Settle yourself down - this will be a bumpy ride/blog. Let's examine the criteria and statistics recently attributed to "troubled families" and where they come from. Estimations of estimations or just figures plucked from the air? I hope you have the patience to wait and ponder occassionally.
So we’re told there are 120,000 "troubled families" in the UK and we assess them as such by their ability to meet a minimum five of seven criteria. This will be simple to understand then right?
But haven't we heard these figures and criteria before?
As politicians scrambled to explain why rioting and looting was rife back in August 2011, didn't some blame 120,000 "problem families?" But wait...that wasn't the first time was it? It’s a recurring number but where does it stem from?
When the coalition published their Child Poverty Strategy in April, they referred to an "estimated 120,000 families in England with multiple problems”.
But wait.... let's not go deep into the 120,000 without exploring the five in seven criteria....
A 2007 Cabinet Office report stated: “Having multiple problems is defined as having five or more problems from a basket of seven indicators including being in a workless household, overcrowding, maternal mental health problems, long-standing limiting illness, low income and ability to afford basic items of food and clothing.”
Now, wait again....doesn't that ring a bell? Meeting five out of the seven criteria anyone? Hmmm....
* No-one in the family is in work.
* The family is living in poor or overcrowded housing.
* No person has any qualifications.
* Mother has mental health problems.
* At least one parent has a long-standing illness or disability.
* The family has a low income.
* The family is unable to afford a number of food or clothing items.
No that’s not the same thing put differently (honest) but the markedly different 2011 version provided by David Cameron in his announcement on how to tackle "troubled families." Convinced?
A disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act by the Department of Education reveals that the 120,00 figure is an approximation of the 140,000 in the UK. The 120,000 is an estimated figure for England rounded up from an estimated 117,00 families. So, it's an estimation based on an estimated number - "good job" as my 5 year old likes to say when pleased with himself for tidying away his Power Rangers. Trouble is he has usually missed the rest of his toys scattered around his room. So what has been missed in providing these statistics?
On one regional radio show I heard the Head of Children Services for that area calculate they had 2% of the 120,000 families and claimed that equated to one, to one and a half, thousand families. Shouldn't that be 2,400 if correct? A career at the Department for Plucked from the Air statistics awaits you ma'am.
Now, wait again...can these figures be right?
The population in England mid 2007 was estimated at 51.1 million. In 2011 it was estimated at 52.2 million. That's an estimated 2.15% increase.
Back to the "facts"...
Apply this increase to the original 120,000 families and there has been a relative decrease in the number of “troubled families” in the UK in the last four years. Had it risen in line with the percentage increase in population, as you’d expect, there would now be an estimated 122,580 "troubled families" no doubt rounded up to an estimated 125,000 "troubled families."
Result! 5,000 fewer "troubled families" than we could have had.
Wow, we're good at sorting out issues in the UK - we just estimate our estimations and it all makes sense, right? Glad I was able to clear all that up for you.
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Thursday 8 December 2011
Rockstars, me and you, business for everyone, Winnie the Pooh.
I didn’t sleep well last night. Something was on my mind. I started to read quotes by other people. Some are famous, some aren’t but all are worth reading regardless of whether you agree with them or not, much like this blog really - at least that's the hope.
I stumbled across this quote:
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
That was a quote attributed to Apple Inc. Was it written by Steve Jobs or by someone perhaps influenced by him? I don’t know and, quite honestly, I don’t intend to try and find out because that's not what matters - it's what the quote says that does.
Such quotes can strike fear into the hearts of some people. They will talk of potential loose canons, contrive against those who try and innovate for fear of being outshone, manipulate others in the work place to have concerns about those who dare to be creative but are they right do that? Whoever made the above quote from Apple clearly doesn’t think so.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate of crazy ideas that can threaten a business. Business aside there are peoples lives, livelihoods families that all rely on any business that employs them but upsetting the status quo? Hands up – guilty as charged – I’m a fan of people that do that in a measured way, with the right heart, with the hope that it will benefit the business they work for, its customers and colleagues. Always know though that if you do this you will always make some people nervous as hell.
Nonetheless, upset the apple cart. No apples need get bruised and there is no need to hang the person that gave the apple cart a bump.
