Leading and Growing to 2018

Transcription

1 Leading and Growing to 2018 North Star Housing Group Corporate Plan

2 1. Introduction and Purpose This is North Star Housing Groups Corporate Plan for , in which we detail our vision and plans for the future. It is supported by detailed operational service plans that are regularly monitored. In this way, North Star can be confident of delivering its vision of: Creating homes, building futures The plan takes into account the Group Business Plans, Risk and Growth Strategy, Performance Management Framework, Vision, and other relevant operational and strategic plans as well as external strategies. It is an ambitious but achievable plan that will be steered by the Board, ensuring that it remains dynamic and subject to scrutiny and challenge. It will be regularly reviewed to ensure it remains relevant. North Star Housing Group North Star is the Parent Company of Endeavour and Teesdale Housing Associations: Group Structure Non-charitable Non Asset Holding ENDEAVOUR TEESDALE Charitable Asset Holding Charitable Asset Holding North Star Housing Group was established in 2006 as a non-charitable parent to provide services, and bring together, Endeavour and Teesdale Housing Associations. A non-asset owning parent, North Star provides central services to both operating subsidiaries. As far as possible the Group operate a one organisational structure, sharing senior staff and services. The Board also operate an overlapping structure to make the Group as efficient and streamlined as possible. This helps to maximise surplus that is then reinvested into services, improving existing properties and developing new housing. The Group holds the Investors in People Gold Award, is a Sunday Times Top 100 Best Company in the not for profit sector, and an accredited Living Wage employer. 1

3 As at 1 st January 2016 the Group employed 95 people and had a 17.4m turnover. Endeavour Housing Association Endeavour is an asset owning subsidiary of the parent North Star. Established in 1974 as a charitable housing association, it began life buying and refurbishing older terraced housing in the inner areas of Tees Valley, and is known as a traditional housing association with dispersed housing stock. Over the years, the association has spread itself geographically, now operating in 11 local authority areas, and provides a wide range of rented accommodation. Known for flexibility, partnership working, community focus and adaptability, it owns or manages over 2,750 homes, of which around 450 are supported housing units. Endeavour has always been ambitious to develop new housing to assist people in housing need. It has a 13.8m turnover. Endeavour is very diverse in its activities which include private sector leasing schemes, tenant management co-operatives, schemes for people with a variety of support needs, and extra care housing. A developing association they are involved in regeneration and new build activity. Teesdale Housing Association Teesdale is also an asset holding charitable subsidiary of North Star. Established in 2006, Teesdale is a stock transfer organisation from the previous Teesdale District Council. Operating across a wide geographic area in the South West of Durham, they operate in market towns, ex-coalfield areas as well as more isolated rural villages. They have a local office in Barnard Castle, and own stock exclusively in County Durham, although they manage housing on behalf of Endeavour and Darlington Housing Association in neighbouring areas. They own around 830 units of stock, with high concentrations on estates. It has a 3.5m turnover. A recently developed vision for Teesdale details plans for tackling challenging housing stock, improving environmentals and land assembly to assist with growth. An actively developing association they are committed to replace stock lost under the right to buy and to assist regenerate communities. Both subsidiaries hold the Customer Service Excellence Award, and delivering high quality services is critical to their success. Tenants are at the centre of the businesses which is evidenced with strong tenant scrutiny, a Tenant LINK Group and varied tenant involvement. Both subsidiaries invest significantly in community activity to develop and sustain the areas they operate in. Despite challenges of reduced capital grant and relatively low affordable rent levels, both associations will meet their collective target of building 50 units per annum until 2018, with the support of the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) affordable housing programme. 2

