Corporate Plan

Transcription

1 Corporate Plan

2 INTRODUCTION After an exciting period of significant growth over the past few years we are now entering a phase of consolidation and more modest development opportunities, this also allows us to take account of the impact of the Government Policy of 1% annual rent reduction until Our aspirations for continued growth and development remain however and alongside our more modest development plans for the next three years we will also be exploring opportunities for new strategic alliances as well as consolidating and building on our organisational capabilities and strengths. This three year plan focuses on understanding our assets and the needs of our residents, equipping and preparing us for the future and embracing new opportunities and partnerships. It encourages the organisation to be forward looking and to make our mark as a company that embraces innovation and creativity whilst holding onto our core beliefs of providing high quality services to our residents, fulfilling our mission and social purpose of providing great places for people to live. The priorities in this plan allow us to continue to add to our stock to provide much needed new homes but reflect the need to be more creative in the way that we make resources available to do that. Proactive Asset Management will be a key focus and our number one priority throughout this plan. We value our staff and their wellbeing and this plan builds on our culture of flexibility and trust whilst supporting staff to achieve their potential. The plan rises to the challenge of an increasingly uncertain external operating environment but embraces and builds on the positive work that we do, it focuses on our core beliefs and is designed to make a positive impact on the lives of our residents, future residents and staff whilst ensuring that the financial integrity of the organisation is protected. 2

3 Vision, Mission and Values Our Vision To improve lives and opportunities by being a great landlord and employer Our Mission To provide great places for people to live Our Values To work with integrity and efficiency To value our relationships To be innovative and creative To be approachable OUR CORPORATE PRIORITY OBJECTIVES FOR ARE: 1. To make the best possible use of our assets 2. To encourage innovation and creativity to help us deliver high quality services 3. To grow the business through development and strategic partnerships 4. To rise to the challenge of housing an aging population 5. To develop and empower our staff 3

4 PRIORITY 1 To make the best possible use of our Assets Our Asset Management Strategy is based on a detailed evaluation of our stock which grades all properties as A C, according to condition, performance and value to the organisation. The strategy allows for a number of options including retention, improvement or disposal. We are implementing a full scale project that will run for at least the duration of this Corporate Plan to ensure that previous stock evaluations are still accurate and options are assessed, planned for and acted on. It is intended that capital receipts generated from disposals will be reinvested in the development of new, appropriate stock. This will be an inter-departmental project driven by a dedicated Asset Manager post, recruited specifically to deliver this project and the following outcomes: By the end of 2019, we will have disposed of all the C categorised units deemed suitable for disposal and will use the receipts to reinvest in appropriate new stock. By the end of the period of this plan; We will have disposed of our Supported Housing portfolio to a provider who specialises in managing this type of stock and reinvested the receipts in our core stock. We will have considered, and progressed, stock rationalisation and / or management with other providers to ensure that our housing services are efficient, value for money and that Residents are not disadvantaged by their location. Our stock condition information will be up to date and relevant. The appropriate data base will be populated and linked to the Asset Management strategy to ensure investment decisions take account of future strategic plans. We will have standardised the way we calculate our performance of assets per property by generating a net present value (NPV) calculation to inform future strategic and investment decisions. 4

5 We will have a holistic approach to our repairs and maintenance liabilities reflecting our Asset management strategy and ensuring best value. Linnet Homes The organisation had the foresight to create Linnet Homes back in 2000 to operate as a standalone private lettings agency. In 2015, Linnet also launched a sales arm and now operates as an estate agency offering the full spectrum of services. Linnet is a profit making subsidiary whose commercial purpose is to provide additional funding to Suffolk by gift aiding its surplus each year. Linnet performs well but in order for us to maximise the benefits and opportunities of this subsidiary, it is appropriate for us to review the service periodically to determine if it is still an appropriate diversification for us. To that end, we have commissioned a review that includes a SWOT analysis of the company. By the end of this plan, we will have achieved the following aims; Having regard to the outcome of the review, we will have determined and implemented the best business model for future development of Linnet. Linnet will have generated further revenue for the organisation by encouraging existing shared owners to purchase further shares in their homes or, where possible, to fully staircase to 100% ownership. We will have engaged with our connections in the sector and used networking opportunities to encourage other Housing Providers to use the services of Linnet. PRIORITY 2 To encourage innovation and creativity to help us to deliver high quality services. We believe that creativity is encouraged by providing the appropriate working environment and will use our established culture of agile working to develop a new ethos of creativity within the organisation and enhanced services to our residents. 5

