CORPORATE PLAN - 2011 T0 2016
VISION
Our Vision is simply to provide affordable homes and sustainable communities with excellent services to tenants and customers. This is our goal and everything we do is intended to bring us closer to achieving it.
What we mean by the three elements of our Vision is explained below:
Affordable Homes
Homes that are at or within rent benchmarks
Homes that are within the reach of first time buyers and local people in housing need
Homes that are efficient to heat and live in
Homes that are appropriately designed and located for people’s needs
Sustainable Communities
Communities that people want to live in
Communities where the quality of housing and the environment is high
Communities where everyone feels included
Communities where people feel safe
Communities that people are proud of
Excellent Customer Service
Services that meet individual needs
Services that are efficient and effective
Services that are improving
Services that are accessible
Services that delight our customers
Services that support and encourage successful money management
VALUES
We are a values based and values driven organisation. Our values define our culture and shape not only what we do but also how we do things. Everything we do is scrutinised to ensure that it is consistent with our values.
Transparency
We are honest, open and fair in our dealings with people and partner organizations.We respect confidentiality and the need to protect sensitive data. We want people to be aware of and understand the decisions we make and are accountable for our actions. We achieve this through informing our stakeholders consistently, regularly and fully.
Sustainability and Equality
Everything we do needs to be viable in the future as well as now. To achieve this we assess the impact of our actions on communities and respect the environment to ensure there are no unintended consequences and that we are not disadvantaging any section of the community. We achieve this by involving stakeholders in our decision making.
Excellence
We aim to achieve excellence in all we do. From the strategic direction to attention to detail we aim to get it right first time. We will do what we say we will do and will acknowledge when we fail to deliver promises. We adapt and respond quickly and take every opportunity to learn from experience. In this way we are an improving organisation.
CORE OBJECTIVES
In order to achieve our Vision we need to prioritise what we do. We have identified the following objectives as those that we will devote most time, resources and energy to:
a)Tackling housing need and building new homes
b)Maintaining and improving homes and estates
c)Finding out and responding to what our tenants, leaseholders and other customers need and want
d)Working in partnership with our tenants, leaseholders, communities and staff
e)Keeping tenants, staff and stakeholders informed about what we are doing
f)Providing excellent and improving services that represent value for money and efficiency
g)Ensuring our staff are motivated and high performing and that there is a supportive environment that promotes staff health, safety and wellbeing
h)Identifying opportunities to support the local, regional and national housing movement
i)Identifying ways to improve the health, education, and employment prospects of tenants and communities within which we work
j)Maximising our role as a community gatekeeper to harness resources and services that will benefit our tenants and communities
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
The Delivery Outcomes are set out in the Regulatory Framework for Welsh housing associations. The Boards lead a process of self assessment against the Delivery Outcomes. The Delivery Outcomes are:
Governance and Finance
- We place the people who want to use our services at the heart of our work – putting the citizen first
- We live public sector values, by conducting our affairs with honesty and integrity, and demonstrate good governance through our behaviour
- We make sure our purpose is clear and we achieve what we set out to do – knowing who does what and why
- We are a financially sound and viable business
- We engage with others to enhance and maximise outcomes for our service users and the community
Landlord Services
- We build and renovate homes to a good quality
- We let homes in a fair, transparent and effective way
- We manage our homes effectively
- We repair and maintain homes in an efficient, timely and cost effective way
- We provide fair and efficient services for owners
The Boards have reviewed the Delivery Outcomes and have concluded that their Vision and Core Objectives set out in this Corporate Plan encapsulate all the Delivery Outcomes. This is illustrated in the diagrams below.
Core Objectives from Corporate PlanRegulatory Delivery Outcomes / a / b / c / d / e / f / g / h / i / j
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Regulatory Delivery Outcome is encapsulated within Core Objective from Corporate Plan
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
In order to track the progress of the organisation and its success in meeting targets the Boards need to ensure that the aspirations of its tenants and stakeholders are met as well as the requirements of the regulator. In addition the Boards need to ensure that the organisation is meeting its own Corporate Plan objectives.
A technique called Tenant Powered Performance has been in place since 2009 that allows tenants to identify their ideal service and then set performance measures to monitor how the extent to which services are meeting these aspirations. This work has been supplemented by a similar technique called Board Powered Performance. Both Tenant and Board Powered Performance utilise the following stages:
The Boards have identified their ideal outcomes for the organisation as:
- Happy customers and stakeholders
- Financial viability, probity and value for money
- Reputation for excellence
- Learning, improving and innovative
- Integrity and honesty
- Strong positive culture
- Engaged with the community to add value
- Opinion shaper
- Adaptability
- Inclusive
A set of performance indicators and targets are being agreed using the results from Tenant and Board Powered Performance sessions and will be used to monitor the organisation’s performance at quarterly Board meetings. In this way the Board can be assured that its performance monitoring arrangements take into account tenant aspirations as well as the Corporate Plan objectives. Progress towards achieving the Corporate Plan Vision is monitored annually as much of the performance information is generated by the annual tenants’ survey.