4 2. Delivering our Corporate Plan The Leading & Growing North Star 2018 (L&G 2018) is the main strategic document of the business in terms of detailing what we want to achieve over a five year period. We take this document and distil this into an annually updated Corporate Plan that reviews the previous 12 months achievements and sets out the next 12 months objective. This is further distilled into functional and team operational plans. In January we sought advice from Board on some of the main outstanding items from L&G 2018 and recommendations from that discussion are now included in the main document. We plan to begin the planning for the L&G 2023 with Board in April It is important that other strategies link closely to this Corporate Plan and they complement one another. We have a number of key strategies that will specifically assist us to achieve our aims and objectives. These include: Growth, Risk Management, Business Plans, Asset Management, Tenant Involvement and Value for Money. Group Business Plan The Group Business Plan sets out North Star s financial position. We need to ensure we operate from a robust financial platform to enable us to deliver our vision and corporate objectives. Sound financial planning and risk management is therefore of critical importance to us. The Business Plan was fully reviewed in September 2015 to accommodate rent reductions. The Group Business Plan incorporates the individual Business Plans of Endeavour and Teesdale. The plans are of 30 year duration, although the first five years of the plans are our primary focus. They are refreshed on an annual basis. The Group Business Plan includes the following key characteristics and principles: Demonstrable compliance with all loan covenant measures; Inclusion, on a scheme by scheme basis, of our planned development activities, along with provision for future developments; Considered planning assumptions for key economic indicators, derived from work with our treasury management consultants; Robust sensitivity analysis on all key assumptions; Thorough risk assessments of the plan, in line with our risk management strategy; Assumed investment in management and maintenance resources, aligned to increases in property numbers; High level stress testing. During 2014 we secured a new loan to fund our growth ambition to More detail on our financial position and plans can be obtained from the Group Business Plan document. 3

5 Leadership We recognise there has never been a more important time to develop leaders of the future because of the increasingly complex world that we operate in. The external environment is changing at a breath-taking pace; there is lots of uncertainty, many unknowns, more complex questions and a need to do things differently. Government spending cuts, reduced capital grants to build, fewer local services and increased deprivation requires us to think and act differently. This led us to invest in leadership and cultural change through a process of developing our vision. Our approach is to develop shared leadership across the whole organisation. We believe that no one person or small group of people has all the answers and therefore we wanted to involve and include more people. The shared leadership model we agreed to develop has required more people to be leaderful, to be more accountable and to have more influence. We invest in the development of leaders across the organisation and many people are involved in leading the organisation, this is supported by clear decision making processes at every level. We all engage in development and training to enable our skills to be applied flexibly in a way that helps us to be clear about our approach and have consistent management styles. We pay attention to and invest in our wellbeing. The Leading and Growing North Star to 2018 Strategy, clearly states the direction of travel and the chosen approach to leadership, to be achieved through an increasingly influential, leaderful and accountable workforce. We have invested in the development of all staff through an in-house Leadership and a Tools for Change programme. We see development of individuals and teams as a constant and to that end we continue to invest in this aspect. We sponsor formal qualifications, and have a well-funded training plan. Back to the floor activity has grown and developed, reducing hierarchical lines to decision making and developing organisational learning is well embedded. All of this will assist to keep North Star strong well into the future and to manage and adapt to change more effectively. Governance We have a Board of eleven members who have operated within an overlapping Board structure since April We have an open recruitment process, using an external consultant that ensures we recruit people who have the right skills and behaviours. The Board has seen a 35% turnover over the last three years, which has further strengthened skills and refreshed our approach. Board sign up to the NHF Code of Practice and annually assess their performance against it. In keeping with this Code, we carry out annual individual and collective Board appraisals, using an independent consultant. The information from appraisals populates individual development plans and an overarching governance improvement plan, which is monitored closely. Development of individuals is a constant, and as well as attendance at external seminars, conferences and training, Board members attend two residential weekends to facilitate focussed time for strategic issues and relationship development. They are working towards being a highly creative Board recognising that the future requires more flexibility, pace and speedy decision making. Strong relationships are important as this enables 4

6 higher levels of challenge and scrutiny, delivering robust governance. We regularly, independently review Board member payments, skills and effectiveness. Obtaining external views of the business is an important health check. Board use numerous methods including tenant satisfaction and external stakeholder surveys (the most recent of which was carried out in 2015). Tenant Scrutiny, an essential part of co-regulation has continued to develop and provides an increasingly valuable insight into service delivery from a customer s perspective. A jointly agreed scrutiny plan for 2016/17 will be implemented across the Group. This reflects our commitment to delivering high levels of service and making real time improvements. In addition, Board make good use of internal auditors with an agreed annual plan, and assurance mapping providing additional tools to check the health of the business. This continues to be an area of focus. Risk management is a high priority with a clear separation of responsibility between Board and Audit Committee, the latter concentrating on systems, which are to be fully reviewed in A recovery plan has been developed by Board using an external consultant to bring strong challenge and process. The Assets and Liabilities Register will be fully operational by 1 st April The Group continues to fully comply with HCA Regulation and the NHF Code and has maintained its top regulatory judgements. This is an endorsement of strong direction and leadership at this level. During 2016/17 Board will be working with staff in the organisation to develop a vision for the five years beyond the current one Leading & Growing North Star This is a major piece of work that will take into account the external and internal environment and will require significant research and involvement. This is a new way of doing things, working as peers across the organisation to develop a leading edge strategy to ensure North Star remains strong. During this time Board will be experimenting with self and peer appraisal assessments, which goes much further than the usual 360 degree approach. A lot of detailed work has been carried out on succession planning, to ensure we remain strong going forward. Key Partnerships The Group has a long track record developing strong and sustainable partnerships, which is increasingly important given our size, and drive for VFM along with the need to be even more creative. We understand our limitations as an individual entity, and we highly value collaborations that enable us to deliver more than we could individually. Our experience is that effective partnerships harness individual strengths and combine them to achieve greater impact. We work with a number of partners across our operating area, ranging from high level strategic to frontline operational. Our relationships with the HCA, NHF and Local Authorities are longstanding, mutually productive and very important. They span more than 40 years in some cases. The 2015 stakeholder survey carried out by our brand consultants surveyed key partners, with constructive feedback. On the whole they found us loyal, committed, reliable, honest and transparent. We are highly regarded and a key partner in the region. 5

