Building better futures - Genesis Housing Association

Building
better
futures
Annual Review 2012/13
2012/13 Annual Review
Contents
The Genesis narrative
3
Our mission, vision and values
5
Building better futures
7
Operating environment
8
Key targets
8
Genesis Way – our improvement programme
11
Getting residents involved
13
Care and Support
14
Genesis Community
16
Regeneration and growth
18
Our people
20
Serious about diversity
21
Board Members
22
Executive Team
24
1
Annual Review 2012/13
Homes provided
(2012/13)
Completed
695 homes
3 commercial units
Under development –
1983 Repairs
£15.8m
Properties that meet
Decent Homes
Standard
100%
2
2012/13 Annual Review
The Genesis narrative
Genesis combines its social purpose – helping
our customers build better futures – with a
commercial approach geared to filling gaps in
dysfunctional housing markets and creating
value in the properties we own and the places
in which we operate.
continue to provide a range of support to our
most vulnerable customers to enable them to
sustain their homes. For other customers we
intend to adopt a new approach aimed at
helping to shift behaviours and expectations
from dependency to independent.
Our innovative approach means that we offer
a wide range of tenures, products and
services which are aimed at helping our
customers meet their housing aspirations as
their circumstances change over time. We
recognise the value and importance of
strategic alliances, working closely with local
authorities and other partners in our key areas
of operation – London, Hertfordshire and East
Anglia.
With our charitable foundation Genesis
Community we support and act as a social
enterprise working with community groups to
shape the places in which we have property
– either through development and the
management of existing properties or
through our regeneration activities and to
enhance the sustainability of those
communities.
Our range of customers and their
expectations will become more diverse over
time. We aim to be an agile organisation using
our customer knowledge to align our
products and services and the standards to
which we deliver them, so that our customers
trust us, want to stay with us and recommend
us to others. Providing more opportunities for
customers to self-serve on transactional
services will help deliver expectations of
‘instant’ service delivery.
Our customer base includes many households
facing severe challenges, some financial,
others because of illness or disability. We will
Creating the right
culture, leadership,
systems and processes
to build a consistent
service that you
can trust.
Given the current and likely enduring
shortage of public funding for new housing we
consider that an increased focus on providing
intermediate and market based products,
such as shared ownership, shared equity,
intermediate rent, market rent and outright
sales, is important in meeting today’s housing
problems. We recognise that as an
independent modern organisation we should
be less reliant on increasingly scarce
government funding and more self-sufficient
looking to see how we can use the value
within our existing portfolio to meet our
objectives. In this way Genesis aims to be a
leading property-based service provider
within the areas in which we operate.
3
Annual Review 2012/13
Our vision is to be
a leading
property based
service provider.
Woodberry Down
development spend
£14.1m
2326
Engaged through the
Opportunities for Life
Change programme
4
2012/13 Annual Review
Our mission,
vision and
values
Our social purpose, to help people to improve their lives and
communities through housing and support services, is at the
heart of everything we do at Genesis.
It is important to us that we are in a position to continue delivering
high quality services to of our residents and customers.
Mission
Genesis is much more than bricks and mortar: we believe in
providing residents with high quality services to build a better
future for themselves and their families.
Vision
Building on the successes of our resident engagement, we have
begun the journey of embedding our vision into the fabric of the
organisation. It is our ambition to be a leading property based
service provider that improves people’s lives year on year.
The past year has seen an acceleration change in the social
housing sector: traditional funding streams are diminishing; our
residents and customers are facing changes to the way they
access and pay for services; and the pressure to build more
housing is more acute. If we are to achieve our vision in the face
of this change, then we need to adapt.
We have been working closely with leading think tank, The
Smith Institute, on groundbreaking research to debate the
future of housing associations with the Smith Institute we have
been exploring what we need to do to make sure we are still
able to provide housing and services that support our social
purpose of helping people to build better lives and
communities. “Social Hearted, Commercially Minded” sets out
this task. We have to be smarter with our assets: make them
work harder financially so we are able to move to a model
where we are less reliant on external funding, and still be able
to provide support services and develop much needed new
homes.
As part of this journey we continue to make improvements, to
ensure that we are fit for purpose, and delivering the best
possible services for our customers. We have worked hard to
embed the values, behaviours and culture we need at Genesis
to make sure we can deliver for our customers.
Our business transformation project, the Genesis Way
Programme is tasked with, looking at the people, systems and
structures we have in place and what we need to improve it. The
final phase of this transformation will take place in 2013/14.
