help improve how we solve queries and             within five working days
the housing association of choice. We believe     issues the first time someone contacts
                                                                                                  • Reduce the average days to turnaround a
that everyone should get the same quality of      us, and our board approved the proposed
                                                                                                    void from 45 days to 30
service, no matter where and how they come        action plan. Following a trial, we extended
                                                  our customer contact centre opening times       • Reduce the level of debt owed by current
into contact with us.
                                                  to 8am to 8pm and also secured Customer           and former tenants to median quartile
Progress so far                                   Service Excellence accreditation.               • Improve first contact resolution to our
Overall satisfaction shows customers would        We know some people need a helping hand           target of 80%
recommend us to others – but they’ve              and that’s why we also continue to focus on
also previously said they want a closer           accommodation-based support and specialist
                                                                                                  Areas for improvement, to achieve
relationship with our teams. That’s why           support services.
                                                                                                  these outcomes
we introduced our operating model that                                                            • Improve overall customer satisfaction from
                                                  Despite the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC)
puts neighbourhoods at the heart of our                                                             89% to 90%
                                                  across our operating area, our approach in
business, so we know our areas and the                                                            • Satisfying more customers by tailoring
                                                  supporting customers into UC means the
people in them even more, can create an                                                             their experience (differential offer)
                                                  amount of money people owe us has been
even bigger impact on our communities and
                                                  reducing.                                       • Reduce the number of customers
give customers a greater voice. As part of
the model we reshaped many teams, making                                                            leaving us
                                                  Outcomes we’ll deliver
us much easier to do business with and our                                                        • Reduce the number of voids to get to top
                                                  • Improved customer experience
customers are noticing a positive difference.                                                       quartile performance and increase rental
Learning from customer feedback, we’ve also       • Less debt being owed to Thirteen
                                                                                                    income
significantly improved core services such as      • Increased insight
                                                                                                  • Promote and focus our support services to
delivering repairs right first time, the number   • Differentiated offer
                                                                                                    sustain tenancies
one request from tenants, which included          • Additional independent living spaces
bringing in a repairs system that’s better for                                                    • Less debt owed
                                                  • Maximised benefits / income for
allocating jobs.                                                                                  • More requests dealt with digitally
                                                    customers
Last year we also decided to change our           • More customers in employment and
approach to lettings and come out of the                                                          Key partners we’ll work with to
                                                    training
Compass choice based lettings partnership                                                         deliver this priority
after listening to a raft of customer and         Maintaining performance                         Health and care commissioners, local and
colleague feedback. We’re really pleased          improvement in these areas                      national government, NHS, care providers
to be able to introduce a new platform, My                                                        and DWP
                                                  • Maintain percentage of repair jobs fixed
Thirteen, making it easier for people to get        first time at above 90%
a home with us, manage their tenancy and
access our services.                              • Maintain 100% valid landlord gas safety
                                                    certificates

                                                                        14
Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority
 1.1 Touchpoints Programme
 We believe everyone should get the same quality of service, no matter where and how they come into contact with
 us. That’s why we’re investing in our touchpoints programme, including a high street presence, enhanced digital
 approach and investing in our contact systems, to promote the range of services that we have to offer in addition to
 making all of our services more accessible, direct, quick and easy.

 Key outputs / activities                                                       Lead:                    When:
 • Improved customer experience                                                 Executive Director –     2020-25
 • Improved productivity                                                        Customer Services
 • Efficiency savings
 • Digital engagement

 1.2 Promote our total service offer
 As well as the core services we provide as a housing association landlord, in conjunction with 1.1 above, we need
 to promote the range of additional services that are available to current and potential tenants and customers,
 including specialist housing, support services and independent living.
 Key outputs / activities                                                       Lead:                    When:
 • Improved take-up of services                                                 Executive Director –     2020
 • More of our tenants staying with us longer                                   Customer Services
 • Letting more of our homes and quicker
 • Improved customer experience
 • Less debt owed