7 One of our new partnerships includes the Tees Valley and North East Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) or Combined Authorities (CA) as they are now known. We are involved at a strategic level in Tees Valley and look to develop the same relationship with the North East CA in due course. Through our membership and involvement at the Board level at PlaceShapers, we have contact with over 100 housing associations that are bound by shared principles and values, and are increasingly influential. As a result of close partnership working with Tees Valley housing associations we have successfully bid for European funding to assist with youth unemployment. We are one of very few housing associations that work closely with an urban community land trust and our partnership with Darlington Housing Association has brought mutual benefits. Our partnership with two other housing associations on procuring repairs services has saved us around 20% of total maintenance costs, and we are currently exploring a joint venture for gas servicing with other housing associations. In addition to strategic partnerships we work with a range of partners at the operational level tackling many issues such as anti-social behaviour, lettings and allocations and developing approaches to welfare reform. We have partnerships with over twenty care and support organisations who work alongside us providing high quality services to over 450 vulnerable people. We are open and alive to the possibility of new relationships. Links with health continues to be an area of challenge, however we will keep focussed on this aspect as it s an obvious partnership going forward. We have a strategic objective to be a partner of choice and we will continue to work hard in this regard. Growth The organisation remains committed to growth and this remains a key priority going forward despite continuing challenges. Growth covers both bricks and mortar and services. The bricks and mortar growth provides much needed housing, it contributes to the dynamism and creativity of the organisation, it helps us to rebalance our stock portfolio away from older terraced housing and it assists in the recruitment and retention of high quality staff. The growth in services enables us to spread our costs leading to value for money for both parties. This has worked particularly well with Darlington Housing Association. We know we provide good services, that we have a strong reputation and are able to develop mutually beneficial relationships. With this in mind we will continue to explore opportunities for service growth and support particularly to small housing associations. Our Affordable Homes Programme to 2018 enables us to achieve our targets of building a minimum of 50 units per annum. This current programme meets the organisations growth objectives in terms of geography, type of housing and scale. All the core geographic areas of the business have an element of new build, including Tees Valley, Durham and North Yorkshire. This will become more challenging post We know that the development of social housing is no longer grant funded beyond what is currently contractually agreed in the 2018 programme. The 6

8 Government has shifted their financial support from rented to low cost home ownership products. We also know that the steady supply of rented housing from planning gain (S106) could dry up as developers are encouraged to replace these with starter homes for sale. We await the HCA guidance which is due to be published in the spring of 2016, at which point the organisation will review its strategic position in relation to growth post In the meanwhile our guiding principles in relation to growth remain relevant, and we aim to develop in our core areas, and to expand our portfolio in West Durham and North Yorkshire. To support growth, we annually review our business plan, assumptions, capacity and borrowings. We will continue to explore new partnerships, long term lease arrangements, new and different housing models including low cost home ownership along with new sources of funding to continue developing new homes. Our Properties Two years ago we fundamentally changed the way we deliver our repairs service. Working with two other similar sized housing associations, we successfully procured all the repairs and maintenance services initially for Endeavour. This has been hugely successful in streamlining this function, bringing about significant savings and maintaining good levels of tenant satisfaction. Both subsidiary repairs services are now fully outsourced, which has assisted in the delivery of our value for money objectives. We have previously implemented a new Technical Services structure to ensure it can meet future demands and challenges including improved investment data and creative procurement, and we have recently employed a dedicated procurement officer as part of a spend to save initiative. We have continued to build on the independent housing stock condition survey which is used as a basis for planning capital and component investment, and we now have 96% stock condition information. This is assisting with more accurate financial planning and maximising benefits through procurement. Our return on assets model enables us to establish the financial performance of all our properties. We concentrate each year on the bottom ten asset groups to assist us to improve the performance. This is also used as a strategic tool when considering options for stock disposal or rationalisation. This is an important element of VFM, and we keep the system refreshed and under review. During the year we have created a detailed Asset and Liabilities Register as required by the regulator. This assembly of data along with the contract register has been audited independently and continues to be a dynamic document. Equality and Diversity We recognise that our customers have diverse backgrounds, circumstances and needs. Our equality and diversity strategy outlines our vision, aims and targets. Our overarching statement is: North Star Housing Group protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish. We recognise people s different needs, situations and goals and are committed to removing any barriers that limit what people can do and can be. 7

