Columnist

Durham housing association tops the culture charts

New methods to improve performance at believe housing, has brought big benefits to customers during the coronavirus pandemic research has found.

A ‘cultural survey’ of believe housing has found that it is now one of the best performing organisations in the housing sector, after measuring massive improvements.

The survey used the internationally recognised Barrett Formula. It found that believe housing has been able to adapt and deliver key services for customers during the coronavirus pandemic, because its staff share the vision and values of the organisation and make it more effective as a result.

Using the Barrett Formula, the average score of culture in the sector is 55 out of 100 - believe housing now scores 86 out of 100. The score reflects positive working between different teams across believe housing, and a constant focus on doing the right thing for customers.

Chief Executive of believe housing, Bill Fullen, thinks that the huge changes required to continue delivering services to customers during the coronavirus pandemic has played a big part in the improvements. “We could never simply go back to the way we used to do things. The world will be different. We need to find a way to use the strength of our culture to ensure we can create our own future.

“Customers have seen significant differences in the way we’ve delivered and adapted. When we realised that we couldn’t get out and visit customers in person – we switched to proactive calls, to see if there’s anything we could do to help.

“In the customer surveys we’ve carried out, the single most important thing has been those proactive calls. For a lot of people, we were the only people who contacted them. The trust and transparency that created was very important.”

“Lots of people talk about culture as something fluffy,” adds Julie Brayson, Director of Transformation and Culture at believe housing. “In reality, it’s what delivers good quality and great service for customers.

“Creating such a positive culture at believe housing will help to ensure we have the best people working here, who share our vision of creating a life without barriers. And because we’re a not-for-profit housing association, every improvement we make is an improvement for our homes, customers and communities.”

For more information on believe housing visit www.believehousing.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Believe Housing .