                                                          15
5. Our Priorities (continued)

Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority
 1.3 New service offers
 So we can respond to customer demand and the issues they face, we’re going to carry out some in-depth research
 to give us more detailed customer insight and decide if we can develop new services to improve matters for
 customers. We’ll be looking at whether we can do more to improve deprived neighbourhoods, how we can tailor our
 services to meet specific needs even further, how we can better respond to anti-social behaviour and what we can
 do to provide services for young people as well as to help people live independently for longer.
 Key outputs / activities                                                      Lead:                    When:
 • Business case for changing our neighbourhood service provision to 		        Executive Director –     2020
   increase impact on customers                                                Business Growth
 • Business case to differentiate our customer experience for differing
   people
 • Business case for improving how we deal with anti-social behaviour
 • Business case for youth zones/work
 • Business case for independent living support services

 1.4 Thirteen Plus - health and independence
 People’s lives are changed as we help them into healthier independent living. Our range of specialist
 accommodation is tailored to the needs of people including care leavers, the homeless, teenage parents, people
 with profound learning disabilities and victims of domestic abuse. We offer home adaptations to help older people
 stay in their homes longer and supported accommodation when they choose to move on. We’ll build a further 700
 homes for people with specialist needs.
 However, we go beyond bricks and mortar to develop targeted help and support so people who need some help
 can live more successfully. Our ever-growing range of support services includes money advice and financial
 planning, help with Universal Credit, tenancy enforcement, help to get into work or training and homeless support.
 Key outputs / activities                                                      Lead:                    When:
 • Building 384 new independent living places to live by 2025                  MD Thirteen              2020-25
                                                                               Developments
 • Investing £7.5m by 2025 for home adaptations so older people can stay       Executive Director –     2025
   in their homes for longer                                                   Assets
 • Investing £9.2m in support services to improve the health and 		            Executive Director –     2020-25
   independence of our clients and customers                                   Business Growth
 •   Helping residents sustain their tenancies                                 Executive Director –     2020-25
 •   Investing £10m in tenancy support services for tenants                    Customer Services
 •   Secure at least £6m in additional benefits for tenants
 •   Helping 2,000 tenants get help into work or training
 •   Reducing the level of debt people owe
                                                          16
By delivering the above we will
see that
• Our Customers will trust us to           • We will be able to invest more in       • Customers, both existing and
  do what we say, and we deliver             services and products for                 potential, will know what products
  extraordinary services                     customers through effective and           and services we offer, how to
                                             efficient working                         access them, how they work for
                                           • Customers will be able to afford to       them and will maximise take up
                                             live a healthy lifestyle in their own
                                             homes
We will measure progress by
          Key                    Forecast                                  Targets
 Ref      Performance                                                                                             Lead
          Indicator              2019/20       2020/21       2021/22       2022/23      2023/24      2024/25

         Satisfaction with our
  1.01                             89.1%         90%           90%            90%         90%          90%        SDCE
           service (overall)
         Net Promoter Score
 1.02    (would recommend          53.1%         60%           60%            61%         62%          63%        SDCE
              Thirteen)
            % households
 1.03    accessing services        7,000         9,000        12,000        13,500       15,000       17,000      SDCE
               digitally
           Rent collected
 1.04      excluding FTAs          99.3%         99.4%         99.5%         99.6%       99.7%        99.8%        SDN
             (% of Debit)
         Total current tenant
 1.05                              £5m          £5.92m        £5.62m        £5.39m      £5.07m       £4.85m        SDN
          arrears (Amount)

            Total Current
 1.06                              3.43%         3.97%         3.60%         3.29%       2.94%        2.70%        SDN
         arrears (% of debit)

         Total former tenant
 1.07                            £3.90m         £4.10m        £4.23m        £4.33m      £4.40m       £4.44m      FDT&P
          arrears (Amount)