9 Our commitment to equality goes beyond our legal duties as follows: We will develop services that overcome discrimination and enable people to achieve their full potential; Our services will be accessible and fair to everyone; We will demonstrate equality in our day to day work; We will work in partnership with disadvantaged communities and individuals to ensure that their voices are heard, their rights respected and their needs reflected in our services; Our Board and workforce will reflect diversity and be representative of the communities in which we operate; We will ensure that there is no discrimination in the recruitment and selection of Board members, employees, contractors and external partners. We have achieved Level 2 of the Investors in Diversity Award (IiD). Annually, the Board receives a report which measures a number of key aspects of our services and sets out our key actions for the year ahead. Value for Money Value for money (VFM) is a central requirement for any successful organisation and has been further strengthened by strong regulatory direction. Efficiency gains are reinvested to provide better services for customers, more choice, and ensure needs and priorities are met. Efficiency is not about service reductions, but about doing more for the same or less by raising productivity and increasing effectiveness. This is increasingly important given the pressure on income streams. Our approach and key processes for achieving value for money are set out in our VFM Strategy. They include: Continually improving our understanding of our costs and performance by benchmarking our activities against our peers through our membership of the HouseMark performance improvement club; Developing our VFM self-assessment processes to meet regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations; Further embedding VFM across the Group by ensuring full staff involvement in improving the efficiency of our operations and creating a focussed group to look in detail at some aspects. Because of the reduction in public spending and rent reductions, ensuring VFM is more crucial than ever in an environment where public services are being cut and there is less investment available to develop new properties. We will focus our attention on maximising our financial surplus, so that we can continue to provide high quality services and deliver our development programme. In recent years we have honed our approach to procurement and identified efficiencies that have supported us to re-invest in more community investment activity, and to increase the support we provide to tenants affected by welfare reforms. Achieving value for money is a constant for the business, not only is it a regulatory necessity, it underpins the health of the business. We are committed to an 8

10 ambitious vision that requires us find the resource and capacity to achieve this, and to provide value for money to our tenants. Balancing all of these priorities is challenging and essential. Our main focus in 2016/17 is to improve procurement across the business, to review all functions and to successfully support Darlington Housing Association in joining our Group. Risk Management Risk is an integral part of Governance, particularly in the current environment. The Audit Committee considers the process of risk with Board having overall responsibility. The Board formally considers risk quarterly, with staff continuously looking at risk in their day to day activities. The Risk Management Framework has been fully reviewed and continues to be embedded across the organisation. Board and staff have undergone refresher training on risk during the year and modifications to our process have been undertaken as a result. Regular updating is carried out, and testing of risk assessment via Group Senior Management Team and Board. Strategic risks are the main focus of Board, with a detailed operational risk register underpinning the framework. Detailed stress testing of the Business Plan has been undertaken using various scenarios, with more activity planned during the year. Assurance mapping is being developed to link with strategic risks and to provide Board with more focussed information. Performance Management The overall purpose of the Group s Performance Management Framework is to ensure our key activities are measured and we continue to make progress and deliver outcomes against our corporate objectives. The framework is used to drive improvement in services and keep North Star strong into the future. The inherent principles are that we: Ensure targets are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time bound); Use HouseMark and peer learning groups to benchmark our performance with others; Traffic light reports so that stakeholders and Board can get a clear picture of performance against our targets; Focus on action plans to improve any areas of concern; Report our performance to tenants so we remain transparent and accountable. Our key performance indicators are published on our website, in our Annual Report and as part of our Value for Money Statement to ensure we are transparent and inform stakeholders and customers how we are performing and how we compare to our peers. 9