Instead why not embrace those people, encourage colleagues to first understand the thinking behind the bump but if you can’t resist then at least ask all colleagues – get a wider view. Don’t try and squeeze out of people negativity about the bumper because you feel threatened – it’s disingenuous and can confuse young colleagues especially. Another quote “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Instead inspire colleagues – encourage rock stars in your work place – you’ll find they are the biggest team players you’ve ever known. They think outside themselves, their immediate team, their section of your business.
They are not a threat to you, not the loose cannons – trust them, don’t try and marginalise them, or cause problems for them, and you’ll find they have the biggest hearts and exciting minds. They won’t always get it right but when they do – boy oh boy!!!
I’m not sure if I’ve heard the term ‘rock stars in your workplace’ somewhere else. Apologies if I’ve stolen your notion but no matter as I believe in it. Encourage them, let them fly, let them make mistakes, let them show you what they can do, let them shine. If they do something great and you can’t think of greatness yourself then bask in the reflected glory. Nothing wrong in that as, if you have encouraged them, then you are just as part of the great ideas as they are – if you don’t you’ll ruin the opportunities for your colleagues, customers and the business you work for.
Dare to do something different today. Make a difference.
And now some light reading………….
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them” – Mother Teresa
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere” – Albert Einstein
“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me….Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Silverstein
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh?” he whispered.
“Nothing said,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” – A.A. Milne
-End-
I stumbled across this quote:
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
That was a quote attributed to Apple Inc. Was it written by Steve Jobs or by someone perhaps influenced by him? I don’t know and, quite honestly, I don’t intend to try and find out because that's not what matters - it's what the quote says that does.
Such quotes can strike fear into the hearts of some people. They will talk of potential loose canons, contrive against those who try and innovate for fear of being outshone, manipulate others in the work place to have concerns about those who dare to be creative but are they right do that? Whoever made the above quote from Apple clearly doesn’t think so.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not an advocate of crazy ideas that can threaten a business. Business aside there are peoples lives, livelihoods families that all rely on any business that employs them but upsetting the status quo? Hands up – guilty as charged – I’m a fan of people that do that in a measured way, with the right heart, with the hope that it will benefit the business they work for, its customers and colleagues. Always know though that if you do this you will always make some people nervous as hell.
Nonetheless, upset the apple cart. No apples need get bruised and there is no need to hang the person that gave the apple cart a bump.
Instead why not embrace those people, encourage colleagues to first understand the thinking behind the bump but if you can’t resist then at least ask all colleagues – get a wider view. Don’t try and squeeze out of people negativity about the bumper because you feel threatened – it’s disingenuous and can confuse young colleagues especially. Another quote “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Instead inspire colleagues – encourage rock stars in your work place – you’ll find they are the biggest team players you’ve ever known. They think outside themselves, their immediate team, their section of your business.
They are not a threat to you, not the loose cannons – trust them, don’t try and marginalise them, or cause problems for them, and you’ll find they have the biggest hearts and exciting minds. They won’t always get it right but when they do – boy oh boy!!!
I’m not sure if I’ve heard the term ‘rock stars in your workplace’ somewhere else. Apologies if I’ve stolen your notion but no matter as I believe in it. Encourage them, let them fly, let them make mistakes, let them show you what they can do, let them shine. If they do something great and you can’t think of greatness yourself then bask in the reflected glory. Nothing wrong in that as, if you have encouraged them, then you are just as part of the great ideas as they are – if you don’t you’ll ruin the opportunities for your colleagues, customers and the business you work for.
Dare to do something different today. Make a difference.
And now some light reading………….
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them” – Mother Teresa
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere” – Albert Einstein
“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me….Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Silverstein
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh?” he whispered.
“Nothing said,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” – A.A. Milne
-End-
Saturday 3 December 2011
Trusting in you at Bromford
Colleague engagement: two words that strike fear into the breast of many a manager, and indeed their employees. But for us, it is very simple. We believe that to be happy at work we must help our employees to feel comfortable enough to be themselves in the workplace.
We encourage our colleagues to bring their personalities to work, not foster a persona that bears little relation to their life and relationships outside the job. To stifle someone's personality at work is positively Dickensian; why, as a business, include personality description in a job specification and then fail to make use of it? You wouldn't buy an expensive computer system and then leave it standing dormant.