         Total former tenant
 1.08                              2.73%         2.68%         2.65%         2.59%       2.51%        2.43%      FDT&P
         arrears (% of debit)
         % of Customers on
 1.09     Universal credit         28%            35%          40%            45%         50%          53%         SDN
               (UC)

                                                              17
We will measure progress by
        Key                    Forecast                       Targets
 Ref    Performance                                                                         Lead
        Indicator              2019/20    2020/21   2021/22   2022/23   2023/24   2024/25

        % of debt attributed
 1.10                            58%       60%       63%       66%       68%       72%      SDCSS
        to customers on UC

         % UC customers         Below      Below     Below     Below     Below     Below
 1.11                                                                                       SDCSS
            on APA               30%        30%       30%       30%       30%       30%

         Income / benefits
 1.12                           £2m+       £2m+      £2m+      £2m+      £2m+      £2m+     SDCSS
            generated

            Individuals
 1.13                            600       600       400       350       350       350      SDCSS
        supported into work

         New Independent                                                                    SDCSS
 1.14                            48         66           75     84        87        72
         living homes built                                                                 SDNHD
            Complaint
 1.15      completed in         100%       100%      100%      100%      100%      100%      SDG
            target time

                                                    18
Priority Two – Delivering quality places to live and improving neighbourhoods

Why it’s important to us                          for older people and those with learning or     Maintaining performance
The quality of neighbourhoods is as               mental health issues are still an important     improvement in these areas:
important as the quality of the housing and       part of our development programme.              • Maintain 70% of our homes having a high
contributes to quality of life. We can’t create   Alongside all this, our subsidiary Thirteen       energy efficiency rating
a sense of community, but we can help             Homes offers homes for outright sale, with
                                                  the profits going back into Thirteen to         • Maintain Green grade compliance with
put in place the conditions to help make it
                                                  invest in our charitable activities. Having       Homes England for our development
happen. That’s why our operating model puts
                                                  contractor Gus Robinson Developments as           programme
neighbourhoods at the heart of everything we
do, ensuring we work with partners to deliver     part of our group ensures we have the right
                                                                                                  Areas for improvement
exactly what’s right to help communities          skills, expertise and capacity to deliver our
                                                  development strategy.                           • Increase the pipeline of sites for new
thrive.
                                                                                                    homes under contract
We’ll continue to maintain and invest in our      Outcomes we’ll deliver                          • Spending to funding profiles
houses and estates and provide a range            • More of our tenants staying with us longer    • Improve customer perceptions of their
of new homes and tenures to address the
                                                  • Letting more of our homes and quicker           neighbourhood as a place to live
housing needs in our operating area. By
being more efficient, we’ll invest more in        • Fewer empty homes                             Key partners we’ll work with to
neighbourhoods to improve the housing             • Being the landlord / housing provider         deliver this priority
offer and the place and provide employment          of choice                                     Major suppliers (such as Travis Perkins), the
opportunities to make a major contribution to     • High quality homes                            combined authority, house builders, local
the regeneration of the Tees Valley.              • Increase in new homes – affordable rent,      authorities, other housing associations, other
                                                    shared ownership and market sale              large employers in the region and community
Progress so far                                                                                   groups/stakeholders.
                                                  • Reduced environmental impact
We have a long-term investment programme
of over £1bn to update our homes by               • Environmental Improvements
replacing roofs, kitchens and bathrooms.            (sustainable homes)
We’re starting to pilot new investment            • Increased jobs and apprentices in
initiatives within our neighbourhoods such          construction
as street cleaning, to improve the area for       • Continuous improvement and increasing
customers. Our programme to build new               the value of existing stock
affordable homes is growing, with a pipeline      • Continuing to meet / exceed building
of new development schemes across the               safety standards
North East and North Yorkshire, including
more than 400 this year alone. We’ve
recently become a Homes England partner
to increase our development programme
by another 1,000 homes. Specialist homes

                                                                        19
5. Our Priorities (continued)

Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority
 2.1 Investing in our homes
 We have a continuous programme of improving our stock. Last year we invested £38m in our homes and
 neighbourhoods, which compares really well with our peers. A typical year sees 4,000 homes receiving work,
 including new roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors and energy efficient boilers installed. Over the next
 five years, 20,000 homes will see improvements.