At Genesis, we embrace change. We are determined to keep
improving and adapting as an organisation.
Values
The following five core values underpin our social purpose and our
mission. In order to become a social hearted, commercially
minded leading property based service provider, we have spent
the last year working with our staff and colleagues to weave these
values into the fabric of our organisation and working practices:
1. Customer focus - putting the customer first; treating our
customers with consistency and sensitivity.
2. Respect - treating people fairly; recognising,
understanding and celebrating difference.
3. Partnership working - working together to achieve
shared goals for our customers, our people and our
organisation.
4. Efficiency - using our resources wisely; challenging waste
and duplication to get the best results.
5. Good employer - everybody working together to make
Genesis a great place to work.
5
Annual Review 2012/13
31 volunteers have
gained permanent
employment
through our
volunteering
programme
£34.3m
in capital grant spend in
2012/13
6
2012/13 Annual Review
Building
better futures
2012/13 has been a year of real and
substantial progress for Genesis. We delivered
new homes at our award winning Stratford
Halo development and have delivered on
some of London’s largest regeneration
schemes at Woodberry Down in London
Borough of Hackney and Grahame Park in
London Borough of Barnet.
results achieved, we recognise there is still
much to be done. That is why the organisation
has embarked on the Genesis Way Programme
to embed our core values, improve our
efficiency and the quality of the services that
we deliver. This is a major change initiative
which is positively impacting right across the
organisation.
Our financial performance has improved
markedly, with a surplus for the year at
£37.6million, a significant increase over last
year. That surplus will support our continued
investment in new homes, in improving our
existing properties and our services to our
residents and helping people and communities
build better futures. Our overall service
standards are also on an upward trend and we
have continued to invest in our people and the
technology that supports them to enable
further improvements in the year ahead.
We continue to work closely with our customers
through the Regional Committees and Resident
Scrutiny Panels – the feedback and
engagement they provide is of the highest
quality. We would like to thank all the Chairs and
members of those committees for their time
and contribution for their hard work and
commitment. Finally, we would like to thank all
the teams at Genesis. The successes of the last
year have been achieved through their dedication
and the enthusiasm for the work they do.
Although we are pleased to report the positive
We are an organisation that is changing:
committed to improving the services we offer,
to support the community where we work and
to building the much needed homes for the
future. This Annual Review showcases some
our work over the last year and our plans for
the year ahead. We hope you find the contents
of interest.
Charles Gurassa
Chair of Genesis
Neil Hadden
Chief Executive
All this has been achieved against a
background of major changes by Government
to the welfare system, reduced subsidies for
social and supported housing and a
challenging economic environment.
We will continue to
provide a range of
support to our most
vulnerable customers
to enable them to
sustain their homes.
7
Annual Review 2012/13
Operating environment
Welfare reform
Genesis has responded well over the last year
to unprecedented policy changes. We have
focused on understanding the impact of the
Government’s welfare reforms on our
customers and their effects on our core
business. Taking a targeted approach we have
put in place strategies that have successfully
minimised the reforms’ impact on existing
customers’ homes and economic wellbeing,
while also allowing us to continue to deliver
investment in new homes and services.
Many of our residents and customers are now
facing changes to the traditional way in which
they have in the past paid for housing and
services. We have worked hard to keep people
informed about the reforms to the welfare
system, and how the legislation affects them.
Our financial inclusion team within Genesis
Community has contacted over 2000
residents, helping change lives for the better.
One of the practical ways we have been
supporting our residents is by facilitating more
mutual exchanges. This is a continuous
process: in 2012/13, we successfully trebled
the number of mutual exchanges.
8
Financial performance
Genesis has improved its strong financial
credit rating compared to its peers. Moodys
revised down their ratings for the sector as a
whole in light of their downgrade of the UK
Government in February 2013. The vast
majority of housing associations were also
downgraded at that time, but Genesis was an
exception due to an improved assessment of
our underlying credit strength.
In May 2013 Moodys again downgraded the
majority of the sector, including Genesis. Our
rating therefore remained at A1 following the
February action but since May we have had an
A2 credit rating from Moodys but have
improved in relative terms overall. A2 remains
a very strong rating. We remain rated AA- by
Fitch although we are on “negative outlook”
along with the rest of the rated housing
association sector.
