STRATEGIC PLAN Providing homes and supporting communities

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1 STRATEGIC PLAN Providing homes and supporting communities

2 Welcome to Westward Welcome to our strategic plan for This document sets out our priorities for the next three years. It is part of Westward s group business plan which is a suite of documents that show the golden thread from our purpose to the delivery of actions and the fulfilment of our strategic plan. PURPOSE STRATEGIC PLAN 3O YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN & BUDGETS ANNUAL CORPORATE BUSINESS PLAN VISION ACTIONED MONITORING & EVALUATION We know that the next three years will be transformational affecting what we build, who we house, the services that we provide and our relationships with stakeholders and partners. The government has introduced significant challenges for us including welfare reform, the end of housing development grant for rented homes, four years of rent reduction, a strong focus on the outright sale housing market, right to buy, pay to stay and local housing allowance. In producing the strategic plan the board and executive have taken time to understand the current operating environment and the needs and aspirations of our customers. We have taken advice from experts to develop our plans and have used financial scenarios to test our strategy. Delivery of our previous strategic plan acknowledged the need to take control of our future and focused on a more commercial approach. This was to ensure financial strength and focus on operating efficiency whilst continuing to deliver more homes and provide great customer service. The board have reaffirmed this approach and are absolutely committed to our social purpose of providing homes and services to those in need. However we accept that the definition of need is now much wider as an increasing number of people are finding themselves unable to afford open market properties but equally unable to access affordable housing. Reality in the South West means that the average price of a home is just over 240,000, which is ten times the average salary. The average cost of renting in the private sector is nearly 700 per month, which is more than a third of local incomes. In response to this Westward are now actively providing a number of products from social housing to outright sale. We know that if we are to be successful we will need to remain agile and work with a variety of partners to maximise efficiencies and deliver solutions. Most importantly we need good governance, clear leadership, vision and commitment plus the invaluable support of our people to help guide us through this period to meet the ambitions and targets set out in our 2020 vision. From Chair of the Board 2

3 Who we are Westward owns and manages over 7,300 homes across Devon and Cornwall and delivers a range of support and social enterprise services to 1,500 people, making it one of the main affordable housing providers in the South West. We build new homes across the region and offer a variety of products to help meet the circumstances of our existing and new customers. To assist us in achieving this we have a commercial subsidiary, Horizon Homes, which builds for outright sale and we comanage the government s Help to Buy Agency for the South West peninsula. Sharewest is also part of Westward and is a cost sharing vehicle which has been set up in collaboration with other providers in the region to deliver services in a more efficient way. FACTS & FIGURES 2016 Turnover 41.6m Operating Surplus 11.5m Cashable savings over the last three years: 2.7m Employees 364 (292 full time equivalents) Hartland involvement event 3

4 Our purpose Providing homes and supporting communities Our objectives We will: Provide places where people want to live Develop and invest in homes and services Provide a great place for our staff to work Maintain our financial strength and deliver great value through efficiency and innovation Our values Be agile We inspire and support our people to be at their best. We take an enterprising and resourceful approach to business. We ensure our vision and work are robust so we can achieve success. Always engage We are customer focussed and actively engage with our customers, colleagues and partners to improve what we do and how we do it. We will empower colleagues to get it right first time by listening carefully, responding fully and ensuring that the customer does not need to contact us on that issue again. Show integrity We are a fair and open organisation. We expect a culture of honesty and personal accountability. We respond to challenge by asking ourselves what we can do to help and by delivering on our promises. We respect and value differences and recognise that diversity enriches our communities. Our vision By 2020 we will be delivering our objectives and have met the targets and ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan. Our customers will tell us that they feel safe, secure and warm in wellmaintained homes and that we are customer focused. Our staff will be highly motivated and living our values. Westward will continue to be a financially resilient and well governed organisation that challenges itself to reduce running costs and improve the return on assets so that we can deliver more for our customers and stakeholders. Customer consultation at Bideford 4

5 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 Provide places where people want to live The need for new housing is a pressing issue for large numbers of people and a fundamental role for Westward is to continue to develop new homes. TARGETS BY 2020 We plan to build around 500 new homes over the next four years. Homes will be built in locations identified within our development strategy and will include affordable rent, shared ownership, rent to buy and outright sale. We will also consider new products that meet the breadth of different housing needs including Starter Homes and market rent. We know that a top priority for our customers is to live in safe, secure and warm homes. We keep our active asset management strategy current and aligned to our development strategy to ensure we proactively manage our stock and maximise its potential by identifying poorly performing assets. These assets need to be option appraised for either a change of client group, remodelling, redevelopment or disposal. Equally we will look at our high value assets which could be disposed of and the receipts used to deliver more homes. This is reported on each year to the board. We have developed a five year asset management programme enabling us to better manage our resources and keep customers informed. We will also consider our repairs service standard and Westward decent homes standard to make sure that we take account of both initial costs and longer term maintenance costs. This will deliver efficiencies without compromising on quality. Across Westward we use a range of contractors to deliver our maintenance and repairs services. We also have an in-house contractor Westward Property Services (WPS). Over the next three years we would like to be in a position to bring further services in-house where they provide financial savings for the organisation and a more reliable service for all customers. Build new homes 500 Investment in existing stock 50m All homes meet a minimum SAP (energy efficiency) rating 55 BY 2020 WE WILL Review our repair service standard Review our Westward decent homes standard Deliver more services via WPS Deliver the next programme of new homes Explore new products to meet a wider customer base 5