11 Access & Customer Service This is a critical aspect of the business and our primary objective is to continually improve and deliver services that people choose and want. We have focussed investment on supporting customers to be more able to: maintain their tenancy, more easily access housing, improve the communities in which they live and to access training and employment. In addition we have developed more mobile technology, taking the service to tenants, as part of our strategy to be more local. Our stock investment plans ensures that our properties are upgraded and maintained to a high standards and that we provide quality repair service. Our community investment team continue delivering the agreed strategy; however this will be reviewed in 2016/17 as a result of budget reductions. We are seeking external funding to replace the Group s own investment which requires us to more closely follow Government s agenda. We have developed our approach to supporting tenants through welfare reform through increased frontline capacity. We have massively improved telephone access for tenants through better technology and resource. Many of our services are accessible online including repair reporting and checking rent accounts. During the year we will be launching a new website and further developing the use of social media. Leading and Growing North Star to 2018 Our Future Planning Process The development of this five year vision was done against a backdrop of financial recession, a change in Government bringing austerity measures and an increasingly complex external environment. The aim of the vision was to co-create a strategy aimed at keeping North Star strong, both through the strategy itself and also the approach taken. We wanted to develop this strategy differently to the way we had done in the past. Involving many people was important, to have strong ownership, sustainability and to help provide answers to complex questions. During a year long process of peer working, establishing the shared leadership model, we agreed the key ingredients were: culture, customers, growth, resources and identity and communication. This strategy is both ambitious and challenging and is the cornerstone of the corporate plan. We distil the five year strategy into annual objectives that are closely monitored by Board. A detailed review of the outstanding five year objectives was carried out by Board early in 2016, resulting in an amended two year plan. During 2016/17 Board and staff will start to co-create a new five year strategy. 10

12 3. Group Vision and Values Vision Creating homes, building futures Values Collaboration We work hard at being a good partner, employer and landlord by involving and empowering people and working with one another. We listen, learn and reflect. We place people and communities at the centre of all we do and we encourage and welcome challenge. Flexibility We provide local, personal and responsive services and individual solutions where needed. We encourage people to think creatively and imaginatively. Integrity We never promise what we cannot deliver and we work in an open and transparent way. We are committed to providing equality of opportunity, we treat everyone with respect and we value people s differences. We own up when things do not go right and work hard at finding solutions. Professionalism We aim to deliver excellence in all we do. We are committed to working ethically and do all we can to help with environmental issues. We deliver value for money. We ensure staff are highly trained and developed. Ambition Known as an organisation that punches above its weight, we are courageous, enthusiastic and innovative. We are committed to growth and delivering bespoke solutions even when it is not the easy option. We are involved in challenging work that benefits communities. For us, what is important about the vision and values statement is not how well the words are crafted; it is how well it reflects on what we actually do particularly in times of difficulty. It remains a living, working document that we measure ourselves against. 11

13 4. Group Corporate Objectives What we want to achieve We will achieve our vision by focussing on the Group s corporate objectives, which are set out in broad terms as follows: 1. Culture To ensure our organisational culture is conducive to keeping North Star strong. This involves sustaining strong relationships, being agile and flexible and building resilience to manage uncertainty and change. 2. Customers We intend to provide the best possible local services that tenants want and value and to grow and develop communities to keep them sustainable. 3. Growth We aim to increase the homes we own and manage by an average of at least 50 homes a year until Resources We will create the financial capacity to achieve our ambitions by operating efficiently and effectively, with strong Governance guiding and directing. We aim to be an employer of choice. We also aim to develop cutting edge IT appropriate to the size and nature of the business. 5. Identity and Communication To have an instantly recognised brand that builds on the strong reputation of the Group and to have effective and creative communication. Objective 1 - Culture We continue to make good progress on our journey to Staff are more involved, influential, engaged and challenging, and we are now able to evidence this through external validation such as the Best Companies Award. People are working more flexibly, and we are managing to cover staffing gaps using existing staff. This fits with our principles of doing more for the same and delivers cash savings that we can invest elsewhere. This approach will serve us well for the future. Innovation and creativity was in evidence across the business in the run up to the annual staff event, when we challenged all staff to make something out of nothing. The ideas that came forward were impressive and delivery is on-going. The external environment continues to change at an unprecedented pace and continues to require more from us. The investment in developing our people has ensured that we are adaptable, resilient and flexible but there is more to do. Leadership, leaderful behaviour and consistent management have never been more required and during the year managers will continue to develop the technical skills needed to manage and engage people effectively. Whilst we continue to deliver our strategy to 2018, we are also beginning to plan for the next iteration of our strategy. Board, staff, managers and the senior team will work together to begin to co create our future vision. 12