Key targets
928
Staff have attended welfare
reform training provided
by Genesis
Repairs and maintenance
investment
£15.8m
£102.3m
on development
Delivering on our promise
A key aim for Genesis is to provide excellence
in customer service, meeting and exceeding
the expectations of our residents and
customers. Over the last 12 months Genesis
residents and customers have told us what
services they want, how they want them
delivered, and to what standard. Their goals
are our goals: we have worked to address
these expectations and to deliver on our
promise to put our customers first.
Customer focus
Against a backdrop of a year with much
change, resident satisfaction with our repairs
service stands at 70.5%. Against a target of
70% this is positive. We are not are
complacent however - we know there is room
for improvement. To make sure we raise our
performance even higher, we established the
Genesis Repairs Hub in February 2013. A key
project in the Genesis Way Programme, our
Repairs Hub is staffed by multi-skilled people
and is already helping us deliver on our
promise to our customers. Our contact
centre continues to make progress against
customer expectations, climbing the
rankings from 47th to 17th place in the
Customer Service Top 50 awards.
2012/13 Annual Review
Markets and assets
In 2012/13 we achieved sales turnover of
£210.1m. An excellent achievement in the
current climate, this was in part due to the
sale of 401 units at Stratford Halo, Newham,
to M&G Investments, an institutional investor.
Our 2012/13 pipelines remain strong for
shared ownership, void disposals, outright
sale and stair-casing with 119 units under
offer, worth a total of £13.2m.
Leadership
One of our key values is to be a good
employer. Part of that requires Genesis to
demonstrate our commitment to investing in
our workforce. In addition to successfully
recruiting a very high calibre senior
leadership team, we have invested in our staff
over the last 12 months in a successful plan
to place customer service excellence at the
heart of everything we do. Our new People
Strategy was launched in September of 2013
and sets out our ambitious plans to deliver a
learning and development approach which is
amongst the best in the housing sector. We
have put a particularly strong focus on
retaining talented people and recruiting the
very best to drive our business forward.
Satisfaction of repairs
70.5%
Actual delivery 2012/13
70%
Tenure
Under management
Development pipeline
2013/14
General needs
Care and support
Temporary housing
Leasehold and shared ownership
Keyworker accommodation
Genesis market rent
Market rent – others
Commercial
16709
2861
3518
5640
1211
1135
1787
94
805
1230
715
30
Total
32995
2780
Target for 2012/13
9
Annual Review 2012/13
99%
of our customers said
our staff were polite,
helpful and respectful
Assisted 144 residents
back in to work, saving
over £1m in public
funding
£1m
10
2012/13 Annual Review
Genesis
Way – our
improvement
programme
While we’ve made steady improvements over
the years, we know from customer feedback
we need to do more to get it right and get it
right first time. Implemented in 2012, the
Genesis Way Programme is about building
consistency and reliability and a service that
customers, residents and partners can trust.
We’ve involved our customers in reviewing and
redesigning the services that matter most to
them – repairs, complaints, and having the
right leaders in place to make sure we deliver
on our promises.
So what’s changed?
This last financial year has seen a number of
projects bear fruit, with more progress
expected in the year ahead.
Our customers said: repairs are a top priority.
We did: we created a Repairs Hub, where a
dedicated team deal with all repairs calls. We’ve
also worked with customers to create a new
Repairs Policy, which clearly sets out the
service standards we will deliver, and the
partnership role our customer play.
Our customers said: when there’s a problem,
speedy resolution counts.
We did: we worked with hand-in-hand with our
customers to design a new process for
complaints.
Our customers said: Genesis should spend
money wisely, to get the best value and
provide the best services.
We did: we have started to revolutionise our
approach to procurement. We are negotiating
smarter contracts focussing on three main
areas: Estate Services, Repairs and
Maintenance and Professional Services. We
expect to save about £4m every year through
this, enabling us to invest even more for our
customers.
Creating the right
culture, leadership,
systems and processes
to build a consistent
service that you
can trust.
Our customers said: we need to be more
accountable and take responsibility.
We did: Genesis believes ownership starts with
leadership, so we have designed our top tier of
management and recruited a senior leadership
team with accountability at its very heart.
Our customers said: get my issue right, first
time, every time
We did: we’ve launched a brand new customer
relationship management system in our
contact centres and within our complaints
team, called Genius. It provides a complete
history of customer contact. When customers
contact Genesis, the complete customer
record is immediately to hand to ensure
seamless service between departments.
11
Annual Review 2012/13
Thanks to Genesis,
I’ve been able to
get involved in my
community and
get to know my
neighbours.