 Key outputs / activities                                                      Lead:                    When:
 • £400m invested in our current homes for tenants over the next               Executive Director -     2020-25
   five years                                                                  Assets
 • Improved customer satisfaction
 • Less tenancy turnover

 2.2 Neighbourhoods at the heart
 There’ll be a number of neighbourhood improvement and regeneration pilots, with intensive neighbourhood
 management to ensure customers have a safe home and quality neighbourhood, leading to a lasting tenancy. We’ll
 consider investment in existing homes, the spaces between homes, our development programme and regeneration
 all together and based on the needs and opportunities for each place. Working with partners means we can make
 an even bigger impact than on our own
 Key outputs / activities                                                      Lead:                    When:
 • £31m invested over the next five years                                      Executive Director –     2020-25
 • Improved customer satisfaction                                              Business Growth
 • Improved customer perception of the area where they live
 • Less tenancy turnover
 • Reduced voids
 • Intensive neighbourhood pilots
 • Increased partnership working
 • Improved stakeholder perception

                                                          20
2.3 Building new homes
As people move through life, they want more choice. Last year we spent £38m on developing new homes. Our plan
is to build 3,200 places for people to live over the next five years including affordable, shared ownership and homes
for market sale.
Key outputs / activities                                                       Lead:                     When:
• Building 3,200 new affordable and shared ownership homes by 2025             MD Thirteen               2020-25
• Building 308 new homes for market sale by 2025, with the profit being        Developments
  reinvested back into our social purpose
• Creating 6,000 jobs from construction investment
• Creating 300 apprenticeships for local people

2.4 High-rise blocks
When we reviewed our 18 high-rise blocks during 2018, we concluded we’d rehome people in five of the buildings
(which is nearly completed), demolish the blocks and replace them with new housing. We’ve found new homes for
almost everyone affected.
We continue to monitor the asset performance of the remaining high-rise. We’re also installing sprinklers and
misting systems to our remaining high-rise blocks, with two blocks already completed.

Key outputs / activities                                                       Lead:                     When:
• Complete the relocation of the remaining households from five                MD Thirteen               2020-25
  high-rise blocks which will then be decommissioned and replaced with         Developments
  new homes
• Agreeing proposals to demolish the affected five blocks
• Securing planning consent to replace the blocks with new homes
• Deliver new homes on these sites
• Deliver sprinklers and misting systems to all our remaining
  high-rise blocks
• Keep all other high-rise blocks under review and explore alternative
  sustainable use where appropriate

                                                          21
Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority (continued)
 2.5 Home of 2030
 Expectations are changing about what a home should be. Over the next 12 months, we’ll start to build homes from
 our new range of house types so our brand quality is consistent, and we can improve costs.
 We’ll also be trialling and delivering new methods of construction to improve quality and decrease construction
 times. New environmental measures are also being introduced to reduce the carbon impact of new homes, with
 the Government announcing that gas boilers will be banned in new homes from 2025 to tackle climate change and
 a new homes standard, enforcing the end of fossil fuel heating systems and delivering lower carbon and lower fuel
 bills.
 We’ll explore what the house of 2030 should look like, so we keep pace with changing expectations.