14 Over the next 12 months we will: Review the Housing Services department; Start to co-create a new five year strategy; Deliver facilitated sessions with Housing and Maintenance to ensure that our services are delivered consistently, collaboratively and effectively; Continue to develop the management skills of our Managers; Review and improve how we manage, monitor and report performance across the organisation; Further develop new approaches for annual appraisals to include elements of Self and Peer Assessment. Objective 2 - Customers Our customers continue to experience real economic hardship. Universal Credit (UC) is being rolled out and we now know that customers need more support during the transition from Housing Benefit to UC. In addition, we need to plan for the impact of the introduction of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and work out what this will mean for customers and the business. These issues, combined with the myriad of other welfare reforms, reduced investment within our communities, reduced housing demand and the imperative to protect our income means that we must continually review our approaches. Our community investment team continue delivering the agreed strategy; however this will be reviewed in 2016/17 as a result of budget reductions. We are seeking external funding to replace the Group s own investment which requires us to more closely follow Government s agenda. During the year we will begin the delivery of a project to support young people into employment, education and training. We continue to build on our relationships with customers and by the end of 2017 we will develop an even stronger local approach to services, ensuring we are more accessible and responsive. We will be local where there is a need to be local; and the next focus will be on our medium priority neighbourhoods, developing local approaches which reflect the nature and needs of these neighbourhoods. Over the year we have carried out in-depth research and diagnostic work to understand what our customers need; what excellent customer service is; and how we deliver this. We will be implementing improvements that will allow us to more effectively communicate with our customers, respond more efficiently to issues as they arise and be able to gather their feedback and insight to allow us continually review and improve our services. Supported Housing has experienced a very challenging year, with welfare reforms threatening its sustainability and continuing existence. A priority for last year was to develop a vision for supported housing and progress is detailed in the annual update. However, there is far more to do, including strengthening our current approaches, systematically working through risks and developing options that will keep us strong and mitigate risk where we are able. 13

15 Over the next 12 months we will: Continue to support our customers through Welfare Reform and protect our income streams; Review Community Investment; Deliver a youth employment project; Implement our approach to customer excellence; Improve customer satisfaction with maintenance and anti-social behaviour services; Develop a risk based, strategic approach for Supported Housing. Objective 3 - Growth The external environment, impact of government thinking and changing regulatory requirements is proving very challenging for small. This presents opportunities for us to manage more stock and/or deliver services on behalf of others. We intend to investigate these opportunities further and actively promote our services to others. We are on target to build 50 units of affordable rented housing per year until the end of The Government s preference for home ownership and the cessation of grant funding for affordable rent is making us think differently. We are exploring alternative tenure, funding and equity share models to help resolve the current housing crisis and be able build homes that meet people s needs and aspirations. We are heavily involved in the Devolution agenda across the North East. We are sharing learning and exploring bespoke solutions, to enable affordable housing to be delivered across the region. We currently await the detail of the Voluntary Right to Buy requirements and the future HCA funding initiatives. This will influence how and where we develop new homes. Creativity, innovation and collaboration are vital if we are to continue to develop and grow. Since 2013 we have successfully managed properties on behalf of Darlington Housing Association (DHA). This strong partnership, combined with complexities of the external environment, has resulted in DHA s request to join North Star. Whilst we are in the early stages of the process, we hope to conclude this work in September Over the next 12 months we will: Deliver 50 new homes; Explore alternative tenure and funding models/approaches; Explore opportunities to deliver services on behalf of others; Successfully integrate DHA as a subsidiary within the Group; Work in partnership with Middlesbrough Council in Gresham to further the regeneration ambitions and explore more home ownership opportunities; Contribute to the emergence of the Devolution proposals for the North East and Tees Valley; 14