£11.8m
Grahame Park
Development spend
12
2012/13 Annual Review
Getting
residents
involved
Partnership working is one of Genesis’ core
values. We work hand in hand with our
customers to provide great service that meets
their needs and which allows for continuous
feedback. We have:
•
•
•
•
•
Five regional committees;
A resident scrutiny panel;
Residents disability forum;
Service charges panel;
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
forum.
Regional committees scrutinise the quality
of services we provide to residents. Each
committee meets quarterly and is made up of
eight residents and four other people with
relevant expertise or experience.
Service charges panel helps us improve our
service charge systems and processes, based
on customer feedback. We have responded to
this feedback, putting in place a dedicated
service charge team. Thanks to their hard
work we have seen a marked decrease in
complaints, down by an average of 27 per
cent this year alone.
The Genesis Way
programme will deliver
annual operational cost
savings of £11million.
Our LGBT forum addresses issues specific to
LGBT residents and is open to anyone who
wants to influence improvements in services
of the group also responds to individual
queries, takes action and offers confidential
advice where needed to residents.
The resident scrutiny panel engages with
the Genesis Board and Executive Team on a
quarterly basis to review service performance
and inform the development of annual and
strategic plans. Resident scrutiny panel
members are elected members of the
regional committees, who represent the
views of the regional committee to the Board
and Executive Team.
The residents’ disability forum is for all
residents who have a disability and want to
work with Genesis to improve services to
residents with a disability. They meet
quarterly and this year have been involved in
activities such speaking in schools about
disability and working with the contact centre
to improve customer service.
13
Annual Review 2012/13
Care and Support
New business and contracts
Over the past 12 months our Care and Support
service has successfully retained contracts in
our core geographical areas.
Crucially, we have also won new business too
– to the value of almost £1 million in the past
year alone. We are proud to now be working on
the Greater Haven Gateway contract, a
homeless prevention project which responds
to the Government’s agenda on reducing
homelessness for vulnerable groups through
the ‘No second night out’ campaign.
The on-going transformation of our Care and
Support offer - which builds on the expertise
and experience of our hard-working staff puts the business on a strong footing for the
future.
New developments
Our partnership with Southend-on-Sea
Borough Council at Shelford House will
provide 24 homes for residents with learning
disabilities, including a respite unit.
At Stoke Quay in Ipswich, our well placed extra
care scheme offers 59 homes to vulnerable
residents within a wider mixed tenure
development. Offering choice to residents,
14
this development will enable extra care
customers to live independent lives in a
supported environment.
Our landmark development in central
Chelmsford of over 500 new homes will also
see the creation of 65 extra care homes too.
People who are vulnerable and excluded
We provide services to 1,357 people who are
vulnerable, and who often face social
exclusion. Our overall goal remains to
empower customers by building practical
skills, confidence and self-esteem. We have a
range of services to cover our customers’
complex needs, from services for people with
substance misuse issues, to move-on projects
that help people at risk of homelessness
sustain their tenancies.
Customer breakdown
Older people
Vulnerable and excluded people
People with learning disabilities
People with mental health issues
Persistent and prolific offenders
59% (2,679)
30% (1,357)
6% (265)
4% (173)
1% (35)
4,509
We provided 4,509
services to care and
support customers
Older people
We provided
services to 2,679
older customers in
2012/13
2012/13 Annual Review
Case Study
‘Anna’ entered the recovery
programme after she ended up
homeless and living on the streets.
Anna started to use drugs
following the breakdown of her
marriage, and eventually lost
everything.
After 18 months of living on the
streets and being in and out of
prison, Anna was referred to
Genesis. A relocation plan was
agreed, and shortly after her
referral Anna stopped using class A
drugs.
Anna regularly attended alcohol
and drug support meetings and
was committed to getting well.
Anna is no longer under licence,
and has been removed from the
prolific offenders list. She said that
entering the recovery programme
was the best thing that ever
happened to her and has
transformed her life for the better.
People with learning disabilities
265 people with learning disabilities benefitted
from our range of services, enabling and
empowering them so they can lead busy,
independent and satisfying lives. We support our
customers to build practical day-to-day skills,
lead active social lives and accessing education,
employment and leisure activities. Amber Court,
our flagship Care and Support scheme in London
Borough of Newham, provides homes to people
with learning disability.
People with mental health issues
We worked with 173 people with mental health
issues – our service includes 24 hour support,
housing in shared and independent flats,
floating support and enhanced housing
management.