Our internal social media platform, Yammer, has no rules and actively encourages our people to say what they think about their work. It provides an informal link for everyone who wants to join in, including the most senior colleagues in the organisation.
We encourage customer service staff to be themselves in their relationship with tenants. We ask them to give honest, no-nonsense advice, make the most of every conversation, recognise everyone's differences and show enthusiasm and individualism.
Equally, we don't prevent the use of social media at work but actively encourage it. If you use it at home, we trust you to use it here – just make sure you think before you tweet. We encourage a culture where it's OK to break the rules when it's the right thing to do. We don't want to find our people hiding behind policy and procedure.
Who we are, our experiences, our ideas and our interests are all part of what makes us individuals and the employees we become. We identify this in people right from the start of the recruitment process, where we'll just as likely gain an insight into the real abilities and motivations of a candidate by playing a board game with them as discussing their CV.
Once in post, we encourage colleagues to take ownership of their role and help to steer the future of the organisation. We motivate everyone to be an active, not passive, member of the Bromford community. Nothing is more motivating to colleagues than to know their ideas matter and there is a mechanism to make sure those ideas are heard throughout the organisation.
Our advice to others is: be a 3D business. Engage your people in what you do, how you do it and why you do it. Learn from other people and unashamedly incorporate the best of those ideas into your business. Most of all, ban the words "staff" and "department". Nobody spends lives their life in a department and shares lunch with staff. We are colleagues, and we work in teams.
We encourage our colleagues to bring their personalities to work, not foster a persona that bears little relation to their life and relationships outside the job. To stifle someone's personality at work is positively Dickensian; why, as a business, include personality description in a job specification and then fail to make use of it? You wouldn't buy an expensive computer system and then leave it standing dormant.
Our internal social media platform, Yammer, has no rules and actively encourages our people to say what they think about their work. It provides an informal link for everyone who wants to join in, including the most senior colleagues in the organisation.
We encourage customer service staff to be themselves in their relationship with tenants. We ask them to give honest, no-nonsense advice, make the most of every conversation, recognise everyone's differences and show enthusiasm and individualism.
Equally, we don't prevent the use of social media at work but actively encourage it. If you use it at home, we trust you to use it here – just make sure you think before you tweet. We encourage a culture where it's OK to break the rules when it's the right thing to do. We don't want to find our people hiding behind policy and procedure.
Who we are, our experiences, our ideas and our interests are all part of what makes us individuals and the employees we become. We identify this in people right from the start of the recruitment process, where we'll just as likely gain an insight into the real abilities and motivations of a candidate by playing a board game with them as discussing their CV.
Once in post, we encourage colleagues to take ownership of their role and help to steer the future of the organisation. We motivate everyone to be an active, not passive, member of the Bromford community. Nothing is more motivating to colleagues than to know their ideas matter and there is a mechanism to make sure those ideas are heard throughout the organisation.
Our advice to others is: be a 3D business. Engage your people in what you do, how you do it and why you do it. Learn from other people and unashamedly incorporate the best of those ideas into your business. Most of all, ban the words "staff" and "department". Nobody spends lives their life in a department and shares lunch with staff. We are colleagues, and we work in teams.
Tuesday 29 November 2011
National Influence - what's that all about?
In my last blog (read it below the one) I touched on vision. In this blog I'm going to talk about national influence and the type of vision required achieving that. I’m not going to bore you with the complexities but rather briefly signpost the way forward.
To even begin to reach a position of national influence in communications for any organisation, it has to decide what that means to them:
• Is it a supporting role to bridge the gap between the core business and political lobbying in which it can top and tail the efforts of an executive board?
• Is it part of the overall strategy to grow a business and bring new business on board either directly or indirectly?
• Where a business has multiple brands, is it to help grow awareness of them and the work they do/ products they have?
• Should you turn your back on the brands and concentrate on the core business?
To do the latter would surely be to the detriment of both brands and core business. That said one can only do so much so we have to ask ourselves how best to spend our time.
A huge part of national influence can be achieved through talking and listening. A very difficult thing to qualify so it takes a brave and trusting organisation to charge someone with that role – to understand there is no mathematical or work evaluation that can identify where, or even if, it is having an impact. Nonetheless, for those brave enough to enter this arena the unseen rewards can be endless.