16 Explore new partnerships to achieve our ambitions. Objective 4 - Resources Key enablers to the achievement of our corporate objectives are financial strength and effective governance. We are efficient and keen to do more, this has become increasingly important following the 2015 Summer Budget and Autumn Statement, as our income from traditional sources comes under pressure. We have responded by reducing our cost-base and aim to maintain the principle of reinvesting available funding back into the Group wherever possible. We want to further develop a culture of continuous improvement, through lean thinking reviews which helps us to sustain and embed change, enabling us to work smarter and achieve more with less resource. We want to develop our systems and processes to make us more efficient. We also want to use effective IT solutions which support the business and our customers. Strong financial controls, the maximisation of sustainable income streams, exploring new models of funding and cost control including effective procurement all contribute to our financial strength and all will be a key focus of the year ahead. Intelligent risk management, reliable data, transparent assurance and robust business planning will be further refined so that they contribute to the effective and efficient governance that will keep North Star strong in 2016/17. Flexible and enabling policies will be developed during the year so the Group can deliver its wider corporate objectives and continue to be an employer of choice. To help maximise our efficiency and to ensure we understand the performance of our assets we have good systems and modelling tools in place. Along with our refreshed Assets & Liabilities Register we have robust data to allow us to make informed and strategic asset management decisions. We take a strategic approach to procurement; continually striving to deliver cashable savings and achieve value for money. The recent appointment of a Procurement Officer will provide the dedicated focus necessary to deliver financial and business efficiencies as well as capturing social value for our communities and residents. Over the next 12 months we will: Review every part of the business in line with the objectives set out within our savings plan; Implement the improvements identified through the 2015/16 review of recruitment and selection; Ensure that we are able to meet the needs of a diverse workforce (Younger People, Carers, People working for longer, etc.); Deliver a programme of procurement activity and explore partnership working that generates financial and social benefits for the Group, including a legal services framework and gas servicing and repairs; Explore models with others registered providers to provide fuel savings to our stock to achieve financial efficiencies; 15

17 Review data quality throughout the business and develop a protocol to maintain data quality and consistency; Improve our data protection arrangements; Deliver the 2016/17 savings plan; Develop a programme of continuous improvement reviews to remove waste, supporting the business to deliver more for less; Continue to develop our IT systems to support the business and our customers; Consider refinancing options which maybe available to all or part of the Group; Ensure our effective governance arrangements are able to demonstrate compliance with our regulatory requirements; Further develop our approach to risk management, effectively managing risks whilst maximising opportunities; Develop succession planning for our Board. Objective 5 - Identity and Communication We have developed our new brand and brand platform that builds on the strong reputation of the Group and reflects our values. The new brand will resolve any brand confusion caused by the Group structure. Therefore, a priority for the next year will be to ensure that the management of the new brand is embedded across the organisation. Branding is more than logos; it s about culture, messages, symbols, design and any other feature that identifies us as distinct from others. We know that methods and modes of communication are changing rapidly and we need to ensure that all our communications are branded. Now that the branding project is complete we need to refocus on the development of strong and creative methods of electronic communication, making us more accessible but where possible maintaining our human approach. We are committed to providing a work environment that supports wellbeing, maximises flexible space and collaborative working. We are working with staff and University students to explore options to create a flexible, working environment that better reflect our values and the way that we work. Over the next 12 months we will: Increase the use of e-communication, digital communications and social media tools, internally and externally; Develop a new Intranet; Refurbish Endeavour House; Embed the new brand; Launch the rebranded website. 16

18 5. Key Achievements 2015/16 Culture Management teams within the Finance and Housing departments have taken part in development to clarify roles, responsibilities and priorities. A detailed piece of development work was undertaken to define the role and purpose of both the senior team and the management team. Working with staff we have developed a much more enhanced, business appropriate flexible working approach. Delivered an in-house programme to managers to further develop their skills in managing people and challenge. Launched a staff discount and reward service. Team Managers have begun to participate in management development programmes, including self and peer assessments. Customers Developed a service offer with and for young people. Increased our local community hubs to five in total. Developed an improved service offer with, and for, customers living in supported housing. Increased customer insight through household surveys, local drop ins, community fun days and telephone surveys. This has helped us to define what customer excellence/a great Landlord means to our customers and how we will deliver this. Fully reviewed all customer service standards. Integrated the customer services team within the Technical Services department. This will enable us to improve our service. Completed the initial review of Supported Housing. Our Welfare Benefits Officer has increased the income of our customers by 205k. Piloted a new Handy Van Service. Introduced a weekly job club, facilitated by North Star staff and the YMCA to support the local community of Evenwood, Teesdale with CV writing and job applications. Scrutiny and LINK have volunteered approximately 9,826 hours over the last year. Introduced a new involvement opportunity (Tenant Advisors), that has increased the number of younger people who are involved. Tenants Voice Scrutiny Panel completed a review of service charges. Customers were involved in the development of the organisational savings plan. 17