 Key outputs / activities                                                       Lead:                     When:
 • Create a new house type range                                                MD Thirteen               2020
 • Ensure we keep pace with building regulation and environmental 		            Developments
   standards
 • Improve customer satisfaction
 • Reduce running costs for customers
 • High quality products

By delivering the above we will see that

• We have popular neighbourhoods        • We will have more diverse              • We are delivering a range of homes
  with a stable community and             communities that are served              to suit our customers wherever
  reduced anti-social behaviour           through an outstanding housing           they are in their lives
                                          offer                                  • We have net growth in unit
                                        • We are meeting demand and 		             numbers to bring better services
                                          providing choice                         and products to more people
We will measure progress by
         Key                  Forecast                                Targets
 Ref     Performance                                                                                              Lead
         Indicator            2019/20       2020/21     2021/22      2022/23        2023/24     2024/25
          Affordable units
 2.01      developed % of       1.25%        1.18%        1.63%        1.85%         2.07%        2.15%       SDNHD
            current stock
          Average new let
 2.02                             2            2              2           2            2              2       SDNHD
                days
            Days to sale,
 2.03        affordable          173          173             155        140          126          113        SDNHD
        (since completion)
         Satisfaction with
 2.04     new affordable         9.0          9.1             9.2        9.3          9.4          9.5        SDNHD
                home
            Days to sale,
 2.05      outright sales       N/A           56              52         48            44          40        MDTHD
        (since completion)
         Satisfaction with
 2.06    new outright sale      N/A           7.5             7.5        7.8          8.0          8.0       MDTHD
                home

                                                         22
Key
Ref    Performance           Forecast                           Targets                          Lead
       Indicator
         Average costs
2.07   per sq. mtr overall    £1,363      £1,404     £1,446     £1,489     £1,534     £1,580     SDNHD
       (affordable build)
         Average costs
2.08   per sq. mtr overall     N/A         £1,183     £1,123    £1,067      £1,014     £963      MDTHD
        (outright sales)
       Profit on outright
2.09                            15%         15%        19%        18%        14%        17%      MDTHD
       sales (margin %)
           Return from
       shared ownership:
2.10                           10%         16.5%      16.5%      16.5%      16.5%      16.5%     MDTHD
        first tranche and
            staircasing
       Money spent with
       local contractors
2.11                           70.6%        75%        75%        75%        75%        75%       EDA
       as a % of the total
             spend
        Number of new
2.12    jobs created in        NPM          500       1,000      2,000      4,000      6,000     MDTHD
         construction
           Number of
           apprentice
2.13                           NPM          50         100        175        250        300      MDTHD
         jobs created in
          construction
        Headline Social
2.14                          £3,582      £3,655     £3,684     £3,809      £3,821    £3,910     SDT&P
         Housing CPU
        Average calendar
2.15   days to complete a        8           8            8        7          7          7       SDI&M
             repair
2.16 Voids – cost per unit    £4,550      £4,550     £4,450     £4,400     £4,350     £4,300     SDI&M
       Voids – vacant and
2.17                            220         200        200        200        200        200       SDN
         available to let
2.18    Voids relet time        32          25            21      20         19         18        SDN
        ASB – cases per
2.19                           19.83        20            25      24         22         22       SDCSS
          1,000 units
        Tenancy turnover
2.20                           10%          11%           11%     11%        11%        11%       SDN
       (rolling 12 months)
        Average tenancy
2.21                         10.3 years   10 Years   10 Years   10 Years   10 Years   10 Years    SDN
             length
       Investment / 1000
2.22                          £2.141m     £2.120m    £2.257m    £2.384m    £2.491m    £2.601m     EDA
             homes
       Asset compliance
2.23                           100%        100%       100%       100%       100%       100%       EDA
        tests all passed