Profile = national influence. Don’t underestimate the importance of a simple tweet exchange between your communications professional and the media.
These days some of my most effective work is done via private DMs (Direct Messages) on Twitter and Facebook.
I’m presently working on a temporary contract at Bromford Group and it’s really refreshing to see the trust they put in all their colleagues. They take the view that they trust their people with the most vulnerable in society and to going into other people’s homes, so they have decided they should trust them online too. It takes a brave business to do that but a wise one nonetheless.
It is as much about talking to people face to face, by telephone, email or social media as it ever will be about your next press release.
So to the questions posed at the start:
• Yes it can top and tail to any lobbying and increase its effectiveness.
• Yes it should be part of your overall business strategy and can bring new business.
• Yes it should include growing awareness of brands.
• Of course it should play a key role in brand communications.
Allow your communications professional charged with national influence to cherry pick the projects they work on to the benefit of national influence – trust them like Bromford trust their people with social media – have vision.
The future’s bright – the future’s influence.
To even begin to reach a position of national influence in communications for any organisation, it has to decide what that means to them:
• Is it a supporting role to bridge the gap between the core business and political lobbying in which it can top and tail the efforts of an executive board?
• Is it part of the overall strategy to grow a business and bring new business on board either directly or indirectly?
• Where a business has multiple brands, is it to help grow awareness of them and the work they do/ products they have?
• Should you turn your back on the brands and concentrate on the core business?
To do the latter would surely be to the detriment of both brands and core business. That said one can only do so much so we have to ask ourselves how best to spend our time.
A huge part of national influence can be achieved through talking and listening. A very difficult thing to qualify so it takes a brave and trusting organisation to charge someone with that role – to understand there is no mathematical or work evaluation that can identify where, or even if, it is having an impact. Nonetheless, for those brave enough to enter this arena the unseen rewards can be endless.
Profile = national influence. Don’t underestimate the importance of a simple tweet exchange between your communications professional and the media.
These days some of my most effective work is done via private DMs (Direct Messages) on Twitter and Facebook.
I’m presently working on a temporary contract at Bromford Group and it’s really refreshing to see the trust they put in all their colleagues. They take the view that they trust their people with the most vulnerable in society and to going into other people’s homes, so they have decided they should trust them online too. It takes a brave business to do that but a wise one nonetheless.
It is as much about talking to people face to face, by telephone, email or social media as it ever will be about your next press release.
So to the questions posed at the start:
• Yes it can top and tail to any lobbying and increase its effectiveness.
• Yes it should be part of your overall business strategy and can bring new business.
• Yes it should include growing awareness of brands.
• Of course it should play a key role in brand communications.
Allow your communications professional charged with national influence to cherry pick the projects they work on to the benefit of national influence – trust them like Bromford trust their people with social media – have vision.
The future’s bright – the future’s influence.
Sunday 27 November 2011
IDEAS - it's not a dirty word.
I started this blog and, after posting a couple of press releases I liked, stopped. The reason being, a blog is not really the place to copy and paste press releases no matter how excited you are about their content. After all I send them out to anyone I would want to/need to see them. Secondly, I wasn't sure what this blog should be about. I wanted to write one but is that reason enough? I decided the answer was no.
So instead, I will write about things I care about. I'm now 8 weeks into my career at Bromford and rather than the much touted 3 month window of opportunity to see where changes could be made, the ideas seem to be growing. Equally, I feel like I’ve been here years yet also like I’m on day one. In part that is because I can see how much enthusiasm being on the radio and television has brought to many colleagues.
This soft old, welsh fool is so heartened by when I see colleagues telling each other they are "stars" now that they have been in the media. It's great and inspires so many ideas and the reason to help push the company on in the great work we do for the people that need us. We talk to them about being empowered and what could be more empowering than seeing people inspired by something you have contributed to?
Some of the ideas I come up with I have to stop and check myself. I know they are just too grand or the timing is maybe not quite right. I encourage my colleagues and friends in the media to talk, to bounce ideas around, to support each other. Let’s have a million ideas. It doesn’t matter if we reject 999,999 of them if that one idea we carry forwards makes a difference. My apologies if that sounds a little airy-fairy but trust me it works.