19 Growth Developed 50 homes for rent within HCA timeframes. Secured 863k of HCA grant to develop 141 homes during to Increased our managed stock by 30 units in Gresham, Middlesbrough. Secured funding for a new Domestic Violence service, in partnership with Harbour and Middlesbrough Council. Darlington HA has agreed to join the Group. Resources Reviewed our recruitment processes. Developed an approach that markets us as an employer of choice. Further embedded the Group s Health and Safety culture. Maintained top regulatory judgements from the HCA. Developed an assurance mapping tool for strategic risk management. Developed a Recovery Plan in line with best practice. Board completed an Iron Grip assessment to test their robustness in decision making under pressure. Developed a model to capture the assets performance of our stock. Developed a new procurement framework which maximises social value. Delivered savings through the procurement of decoration contract, grounds maintenance and legionella. Appointed a Procurement officer for a 12 month period as an invest to save initiative Commenced a Continuous Improvement review to reduce waste from internal systems to pay suppliers. Completed a review of service charges. Installed a new IT network. Standardised the mobile technology used across the Group. Identity and Communication Working with leading edge consultants, we have developed our new brand and brand platform. Developed and launched a customer app. Launched Link Online. Involved customers now use Yammer to communicate with each other and to review North Star services. Developed a range of e communications, digital and social media tools for our customers. 18

20 Planned Activity: 2016/17 Activity Lead Director Time Frame Culture Start to co-create a new five year strategy. Carole Richardson March 2017 Review and improve how we monitor and report performance across the organisation. GSMT July 2016 Deliver facilitated sessions with Housing and Maintenance to ensure that our services are delivered consistently, collaboratively and effectively. Carole Richardson June 2016 Continue to develop the technical management skills of our Managers. Carole Richardson September 2016 Further develop new approaches for annual appraisals to include elements of Self and Peer Assessment. Carole Richardson December 2016 Customers Continue to support our customers through welfare reform and protect our income. Carole Richardson On-going through 2016/17 Review Community Investment. Carole Richardson March 2017 Deliver our youth employment project. Carole Richardson June 2016 Implement our approach towards customer excellence. Emma Speight May 2016 Improve customer satisfaction with Anti-Social Behaviour and Maintenance services. Emma Speight On-going through 2016/17 Develop a risk based, strategic approach for Supported Housing. Carole Richardson December

21 Growth Deliver 50 new homes. Emma Speight March 2017 Explore alternative tenure and funding models/approaches. Explore opportunities to deliver services on behalf of others. Emma Speight Emma Speight On-going through 2016/17 On-going through 2016/17 Successfully integrate DHA as a subsidiary within the Group. Emma Speight September 2016 Work in partnership with Middlesbrough Council in Gresham to further the regeneration ambitions and explore more home ownership opportunities. Contribute to the emergence of the Devolution proposals for the North East and Tees Valley. Explore new partnerships to achieve our ambitions. Resources Emma Speight Emma Speight Angela Lockwood/ Emma Speight On-going through 2016/17 On-going through 2016/17 On-going through 2016/17 Review every part of the business in line with the objectives set out within our savings plan. Implement the improvements identified through the 2015/16 review of recruitment and selection. GSMT By March 2017 Carole Richardson October 2016 Ensure that our employment offer is able to meet the needs of a diverse workforce. Carole Richardson December 2016 Deliver a programme of procurement activity that generates financial and social benefits for the Group. Emma Speight On-going through 2016/17 Explore models with other providers to provide fuel savings to our stock to achieve financial efficiencies. Emma Speight September

22 Review data quality throughout the business and develop a protocol to maintain data quality and consistency. Rachel Taylor December 2016 Deliver the 2016/17 savings plan. Rachel Taylor On-going through 2016/17 Develop a programme of continuous improvement reviews to remove waste, supporting the business to deliver more for less. Rachel Taylor September 2016 Continue to develop our IT systems to support the business and our customers. Rachel Taylor March 2017 Consider refinancing options which maybe available to all or part of the Group. Rachel Taylor December 2016 Ensure our effective governance arrangements are able to demonstrate compliance with our regulatory requirements. Further develop our approach to risk management, effectively managing risks whilst maximising opportunities. Rachel Taylor March 2017 Rachel Taylor September 2016 Develop succession planning for our Board. Rachel Taylor June 2016 Identity and Communications Increase the use of e-communication, digital communication and social media, internally and externally. Carole Richardson September 2016 Develop a new Intranet. Carole Richardson By March 2017 Refurbish Endeavour House. Emma Speight By Sept 2016 Embed the new brand. Carole Richardson June 2016 Launch the rebranded website. Rachel Taylor April