                                                     23
Priority Three - Being Team Thirteen

Why it’s important to us                          • A new colleague induction process              • Strong governance, ensuring we remain
Team Thirteen is about being high                                                                    legal, safe and fully compliant
                                                  • A review of our reward strategy and
performing, collaborative and efficient. We         subsequent frameworks                          • Embedded agile working arrangements
want to be an employer of choice, focused
                                                  • A Rising Stars programme to develop            • Reduced running costs of our buildings to
on the continued development of board
                                                    future talent and leaders                        support service delivery
directors and colleagues with the necessary
skills and experience to deliver this strategy.   • Improvement over the last 12 months in         • Delivery against our efficiency targets
The ability to deliver high quality services to     staff engagement (ENPS score) from
                                                                                                   • Reduced carbon footprint
our 70,000 plus customers in a coordinated          16 to 39 (good/outstanding)
way depends critically on attracting and          • Starting our Right Space, Right Place          Maintaining performance
retaining the right people with the right           programme to reduce our office locations       improvement in these areas:
skills who are ambassadors for Thirteen.            and overheads                                  • We want to retain our G1 and V1 rating
Part of that means providing a supportive                                                            from our regulator, as effective
and motivating environment for our 1,600          • Support for agile working with investment
                                                                                                     governance, financial viability, value for
colleagues.                                         in systems and equipment
                                                                                                     money and being more efficient are key
                                                  • Maintaining our G1 and V1 rating from            drivers in everything we do.
Progress so far                                     our regulator
After consolidating Thirteen into one                                                              • One of our aims is to keep a social housing
                                                  • Securing additional borrowing through            operating margin of above 30% and
business, we reshaped teams to ensure
                                                    the year so that we can deliver the              continue to make efficiencies across the
we have the right capacity, resilience, skills
                                                    ambition of the plan.                            business.
and aptitudes to deliver, with our new
operating model at the centre. People know        • We moved from IIP Bronze to IIP Silver         • Maintain our track-record of delivering
the expectations on them, they’re in the            last year despite significant changes in the     efficiencies
right place and role and any obstacles to           business
performance, development and growth have                                                           Key partners we’ll work with to
been removed. So far, this has included:          Outcomes we’ll deliver                           deliver this priority
                                                  • Everything safe                                Funders, investors, legal and financial
• The development of role profiles
  including expectations of behaviours            • Responding effectively to customer need        advisors.
  and accountabilities at each level across       • Strong financials with more than enough
  the business                                      headroom to deliver the plan
• The implementation of a digitised               • Simplified ways of working
  performance management framework for
  all colleagues                                  • Being an employer of choice with high
                                                    colleague net promoter score and
• The introduction of a suite of employment         continued investment in our people
  policies, procedures and toolkits

                                                                       24
Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority
 3.1 Be Thirteen – improving our colleagues’ experience of working with us
 Thirteen colleagues are passionate about what they do. They care about making a difference and striving to
 improve. Proud of our achievements, we also know we have areas to improve and these are firmly in our plans. We
 need to remain flexible and further embed the agile working ethos, with a clear focus on our role in helping address
 housing need and improving services for the people in our area. Each element of the employee’s life cycle is of vital
 importance; from ‘attract me’, to ‘get me started’, to ‘develop me’, right through to ‘wish me farewell’, so we attract
 and retain excellent colleagues.

 Key outputs / activities                                                         Lead:                     When:
 • Improve colleague Net Promoter Score to 40+ in 2021                            Executive Director –
 • Complete pensions review                                                       Business Change           2021
                                                                                  and Improvement

 3.2 Right Space, Right Place
 Introducing our operating model led to not as many colleagues using all our main offices, so we reviewed our bases
 and our board agreed to move all our support services to Hudson Quay in Middlesbrough and lease Northshore in
 Stockton as managed workspace. Every colleague’s workplace is important, so we’ll be investing in all our settings
 over the coming years and we’ll have determined the most efficient way to run our Middlesbrough office. We’ll also
 explore if more bases are needed in neighbourhoods and support agile working with systems and equipment.
 Key outputs / activities                                                         Lead:                     When:
 • Desk ratio from 1:1 to 0.75                                                    Executive Director –      2020-25
 • Reduced running costs                                                          Assets
 • Streamlined systems and processes                                              Executive Director –      2022
                                                                                  Business Change
                                                                                  and Improvement