Case Study
STARS Recovery Programme –
Supporting Treatment,
accommodation and recovery in
Suffolk
Stable accommodation has a
positive influence on successful
substance misuse recovery. Good
quality, stable accommodation can
reduce the risk of re-offending by
up to 20%.
Substance misusers don’t find it
easy to access accommodation and
it can also be very difficult trying to
stay substance-free living in an area
where people may well be “using”
and where dealers know that
people are vulnerable.
Completing in 2012/13, two pilot
projects were set up by Genesis in
Suffolk to tackle this crucial
housing need. One of them - The
Suffolk Drugs Alcohol Abuse Team
(DAAT) evaluated the schemes
which proved the positive impact
on the lives of the clients involved.
15
Annual Review 2012/13
Genesis Community
Our charitable foundation, Genesis
Community, works with residents and
customers in the communities we operate to
help them build better futures. Through
strategically focused social and economic
regeneration activity we are able to make real
our placeshaping vision, contributing to the
communities development to ensure their
future sustainability.
This past year has been a particularly exciting
one for Genesis Community. The focus has
been on listening to residents, customers and
partners, ensuring that we know their needs
and aspirations, so are able to meet them.
We have: • Supported 144 residents into work.
Genesis residents have benefitted from
externally funded training with a total
value of nearly £1 million;
• Established an employment, education
and training programme offer for
Grahame Park residents totalling
£448,000;
• Run ten business start-up training
sessions, resulting in five new businesses
being launched by residents in the last 12
months;
• Worked in partnership with Enterprise
Cube, a social enterprise that links people
interested in social enterprise with
16
business to help them create start-up
opportunities. Genesis has established a
business centre in the heart of the city of
London for residents’ use.
Youth programme
Our programme has had a number of
successes over the last 12 months. 247 young
people participated in summer and half term
programmes, resulting in a reduction in
antisocial behaviour, improved community
cohesion and confidence.
Volunteering
Genesis has a proud record of engaging
volunteers in our work. Volunteers are highly
visible within the organisation – our
directorates have hosted regular placements
for volunteer workers over the last 12 months.
31 volunteers secured permanent jobs as a
result of the Genesis volunteer programme,
nine of which were roles in Genesis in housing
management, accounts and resident
engagement. Awareness of volunteering has
increased by 30 per cent among staff as a
result of Genesis Community’s work.
•
•
100 volunteers recruited supporting 11
areas of the business
23 volunteers have been supported into
paid employment
Life Long Learning and Digital Inclusion
for Older People
In 2012/13, 205 residents were engaged
through 1,824 hours of training delivered
across Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk in 41 Care
and Support schemes aimed at tackling social
isolation.
We have delivered: • Partnerships with the London Legacy
Development Corporation, London
Borough of Newham, Communities
Homes People (CHP,) Conflict and Change
and London Borough of Redbridge have
contributed £34,000 funding and gifts in
kind, which we have reinvested into
activities.
• 101 residents accessing weekly training
sessions across Essex delivered by our
digital inclusion volunteers
• 1,850 hours of IT training delivered to 205
residents.
The Small Grants Programme
The Knowles Trust, a charitable organisation
that sits within Genesis Community, awarded
grant funding of £17,395 to 344 older and
vulnerable residents across 13 sheltered
housing schemes. Benefiting the wider
community, this fund was used by residents
for Jubilee and Olympic themed community
activity, bringing together communities.
93%
of our customers said
we kept them well
informed
2012/13 Annual Review
Community Hubs
Genesis Community manage five community
hubs. During the year over 36 community
groups ran projects from these centres with
over 3,000 people used the facilities.
Partnership Working
We continue to work in partnership with other
organisations to achieve results. We have over
20 partnerships including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food
Open Age
Rock Challenge (London wide)
Essex Unite
Newark Youth
London UnITe and Essex UnITe
Manor House Development Trust
(Woodberry Down)
Toynbee Hall
Enterprise Cube
Case Study
Shohid Abdul started volunteering
as an estate inspector at Genesis in
January 2013. Showing great
enthusiasm and commitment, he
has been an asset to the team in
identifying and raising communal
repairs for Genesis residents.
Shohid also shadowed the
Maintenance team and worked
alongside the surveyors in
inspecting void properties. He’s
now successfully secured a
permanent paid job at Genesis as a
Customer Services Officer.
Case Study
A young Genesis resident wanted
to engage with older and
vulnerable neighbours who lived in
sheltered accommodation, to
create a more inclusive
community. With support from
Genesis Community, the
development’s first ever sports day
was held. The young residents
secured £500 from Live Unltd, a
community funding project.