6 We intend to exploit the growth in digital services and encourage our residents to make the best use of technology to receive key services from us where that is beneficial to both parties. We will maximise digital opportunities and services for our organisation whilst maintaining quality standards for our residents We will work with our residents to prioritise services to ensure that they add value. We will encourage and incentivise our residents to engage with digital services as a preferred option, but, will ensure that we offer appropriate support for those who are unable to do so. We will encourage our staff and residents to think creatively by forming an ideas group and linking this to our value for money approach. We will raise our profile with stakeholders and engage proactively to ensure that we exploit appropriate opportunities. PRIORITY 3 To grow the business through development and strategic partnerships As an organisation, we are committed to the provision of new homes. We have had a period of rapid growth over the last five years developing 250 new homes and acquiring 428 from another provider as part of a stock rationalisation programme. We intend to reflect this commitment throughout the duration of this plan. However, during this period of consolidation, it is appropriate for us to ensure that our Business Plan remains strong and we are therefore making our development plans more modest albeit still planning to provide at least 90 new homes with HCA approval to do so. We will also be taking the positive step of exploring opportunities for alliances with other organisations where there is common or shared benefit and purpose. We will use capital receipts from asset disposals to assist our development funding for the provision of new homes. 6

7 Working with our shared joint venture, Iceni Homes, we will explore opportunities for mixed developments where sales substantially cross subsidise the provision of homes for rent. We will have investigated new opportunities such as Rent to Buy and will work with partners to deliver new products where it is beneficial to do so. By the end of this plan, we will have explored opportunities for strategic partnerships, including shared services with other local Housing providers to ensure that services can be provided in the most efficient and cost effective way ensuring best Value for Money. We will have implemented new structures or working practices where there is mutual benefit in doing so. We will assess options, including approaches from other organisations against the criteria set by our Board using the process outlined in the NHF merger code. We recognise that with the introduction of the Voluntary Right to Buy (VRTB) we are likely to see some of our residents applying to purchase their home where this is the case; We will look to replace the property in the most efficient way aiming to increase our stock overall. PRIORITY 4 To rise to the challenge of housing an aging population By 2036, nearly 1 in 9 residents in the UK will be over 80. Assuming our residents fit a similar profile it is reasonable to expect that there will be an increasing demand for accessible housing from now on. Our development focus has previously been to provide general needs housing with nothing specifically designed for aging residents other than the Lifetime homes standard, we will redress that balance where it is appropriate and affordable to do so. Over the next three years: We will improve our understanding of the age profile of our residents and use this knowledge to further assess their housing needs and aspirations for the future. 7

8 We will have carried out a comprehensive review of our present stock of sheltered housing to ensure that it is fit for purpose and meets the needs and aspirations of current and future residents. We will also have assessed the condition of our existing stock of general needs property and determined what changes might be needed to improve the lives of our aging residents to allow them to remain in their homes or alternative appropriate accommodation. We will explore partnership working with stakeholders such as local authorities and health providers to determine how and if our housing provision for an aging population might need to change to cater for growing demand from this demographic. We will use these partnerships to secure the best and most cost effective solutions. Building on our experience of telephonic welfare systems, we will investigate other forms of assistive technology and evaluate the benefit of extending services such as the OK Today service to residents not currently living in our sheltered accommodation. PRIORITY 5 To develop and empower our staff The health, wellbeing and personal development of our staff is important to us. We believe that our commitment to agile working, trust and flexibility plus a focus on performance allows us to deliver our vision of improving lives and opportunities by being a great landlord and employer. To develop this further during the course of this plan; We will conduct a Culture audit and use the information gathered to inform our recruitment and development strategies. We will develop a new Learning and Development Strategy to formalise our commitment to training and developing our staff. We will ensure that all staff have equal access to training and development opportunities through mandatory on-line training. We will formalise our Volunteering policy by allowing staff up to a total of two days per year. 8

9 We will develop our Health and Wellbeing agenda further promoting good physical and mental health with a series of demonstrations and workshops plus seasonal initiatives to focus on specific areas. We will conduct an annual survey to determine levels of stress within the organisation and, using the trend data; will produce a strategy to reduce stress levels if they appear to be unusually high or workloads unreasonable. We will conclude a review of staff benefits and the performance related pay element of our appraisal and remuneration policies to ensure that we balance motivation with Value for Money. 9