 3.3 Doing things differently
 We have a track record of making efficiencies so we can deal with cost and income pressures without impacting on
 service delivery. While many of our services are already low-cost compared to other housing associations, we know
 we can still explore doing things differently to make additional cashable efficiencies that can be reinvested back
 into the business. We’ll continue to explore high cost areas and ways of delivering services differently.
 Key outputs / activities                                                         Lead:                     When:
 • Achieve cashable efficiencies of 3% of turnover each year to be                Executive Director –      2020-25
   reinvested back into the organisation to make further service 		               Business Change
   improvements                                                                   and Improvement
 • Secure value engineering by the use of expertise from Gus Robinson 		          MD Thirteen Homes         2021
   Developments

                                                           25
Major activities we will deliver to achieve this priority
 3.4 Environmental management
 We want to make our organisation more environmentally conscious and get all colleagues on board in helping
 stamp out our direct carbon emissions, in turn reducing the negative impact we have on the planet. Everyone
 at Thirteen is working internally to reduce our direct operational impact and we also want to work with partners,
 suppliers and subcontractors to lower this more widely. This is both an environmentally responsible thing to do but
 also makes great business sense.

 Key outputs / activities                                                        Lead:                    When:
 • Reduced carbon footprint                                                      Executive Director –     2020-25
 • Increased recycling                                                           Assets
 • Minimised waste
 • Conserving water
 • Introduce a Green Fleet

 3.5 Financing the plan
 We have significant financial capacity to deliver this plan but to deliver the level of investment planned within our
 existing homes and neighbourhoods as well as in new homes, we’ll need to secure additional borrowing (within our
 financial capacity) so that we can deliver the ambition of the plan.
 Key outputs / activities                                                        Lead:                    When:
 • Increased available funding facilities to maintain headroom in the 		         Chief Finance Officer    2020-22
   financial plan
 • Investment in current and new homes and neighbourhoods

By delivering the above we will see that
• We are a trusted employer of choice and attract and 		        • We maximise the human and financial investment in
  retain the best talent                                          services and products for customers

                                                           26
We will measure progress by
         Key                   Forecast                        Targets
 Ref     Performance                                                                         Lead
         Indicator             2019/20    2020/21   2021/22    2022/23   2023/24   2024/25
           Colleague net
 3.01                            +39       +40       +40        +40       +40       +40      SDP
          promoter score
         Days lost to staff
 3.02                            10.8       9.5          9.5     9.2       9.2       9.0     SDP
            sickness

 3.03      Staff turnover        10%       14.6%     14.6%      14.6%     14.6%     14.6%    SDP
            Employees /
 3.04                           43.48      39.6      38.22      38.22     38.22     38.22    SDP
             1,000 units

        Office overhead cost
 3.05                           £1,144     £853      £874       £896      £918      £941      EPA
             per person

 3.06    Operating margin       20.4%      23.5%     22.6%      21.0%     20.9%     22.0%    FDT&P

 3.07 EBITDA/MRI margin         17.3%      17.1%     18.2%      18.2%     18.5%     18.5%    FDT&P
            EBITDA/MRI
 3.08                           255%       243%      260%       267%      257%      232%     FDT&I
           interest cover
 3.09         Gearing            26%       28%       28%        28%       28%       28%      FDT&I
            Efficiencies
 3.10                            3.0%      3.0%      3.0%       3.0%      3.0%      TBC      FDT&P
             delivered
           Assurance
 3.11   compliance all tests    100%       100%      100%       100%      100%      100%     CFO
             passed