247 young people have engaged in
the summer programme through
some of the 93 activities delivered.
17
Annual Review 2012/13
Regeneration
and growth
Regenerating communities is central to our
social purpose and our business model.
Genesis’ 2012 – 18 Regeneration Strategy puts
in place the vision and the social, economic
and physical approach that will add value to
people’s lives and the areas in which we deliver
services. We are in a unique position because
our business is about homes and places. The
biggest impact we can have is to work with our
residents to deliver on that business.
We understand the importance of the
relationship between social housing providers
and economic activity amongst residents.
Regeneration isn’t just about building things.
We recognise that many residents who want to
be economically active often face barriers.
These include child care, transport costs and
the need to develop the skills, training and
education that meet current market demands.
Now, more than ever, our social purpose
counts as we work to empower our residents
through the tough times, supporting them to
build better futures for themselves and their
families.
Development schemes
At Stratford Halo in East London, we are proud
of the outstanding design quality and the high
standards of care we provide. This Chartered
Institute of Housing (CIH) award winning
landmark development is now one of the most
desirable mixed tenure residential
opportunities in London. Through its
development we have helped create a lasting
legacy next to the Olympic Park.
18
2012/13 Annual Review
Similarly at the former Mildmay Hospital in
Shoreditch East London, creative design knits
together old development and new.
Market rent
We completed the sale of over 400 private rent
units at Stratford Halo, London Borough of
Newham to M&G investments, an institutional
investor. The units are all in one location with
onsite management. The RPI uplift every year
guarantees the income for the investor over
the period of the operating lease.
Valued at £125m, our deal with M&G
Investments in January 2013 provides Genesis
with greater capacity to invest in delivery of
good quality, affordable homes, at a time when
public subsidy is expected to fall further.
This deal was been undertaken with Genesis
retaining management for a 35 year period
under the terms of an operating lease. By
retaining management we will be able to
deliver our objective of shaping places while at
the same time maximise the return on our
investment in Stratford Halo.
Extending our offer to ‘generation rent’
With our experience in housing management
across a range of tenures, Genesis has a key
role to play in the increasingly important
market rent sector. With six years’ experience
in private rented sector lettings and
management, in February we launched a large
scale market rent offer. This is aimed at a
generation of people that want security, but
struggle to fund either mortgage finance or
our traditional housing products.
Throughout the on-going economic crisis,
housing associations still continued to develop
in places where private developers are not able
or willing to do so. Zenith House in the London
Borough of Barnet is one such development. It
will be handed over as a mixed tenure
development offering 173 new private rented
units in a development that also meets our
obligations to the local authority’s wider
housing strategy, offering high quality social
housing.
By the end of the financial year we will be
managing around 1,400 private-rent sector
units for Genesis and other landlords. Our
current committed pipeline will deliver over
700 market rent by 2015.
2013/14 will see the development of our
growth and investment strategy for market
renting. Furthermore, our £40million bid
under the Government’s ‘Build to Rent’
programme will deliver over 300 new homes in
Essex and East London in addition to those
homes we are already on track to deliver.
Chartered Institute of
Housing ‘Best
Development of the
Year 2012’ – Stratford
Halo.
Case Study
Manor House Development Trust
(MHDT), Woodberry Down
One of the most consistent and
successful initiatives delivered by
the MHDT has been the
information, advice and guidance
(IAG) service for the Woodberry
Works Club, aimed at helping
residents into employment. MHDT
provides a service throughout the
week and Genesis contribute by
paying for the IT suite at the local
Redmond Centre every Friday
providing one advice worker. This
is a successful example of working
in partnership locally and
maximising the impact on
economic wellbeing of Genesis’
contribution.
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Annual Review 2012/13
Our people
Our staff are our greatest asset
We are proud of the great work Genesis staff
do and recognise this through the Genesis Way
award scheme, which we award to those of our
people who put our corporate value of
Customer Focus first.
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staff took part in designing our
new values
We aim to be a top employer– our new People
Strategy sets out an ambitious programme
which is designed to make sure that Genesis
remains an employer of choice.
Our People Strategy is a central focus of our
2012 – 2015 Corporate Plan: we have invested
in our workforce, dedicating nearly £800,000
in 2012/13 on staff training and development.
Equipping our people to be the best they can
be and making Genesis a place where people
are happy to work.
In the coming financial year we expect to have
in place the tools, processes, cultures,
structure and the right systems to enable our
people to fully deliver on our shared vision.