The Corporate Plan outcome indicators are set out in the table below:
Outcome / Indicator / How often / TargetHappy customers and stakeholders / General tenant satisfaction from tenants survey / Annual / 90%
Tenant satisfaction with ASB service from tenants survey / Annual / >70%
(from ASB satisfaction survey)
Satisfaction with maintenance from tenants survey / Annual / >85%
Stakeholder satisfaction from stakeholder survey / Annual / Not yet set
Satisfaction from new lettings survey / Quarterly / >80%
Satisfaction with repairs / Quarterly / >95%
Assessment of complaints – common themes/subject areas / Quarterly / Contextual
% of new tenancies that last for more than 12 months / Quarterly / >90%
New homes development and tenant satisfaction / Quarterly / >95%
Care & Repair activity and satisfaction / Quarterly / Contextual
Overdue gas services / Quarterly / <4
Gas services overdue by more than three months / Quarterly / 0
Financial Viability, Probity, Value for money / Statutory Accounts / Annual / Contextual
30 Year Financial Plan / Annual / Contextual
Regulatory Financial Judgement / Annual / Pass
Benchmarking (Housemark) / Annual / Contextual
Legal Challenge (via Audit Committee) / Quarterly / Contextual
Internal Audit reports (via Audit Committee) / Quarterly / No “red” opinions
Management Accounts / Quarterly / Contextual
Rent loss as a result of voids / Quarterly / <1%
Net rent arrears / Quarterly / <2%
Reputation for Excellence / Achievement and retention of accreditations / Annual / No fails
Quality of stock - Achievement of WHQS / Annual / 100% compliance
Marketing Strategy outcomes / Annual / Contextual
Stakeholder engagement action plan / Quarterly / Contextual
Learning, Improving and Innovative / Workforce plan and training plan / Annual / Contextual
Investment in training / Quarterly / Contextual
Service delivery development ideas and outcomes / Quarterly / Contextual
Achievement of Improvement and Development Schedule items / Quarterly / Contextual
Integrity and Honesty / Positive Internal and External Audit opinions / Annual / Positive opinions
Positive Regulatory report / Annual / Positive report
Irregularity Reports (via Audit Committee) / Quarterly / Contextual
Strong positive culture / Stakeholder Surveys (Tenant, Leaseholder, Staff)
Response to questions on values
- Transparency
- Sustainability & Equality
- Excellence
>60% very satisfied
Corporate Plan outcomes review / Annual / Contextual
Corporate Bonus triggered / Annual / Bonus earned
Engaged with community to add value / Improvement in Do you feel proud of your community? question(tenants survey) / Annual / >80%
Improvement in Do you feel safe in your community? question (tenants survey) / Annual / >90%
Are you involved in your community or community organisations (Do you feel part of your community) tenants survey / Annual / >90%
Opinion Shaper / Good practice recognition / Annual / Contextual
Board discussion on engagement in current sector issues and priorities / Quarterly / Contextual
Adaptability / Report on the introduction and success of new IT products (used in-house and sold externally) / Annual / Contextual
Service improvement questions. We have introduced this/made these changes; do you think they have improved?Tenant survey / Annual / <2% say worse
Inclusive / Report on services that have been altered due to customer profiling / Annual / Contextual
Visibly Better Accreditation – ongoing retention of the standard and evidence of increased compliance / Annual / Increasing compliance
Profiling of staff and Board and review of equality issues / Annual / Contextual
Equality Impact Assessments – evidence at policy review and approval / Quarterly / Contextual
Number of homes with new physical adaptations with evidence of tenant satisfaction / Quarterly / 90% satisfaction with work completed
Performance monitoring is supplemented by information from other sources such as stakeholder surveys, tenant mystery shopping exercises etc.The diagram below illustrates how the organisation monitors its performance.
OUR SELF ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE DELIVERY OUTCOMES
We have decided to make an assessment of how we perform against the Delivery Outcomes. This assessment is made by the Boards and uses a range of evidence to support their conclusions. The Board keeps these judgements under review in the light of changing information or performance.