                                                    27
6. How We Will Deliver
This Plan
                                                                                                  To support people in achieving excellent
                                                                                                  customer service we’ve also further clarified
                                                                                                  and defined our expectations around what we
                                                                                                  want them to do and how we want them to do
                                                                                                  it. This means our values are lived daily and
                                                                                                  our culture is continually shaped alongside
                                                                                                  our aspirations to be a true employer of
                                                                                                  choice.
                                                                                                  We’ve introduced and continue to:
                                                                                                  • Set expectations around one to one
                                                                                                    meetings and bi-annual reviews, with a
                                                                                                    digitised process to support a consistent
                                                                                                    approach
                                                                                                  • Consider and supply the right IT
                                                                                                    equipment, workspaces and ways of
                                                                                                    working, that puts colleagues more
                                                                                                    in control of how they do their job
                                                                                                    more efficiently
Our People                                       Our reputation for having knowledgeable
At Thirteen, our people are the driving force    and experienced people showing great             • Provide tools, techniques and an
behind everything that we do.                    behaviours is one we want to maintain, so we       environment that supports peer to peer
                                                 constantly train, develop and feed back to our     recognition
Without them, we wouldn’t be able to             people to ensure they’re the best they can be.
deliver and meet our customers’ needs and                                                         • Offer support in handling difficult
aspirations, whether that’s providing them       We also want to make sure the future talent        conversations, allowing poor behaviour to
with a home, pointing them in the right          we think we need is right for the customer, so     be challenged and removed
direction or offering them a helping hand.       over the last year, we’ve:
                                                                                                  • Revise tired and wordy policies and
Our customers value our staff and the work       • Offered learning opportunities driven by         procedures
we do, evidenced in our recent survey of           the individual, so they fully own their own
                                                                                                  • Support innovation, by encouraging new
tenants and residents, which showed 89%            personal development
                                                                                                    thinking and challenging anything
satisfaction in Thirteen’s services.             • Started to create bespoke recruitment            that gets in the way of positive customer
We know our people are passionate, capable         campaigns that attract a diversity of            experience
and uncompromising in their approach to            talent, with simpler, more fun processes so
                                                                                                  However, we want more at Thirteen.
delivering great things for our customers, but     we don’t miss out on untapped talent
                                                                                                  We know that happy employees =
we don’t want to stop there. We consistently     • Revisited our induction programme when
                                                                                                  happy customers and this leads to a
take customer feedback, consider responses         we bring people into the business, which is
                                                                                                  successful business so at Thirteen we’re
and act on them to ensure continued                now bespoke to the varying roles and
                                                                                                  uncompromising in our ambition to create
improvement.                                       people we employ.
                                                                                                  great days at work for all our employees.

                                                                       28
Ultimately a happy and engaged workforce        • Introducing a coaching culture that           • Launching an online reward and
is more productive with a psychological           supports collaborative working and              recognition platform, learning
commitment to meaningful outcomes.                responsibility                                  management system and other digital
                                                                                                  solutions, making the internal customer
We spent time asking our people “what           • Bringing in a 360 degree feedback
                                                                                                  experience easier
makes them happy at work?” - how they want        opportunities at leadership level
to feel at Thirteen that will make their day                                                    • Having staff awards recognising great
                                                • Using our employee voice to identify
a great one and they told us they want to                                                         behaviours and service delivery
                                                  barriers to creating great days at work and
feel proud, valued, energised, challenged, in
                                                  resolving these                               • Working on a continued progression
control, connected and informed.
                                                                                                  towards IIP Gold.
                                                • Recognising true manager accountability
That’s why we’re actively:
                                                  for helping create a great day at work by     Our most recent employee survey scored
• Creating a fully agile working environment      giving them the business intelligence,        and outstanding 39 ENPS score which means
  that gives people choice in how they more       training, support and responsibility          people would recommend Thirteen as a
  most effectively and efficiently                                                              place to work - so we know we’re on the right
                                                • Introducing a meaningful talent
                                                                                                track and will work together to tackle themes
• Promoting our health and wellbeing              management and succession planning
                                                                                                raised as part of the survey.
  aspirations even further. Physical, mental      framework that links into performance
  and financial wellbeing are key, and we’ve      management, reward and recognition,           We want to carry on improving so we can
  planned activities including a mindfulness      talent acquisition and workforce planning     compare our results to world class employers
  programme, menopause in the workplace                                                         and so we know our colleagues have more
  sessions and the supporting of key issues                                                     great days at work and make a much more
  such as suicide awareness week.                                                               positive impact on our business.

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