A changing organisation
Genesis is a changing and changed
organisation. We believe ownership starts with
leadership and so we are making sure we have
the very best people in place at senior levels.
We have recruited a senior leadership team with
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accountability at its heart. Our directors and
heads of service will drive our improvement
programme further and faster in 2014.
Genesis Way – the benefits in 2014
The Genesis Way Programme will make
savings over the coming financial year of £11
million – considerably more than we forecast
last year. We’re adopting procurement
efficiencies throughout the business,
streamlining our processes by making sure we
adopt modern and flexible ways of working –
including better technology, improved office
locations and a brand new head-quarters in
Camden which will be fully optimised for
hot-desking and virtual meetings.
2012/13 Annual Review
Serious about diversity
Diversity and inclusion matters to Genesis.
Both are at the very core of what we do. We’re
determined to make sure that as an
organisation, our workforce reflects those
whom we serve.
Our new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
launched in September 2013, supports
ambitious objectives. We are a business that is
enriched by diversity in our customer base and
in our people. We’re working hard to make sure
our recruitment policies and procedures are
not only legally compliant, but that they are
among the very best in the sector. That’s why
we’re so proud to have been awarded a ‘Top 50
Employer’ for women by The Times
newspaper. We are active supporters of
Stonewall, who once again included us in their
most recent ‘Top 100 Employers’ index for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people.
Awards
We are proud of our position as a sector leader
in the field of diversity, having been listed in
the Top 100 Employers Equality Index,
Business in the Community Top 10 Public
Sector Organisations, finalists in the National
Business Award and winners of the
Transparency Award for our work in gender
equality.
Genesis has a number of thriving staff
networks. The Women’s Network continually
runs seminars throughout the year, on issues
such as leadership. Our Diversity Think Tank
continues to promote greater understanding
among faith groups by organising educational
and cultural events to celebrate Ramadan,
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Black History
Month.
The implementation of our work is monitored
at Board level by the Diversity Committee, with
a lead Executive member accountable for the
agenda. We want to make sure that every
employee, current and or in the future, feels
able to deliver their best while at work,
whatever their background, faith or
perspective.
GForce is the Genesis
LGB Staff Network
Group. It works closely
with the resident LGBT
forum. Largely through
the network’s efforts,
Genesis has maintained
a high position in the
Stonewall Workplace
Equality Index. As a
result of engagement
with staff, the Straight
Allies programme was
launched, encouraging
straight colleagues to
champion LGB issues in
their area of operation.
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Annual Review 2012/13
Board
Members
Charles Gurassa – Chair/
Independent member
Charles Gurassa is the
non-executive chairman of
Genesis Housing Association,
Net Names, MACH and
Tragus, Deputy Chairman at
easyJet plc and a trustee of
the National Trust. He was a
former chairman of Virgin
Mobile plc, LOVEFiLM,
Phones4U and Alamo/
National Rent a Car. His
executive career included
roles as Chief Executive of
Thomson Travel Group plc,
Executive Chairman TUI
Northern Europe, Director
TUI AG and as Director,
Passenger & Cargo business
at British Airways. In addition,
he was a non-executive
director at Whitbread plc and
Merlin Entertainments.
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Imani Douglas-Walker Resident Member
Imani is a qualified career
coach who has worked in
many sectors (ranging from
Events Management, Welfare
to Work to Mental Health).
Imani is the founder of Raise
The Bar - a community led
initiative working with
schools and voluntary
organisations seeking to
overcome diverse social
issues with sustainable
coaching programmes.
Brian Ansell - Resident
Member
Brian has gained a wide range
of voluntary experience over
the years including working
with government projects
such as Youth Training
Schemes and organisations
involved with the Social
Inclusion of the Vietnamese
Boat People. He continues to
be involved with local
Museum Clubs, Adult
Learning Difficulties groups,
Cambridge Young
Archaeologists and the
Society for Disabled Artists.
Brian has a forty year career
as a stonemason and sculptor
restoring some world
renowned medieval buildings
including Lincoln Cathedral
and York Minster’s Great West
Door.
David Turner –
Independent Member
David is a Chartered Surveyor
and a director of Falcon
Managers Limited. He was
former Chief Executive of a
Barclays Bank subsidiary and
has wide experience in board
roles including in major PFI
projects. He has also been
actively engaged in the
restructuring of a long
standing charitable
foundation and chairing a
corporate governance review
group in City University. He is
a Governor at the Sir John
Cass Foundation. David is the
current Chair of GenInvest
Limited.