Colleagues and media friends have been so nice about the No Postcodes video http://bit.ly/qi1s6F but there were so any people that were important to that. I wouldn’t have had the idea if others hadn’t started the process of talking and doing. I remember it being a small mention about an event we were going to be putting on, being told to list the event on the NHF website. The vision can be greater thought I.
I’ve heard people say we were “lucky with the timing.” We weren’t – we spotted an opportunity for the people we support – we showed vision of where we could take it, we added a bit of us - add a bit of you in what you do.
We need vision, we need to encourage people to have vision, we need to be prepared to fail – if there is vision and an understanding of what we can achieve then I would never criticise a colleague that stuck their neck out to that aim. A friend at work the other day spoke to me about a project he is working on and said: “I need my No Postcodes Lee. What can we do?” - so refreshing.
He has seen that there are opportunities beyond what we have done historically. One of our directors was really encouraging when he wrote a comment about getting on and doing. That's what it's all about for me - what it's always been about and now I'm somewhere that encourages that. "Uh oh," thinks I. There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and there is much to be done but we can achieve it all together. We can work smart and achieve the world – never lose that view of the world. We get older, put on suits with pin-stripes and it can disappear, people can even begin to view it as childish naivety. Keep the belief inside you though and it will shine outside.
We need to understand the comment “So what?” Don’t feel rejected if someone says that but instead think good point. If you can’t answer the question with complete conviction then it’s back to the drawing board not to the corner of the room to hang your head. Always believe the next idea is a great one. Looking back at this text I can see I’m at risk of becoming evangelical – I try not to be. I don’t want to drag anyone with me, I want people pushing me up the hill. I want to be in awe of you and your ideas. The MD of Bromford Support was saying "So What?" about something we were discussing the other day. He was right. So what? Who cares? Who are we telling? What are we telling them? Where is the end goal?
I believe in strategy - some people feel the need to write that down, others need to read about it, others just get it and get on with it. Of course we need to produce strategies, and it is important to be able to convey what we are trying to achieve to colleagues involved, but what is more important is always the doing – the implementation.
It is natural that some people will be against change but that is no bad thing. Those people provide the opportunity to check yourself - consider the flaws in any idea. It's the easiest thing in the world to come up with amazing ideas - harder to think why they wouldn't work or shouldn't go ahead. Some people will naturally feel threatened by ideas. They really shouldn't. Embrace them, challenge them, go with the flow - contribute.
There are many ways you can benefit the organisation you work for. I have an idea for re-structuring the team I work in and how they work to the better benefit of not just the team but the entire organization and how to assist in achieving its key objectives. It’s not my job role to do that but I’m going to put them forward as the colleague engagement at Bromford encourages you do that - how good is that? Very good I'll tell you.
At Bromford I feel I can do that – that, on the whole, my big size 12s are nimble enough not to tread on too many toes just by sharing an idea and it will be welcomed in the creative and well intentioned way it is meant.
Ok so I’m starting to move from evangelical to advertorial but it’s true. Every organisation can learn from what how Bromford is operating and every organisation can learn from each other.
So to the end of my advertorial/evangelical blog today.
I’ll write another blog soon - I'm off to talk my wife into moving to Hampton Lucy not Shenstone - wish me luck.
So instead, I will write about things I care about. I'm now 8 weeks into my career at Bromford and rather than the much touted 3 month window of opportunity to see where changes could be made, the ideas seem to be growing. Equally, I feel like I’ve been here years yet also like I’m on day one. In part that is because I can see how much enthusiasm being on the radio and television has brought to many colleagues.
This soft old, welsh fool is so heartened by when I see colleagues telling each other they are "stars" now that they have been in the media. It's great and inspires so many ideas and the reason to help push the company on in the great work we do for the people that need us. We talk to them about being empowered and what could be more empowering than seeing people inspired by something you have contributed to?
Some of the ideas I come up with I have to stop and check myself. I know they are just too grand or the timing is maybe not quite right. I encourage my colleagues and friends in the media to talk, to bounce ideas around, to support each other. Let’s have a million ideas. It doesn’t matter if we reject 999,999 of them if that one idea we carry forwards makes a difference. My apologies if that sounds a little airy-fairy but trust me it works.