6 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 Develop and invest in homes and services TARGETS BY 2020 Westward is committed to delivering the best possible experience for our customer. We continue to work hard at understanding our customers priorities by undertaking profiling work and involving customers in shaping services. Customer Satisfaction 90% Net Promoter Score (customers loyalty measure) 55 Online accounts created for customers 4000 Complaints resolved and closed at stage one 99% We provide homes to a wide variety of people with differing needs and incomes. Our general needs homes are usually rented to families on low incomes, who are in most housing need. We also provide a number of options for those wanting to get onto the home ownership ladder. This could be through our regional agency Help to Buy South West, shared ownership, rent to buy or buying a home for outright sale. We will also ensure all tenants receive the appropriate tenancy which will enable them to feel safe and secure in their home. This is a key priority for us and we will work with our customers to ensure the tenure and support provided reflects their needs as their lives and circumstances change. We have adapted our customer model to focus on external market research and local delivery and we are establishing a customer senate to help us respond to identified changes in customer needs. Westward continues to be committed to supporting vulnerable individuals to live independently. However, board will seek full cost recovery across the full range of support projects. We have developed a future model for our support services based on provision of a core service that encompasses intensive housing management services with a move-on programme. No. of households supported out of debt 180 per year BY 2020 WE WILL Undertake market research to understand our customer base and the needs of our customers Deliver a greater range of products for customers Review the range of tenancy agreements Establish effective customer scrutiny accountability Continue to seek full cost recovery across support projects 6

7 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 Provide a great place for our staff to work The commitment of colleagues to deliver our vision is critical to its success. Currently our levels of engagement are high (74%) and we are an Investor in People having been reaccredited in Currently, Westward values and invests in its people through apprenticeships, coaching, Institute of Leadership and Management courses, learning and development investment and a Westfield Health employee assistance scheme. Our aim is to continue to focus on embedding learning and development into the workplace as well as strengthening our focus on behaviours and values in performance management. Westward is committed to succession planning at all levels of the organisation and provides opportunities through secondments and work shadowing for everyone. We know that being a good employer means having robust processes in place that support our values and culture. We want to be recognised as an organisation delivering fair accessible services and being an employer and partner of choice. Westward seeks to employ a diverse workforce of the right people. Aligning our recruitment process with our values will ensure we attract the right people to work for us. We work with our employees to be flexible and resilient, with a team culture where people succeed and Westward is seen as a great employer. TARGETS BY 2020 Staff engagement 85% Absence days per employee per annum 7 max Voluntary staff turnover per annum 10% Institute of Leadership and Management training success BY 2020 WE WILL Have invested in our people through both formal and informal learning Ensure that succession planning is in place at all levels within the organisation Have a workforce that is both flexible and resilient Have created a collaborative working environment 7 7

8 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 FINANCIAL TESTS Operating surplus as a % of turnover (all costs except interest; the higher the % the more efficient we are) 30% min Interest cover (adjusted operating surplus to net interest payable) 1.25 min Maintain our financial strength and deliver great value through efficiency and innovation Westward s financial strength is key to the organisation s long term success. Our financial model ensures that we generate a surplus each year but every single penny is reinvested back into the business and we do not pay dividends to shareholders. Surpluses are used to build new homes, invest in services, repay loans and reduce the amount of money we need to borrow. At Westward we operate under the following financial principles: A strong focus on business basics and value for money A budget setting process that starts from the bottom up and allows changes only with a justifiable business case All services to breakeven unless there is a transparent and clear reason agreed by board A treasury management policy approved by board which is in line with our risk appetite Gearing (outstanding loans as a % of net worth) max 70% Net cash generated from operating activities +positive value To remain a strong and efficient business Westward will continue to operate under its financial principles and tests. Our efficiency ambitions are set out each year in our financial statements and value for money statement. Demonstrating good governance is very important to Westward and we will continue to regularly review our board skills and membership, delegations to staff and committees and decisionmaking processes. 8

9 How will we get there? To achieve our aspirations over the next four years we have set a number of targets and ambitions within this document. Each year we will identify a number of key strategic projects that will assist us in delivering our vision. To ensure transparency and accountability these will be monitored through the business plan and our performance indicators, in our governance processes. There will be reporting to the board and the customer senate. Through our consultation methods we will continue to review customer priorities and satisfaction with our services and consider our strategy annually using this feedback. Key to the delivery of the strategic plan is a robust governance framework and a board whose members have the appropriate skills and ability to challenge and support the executive. 9

10 Westward Housing Group Ltd (an exempt charity - Community Benefit Society no. 7350) with Horizon Homes and Help to Buy South West. Westward Housing Group Ltd,Templar House, Collett Way, Newton Abbot TQ12 4PH (registered office); and Tarka House, Clovelly Road Industrial Estate, Bideford EX39