2012/13 Annual Review
Colette O’Shea Independent Member
Colette is a Fellow of the
Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors. She has significant
property and development
experience. She is currently
Head of Development
London at Land Securities, a
FTSE 100 company with a
property portfolio value of
about £10billion of which the
London assets alone
comprise £5billion. Colette is
also a Member of Major
Developers Group, Member
of the Victoria Partnership
Board, Member of London
First and a Member of the
Cheapside Initiative.
Stephen East Independent member
Stephen is a Chartered
Accountant and a nonexecutive director of a
number of listed companies
in various sectors. He is a
Trustee of a number of
charities. Stephen brings
strong financial management
and treasury skills to Genesis
along with extensive nonexecutive experience.
Rolande Anderson –
Independent Member
Rolande is an independent
member of the Genesis
Board, and the Chair of both
the Remuneration
Committee and the Diversity
Committee. She has held a
range of senior posts in
Government, most recently
as Director-General of the
Office for Civil Society in the
Cabinet Office until 2011. She
now works as an independent
non-executive Director and
trustee. Rolande is a Board
member and Chair of the
Committee on Equalities and
Diversity at the Bar Standards
Board. She is a Trustee of the
Brightside Trust and of the
volunteering charity CSV. She
is an Honorary Associate and
member of the Campaign
Board of Newham College,
Cambridge and a Fellow of
the Royal Society of Arts.
Eugenie Turton Independent Member
Eugenie joined the Genesis
Board in 2009. She has been
the Director General for
Housing and Planning within
the Department for
Communities & Local
Government. She is a lay
member of Salisbury
Cathedral Chapter, nonexecutive adviser of the
Wates Group and Deputy
Chairman of Wessex
Archaeology. She also serves
on the boards of the
executive search company
Rockpools. She is involved
with the Dulwich Picture
Gallery, the Cognatum Trust
and the Sir Edward Heath
Charitable Foundation. She is
an Associate and Board
Mentor with Critical Eye. She
also advises the Government
of Trinidad and Tobago on
public service reform.
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Annual Review 2012/13
Executive
Team
Neil Hadden – Chief
Executive Officer
Neil Hadden entered the
housing sector in 1978
and spent 27 years at the
Housing Corporation,
which was the industry
regulator prior to the HCA.
He held a number of
regional positions
including Deputy Chief
Executive. He moved to
Aldwyck Housing
Association in 2005 and
led the group through
significant growth in his
role as Chief Executive. He
became Genesis’ Chief
Executive in October
2009. Neil is a member of
the GenFinance,
GenInvest and Genesis
Community boards and is
a co-opted member on
the Genesis Board.
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Elizabeth Froude –
Executive Director,
Resources
Elizabeth joined Genesis
Housing in 2012 as
Financial Services
Director. In June 2013 she
was promoted to the role
of Executive Director of
Resources. Prior to
Genesis she spent six
years working at Radian
Group, based in the home
counties of England. Prior
to her role there, Elizabeth
has worked in a variety of
blue-chip organisations in
senior finance roles, both
in the UK and in Europe.
She has spent a great deal
of her career working in
change management and
process improvement
environments.
John Carleton Executive Director,
Markets and Portfolio
John has extensive
experience in housing
development and finance
after a varied career in
housing, banking and
consultancy, including an
earlier role as the Director
of Investment and
Regeneration for the
Housing Corporation in
the North of England.
Laurice Ponting –
Executive Director,
Communities
Laurice has worked in the
housing sector since 1980,
in both local authorities
and housing associations.
She worked at Mercian
Housing Association as
Chief Executive and was
appointed as Managing
Director when Mercian
joined the Circle Group.
Laurice has chaired the
Birmingham Social
Housing Partnership, a
member of the National
Housing Federation
Regional Committee and a
Board member of the
Aston Reinvestment Trust,
a community finance
company.
Jackie Bligh – Director,
Governance and
Compliance
Jackie has over 30 years’
experience in the housing
sector having worked for
both Local Authorities and
Housing Associations.
Prior to joining Genesis
she was Chief Executive of
several housing
associations, and let on
two successful stock
transfers. She was a
member of the Council of
the National Housing
Federation, including
three years as Vice Chair.
Genesis Housing Association Ltd
Registered office
Capital House
25 Chapel Street
London NW1 5DT
www.genesisha.org.uk
020 7563 0120
Genesis Housing Association Ltd is a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society (reg no. 31241R) Genesis is a registered provider of social housing. HCA No. 4655