Colleagues and media friends have been so nice about the No Postcodes video http://bit.ly/qi1s6F but there were so any people that were important to that. I wouldn’t have had the idea if others hadn’t started the process of talking and doing. I remember it being a small mention about an event we were going to be putting on, being told to list the event on the NHF website. The vision can be greater thought I.
I’ve heard people say we were “lucky with the timing.” We weren’t – we spotted an opportunity for the people we support – we showed vision of where we could take it, we added a bit of us - add a bit of you in what you do.
We need vision, we need to encourage people to have vision, we need to be prepared to fail – if there is vision and an understanding of what we can achieve then I would never criticise a colleague that stuck their neck out to that aim. A friend at work the other day spoke to me about a project he is working on and said: “I need my No Postcodes Lee. What can we do?” - so refreshing.
He has seen that there are opportunities beyond what we have done historically. One of our directors was really encouraging when he wrote a comment about getting on and doing. That's what it's all about for me - what it's always been about and now I'm somewhere that encourages that. "Uh oh," thinks I. There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and there is much to be done but we can achieve it all together. We can work smart and achieve the world – never lose that view of the world. We get older, put on suits with pin-stripes and it can disappear, people can even begin to view it as childish naivety. Keep the belief inside you though and it will shine outside.
We need to understand the comment “So what?” Don’t feel rejected if someone says that but instead think good point. If you can’t answer the question with complete conviction then it’s back to the drawing board not to the corner of the room to hang your head. Always believe the next idea is a great one. Looking back at this text I can see I’m at risk of becoming evangelical – I try not to be. I don’t want to drag anyone with me, I want people pushing me up the hill. I want to be in awe of you and your ideas. The MD of Bromford Support was saying "So What?" about something we were discussing the other day. He was right. So what? Who cares? Who are we telling? What are we telling them? Where is the end goal?
I believe in strategy - some people feel the need to write that down, others need to read about it, others just get it and get on with it. Of course we need to produce strategies, and it is important to be able to convey what we are trying to achieve to colleagues involved, but what is more important is always the doing – the implementation.
It is natural that some people will be against change but that is no bad thing. Those people provide the opportunity to check yourself - consider the flaws in any idea. It's the easiest thing in the world to come up with amazing ideas - harder to think why they wouldn't work or shouldn't go ahead. Some people will naturally feel threatened by ideas. They really shouldn't. Embrace them, challenge them, go with the flow - contribute.
There are many ways you can benefit the organisation you work for. I have an idea for re-structuring the team I work in and how they work to the better benefit of not just the team but the entire organization and how to assist in achieving its key objectives. It’s not my job role to do that but I’m going to put them forward as the colleague engagement at Bromford encourages you do that - how good is that? Very good I'll tell you.
At Bromford I feel I can do that – that, on the whole, my big size 12s are nimble enough not to tread on too many toes just by sharing an idea and it will be welcomed in the creative and well intentioned way it is meant.
Ok so I’m starting to move from evangelical to advertorial but it’s true. Every organisation can learn from what how Bromford is operating and every organisation can learn from each other.
So to the end of my advertorial/evangelical blog today.
I’ll write another blog soon - I'm off to talk my wife into moving to Hampton Lucy not Shenstone - wish me luck.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Leading housing association voice concerns over UK child poverty
Leading housing association voice concerns over UK child poverty
11th October 2011
A leading UK housing association has voiced its concerns over reports from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that child poverty in the UK is likely to exceed three million by 2013.
Bromford, a leading UK housing association, have responded to the IFS statistic that by 2013 one in four children in the UK could be living in poverty – the current Government target is one in ten. This would see a reversal of the trend in recent years that has seen a reduction in poverty amongst UK children and Bromford are concerned that such positive strides should not be undone.
Bromford’s executive director, Phillipa Jones explains: “The IFS have raised a valid concern. We invest in the communities we work in to build people's skills and capacity in line with the government's agenda that the route out of poverty should be work pay. This is the most effective way to reduce the number of children living in poverty.
“Every effort should be made to ensure that the implementation of any fiscal policy does not undo the advancements that have been made. Were we to see the projected figures of the IFS realised the UK would witness the highest rate of absolute child poverty since 2001 and the of relative child poverty since 1999.”