The Boards have established three levels of judgement:
Achieving our standards
Working towards our standards
Falling short of our standards
The Boards’ judgements are as follows:
Delivery Outcome / Board JudgementWe place the people who want to use our services at the heart of our work – putting the citizen first / Achieving our standards
We live public sector values, by conducting our affairs with honesty and integrity, and demonstrate good governance through our behaviour / Achieving our standards
We make sure our purpose is clear and we achieve what we set out to do – knowing who does what and why / Achieving our standards
We are a financially sound and viable business / Achieving our standards
We engage with others to enhance and maximise outcomes for our service users and the community / Working towards our standards
We build and renovate homes to a good quality / Achieving our standards
We let homes in a fair, transparent and effective way / Working towards our standards
We manage our homes effectively / Working towards our standards
We repair and maintain homes in an efficient, timely and cost effective way / Working towards our standards
We provide fair and efficient services for owners / Working towards our standards
IMPROVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE
As a result of our performance monitoring arrangements and self assessment against the Delivery Outcomes the Boards have identified improvement and development issues. The table below sets out the keys things we need to improve (things we are doing now but could do better) and develop (things we are not doing now but need to). The schedule which is organised by the Delivery Outcomes is a live document and is monitored and updated at each quarterly Board performance meeting.
Governance and Finance - We place the people who want to use our services at the heart of our work – putting the citizen firstWhat we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Demonstrate that our services are visible, well regarded and accessible for tenants and other customers / We will evaluate the outcomes achieved as a result of the Big Conversation project / November 2015 / Newydd
Engage with more tenants / We will carry out a recruitment and retention campaign and report on outcomes / November 2014
Extended to November 2015 / Newydd
Ensure that tenants who express a preference receive a Welsh language service / We will review our Welsh language action plan in the light of the standards set by Welsh Language Commissioner / November 2015 / Cadarn
Governance and Finance - We live public sector values, by conducting our affairs with honesty and integrity, and demonstrate good governance through our behaviour
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Improve the information on which we base our decisions / We will develop information on our communities and tenants to establish our baseline position, set targets and analyse trends over longer time periods / March 2015 / Newydd
We will ensure that our business objectives and plans open and transparent / We will carry out a major review of our Corporate Plan for the period 2016 to 2021 and publish it on our website / December 2015 / Cadarn
Governance and Finance - We make sure our purpose is clear and we achieve what we set out to do – knowing who does what and why
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Ensure that Board meetings exhibit strong governance and that Board members are performing to a high standard / We will test a new scenario that breaks the financial plan to rehearse options for a recovery plan / December 2015 / Cadarn
Ensure that the Boards have a robust overview of organisational performance / We will review the Corporate Plan indicators and performance information presented to Boards to ensure it provides the information needed / December 2015 / Cadarn
Ensure that the structure of the organisation is fit for purpose / We will review our organisational structure as part of our Corporate Plan review / December 2015 / Cadarn
Ensure that the Boards have an appropriate level of responsibility for decision making / We will review Group governance arrangements to ensure that delegation is clear, appropriate and efficient / December 2015 / Cadarn
Improve the accuracy, timeliness and relevance of performance information / We will review and identify improvements to our infrastructure for reporting performance information / February 2015
Revised to September 2015 / Cadarn
Ensure that new business ventures are viable and not creating a drain on core resources / We will review the performance and viability of Living Quarters Wales to check that the business plan assumptions and loan repayment requirements will be met / February 2015
Further review November 2015 / Cadarn
Governance and Finance - We are a financially sound and viable business
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
To improve decision making and clarify risk appetite / We will review our definition of risk appetite to ensure it is appropriate and workable / March 2015 / Cadarn & Newydd Boards
Governance and Finance - We engage with others to enhance and maximise outcomes for our service users and the community
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
To support tenants wishing to adopt healthier lifestyles / Report on outcomes of HAPI project / November 2017 / Newydd
To ensure we can respond to the changing local government agenda / We will commence a review of the conclusions of the Williams report on local government reorganisation and plan our strategic response / June 2014
New target date:
December 2015 / Cadarn
Landlord Services - We build and renovate homes to a good quality
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
To provide more homes and reduce reliance on Social Housing Grant for growth / To agree Treasury action plan resulting from Treasury review to support Growth Strategy / August 2015 / Cadarn and Newydd
Landlord Services - We let homes in a fair, transparent and effective way
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Landlord Services - We manage our homes effectively
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Improve the consistency and quality of services provided at our sheltered schemes / We will seek an appropriate accreditation for our sheltered housing service / November 2015 / Newydd
Improve the consistency and quality of services provided at our sheltered schemes / To report on implementation of the Tenant Scrutiny action plan on sheltered housing / November 2015 / Newydd
Landlord Services - We repair and maintain homes in an efficient, timely and cost effective way
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
Landlord Services - We provide fair and efficient services for owners
What we are trying to improve / What we will do differently / Target Date / Lead Board
RISK MANAGEMENT
A robust risk management system is in place with strategic and operational risk mapping reviewed regularly. A Board member acts as Risk Champion and attends risk review meetings to challenge the review. Changes to the top ten risks are reviewed quarterly by the Audit Committee and the Boards.
PROBITY