Bromford Support provides additional support to families helping them achieve their personal goals. In the last year over nine thousand people were supported in this way with a strong emphasis on reducing dependency and maximizing opportunities for training and work.
Wendy Stephens, Head of Bromford Support, echoed the concern: “The overwhelming majority of people we work with are in receipt of benefit and therefore already living on a very low income. The potential worsening of that situation would be catastrophic to the lives of many children and set up a cycle of deprivation that becomes hard to break.
“Last year nearly seventy percent of the people we supported were in difficulty with accrued debt and over fifty percent required assistance just to secure settled accommodation for them and their children.
“Everyday, support workers witness the reality of the low incomes our customers receive and the effects of child poverty with a need to access food parcels and grants etc just to get by. Any threat of an increase in child poverty must be urgently addressed by government.”
Friday 7 October 2011
Bromford CEO replies to Prime Minister
Bromford CEO replies to Prime Minister
6th October 2011
Mick Kent, CEO of housing group Bromford, has responded to prime minister David Cameron’s pledge this week to ‘inspire a new Tory housing revolution’ to tackle the faltering housing market.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. David Cameron spoke of how the Government are addressing the shortage of homes and the fall in the housing market brought on by the debt crisis.
Mick Kent, CEO of central England housing group Bromford, commented: “The Prime Minister has spoken of encouraging right to buy by increasing discounts and investing the sales proceeds to provide replacement homes for affordable renting.
“We would want to be convinced that the numbers add up and that the money would be ring-fenced to replace each lost social housing home. If that really can be achieved we would welcome this move to meet the housing needs and aspirations of existing and future residents.
“The pledge to release publicly owned land for housing development along with the Homes and Communities Agency’s plans for facilitating this could be very significant in stimulating the housing market and we would urge the government to make a good proportion of this land available at a subsidized price to enable more affordable homes to be provided.”
The Bromford CEO also addressed David Cameron’s announced commitment to families, parenting, childcare and tackling the problems in society that led to the August riots.
Mick explained: “Bromford works with thousands of disadvantaged families and young people, helping them to realise their potential, improve their employment chances and contribute positively to their communities.”
“October is Supported Housing Month and many young people we are supporting are showcasing their achievements in a way that gives me great faith in the future of this country. With the right support and encouragement our young people can be a force we should all be proud of.”
To find out more about the services of Bromford visit www.bromfordgroup.co.uk or call 0330 1234 034.
Press release by Lee O'Hanlon
Developing a habit for winning awards
Developing a habit for winning awards
“It’s not just our homes that get a seal of approval,” declares home developer.
5th October 2011
A Bromford Developments Ltd (BDL) employee has scooped a prestigious construction award at a ceremony at Birmingham’s ICC.
Peter Hamon, site manager for BDL, has won a National House Building Council (NHBC) ‘Pride in the Job’ seal of excellence – his second award from the prominent housing body in the last two years.
Bromford construction manager Archie Haywood enthused: “This is a magnificent achievement for Peter and everyone at Bromford is thrilled for him. It’s great to see our people be recognised as highly as the developments they work on.
“Peter is presently site manager at our new housing development, Priorsleap, at Priorslee Road in Telford. It is already clear that Peter is executing the management of that site to the highest standards also.”
The seal was bestowed on Peter at the end of September for the quality of the work and his professional standards at a Bromford housing development site at Church Road, Wrockwardine, Telford.
He was also honoured with a quality award in 2010 for his efforts on the Bromford Homes site at Love Lane, Cleobury Mortimer.
Peter is thrilled at the latest acknowledgement of his standards of work: “I only joined Bromford just over three years ago so I am very proud to receive two awards from the NHBC in that time.
Every effort is being made by the whole team involved in Priorsleap to ensure we execute the same exacting standards there.”
The judges score site managers on 38 activities including consistency of high standards, leadership, technical expertise through to standard of workmanship and the ability to skillfully interpret drawings and specifications.
To find out more about the award winning homes at Priorsleap and other Bromford housing developments visit www.bromfordhomes.co.uk or call 0845 6010 878.
Press release by Lee O'Hanlon
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