North Lincolnshire Homes (NLH), which owns more
than 10,000 homes, is the largest social housing provider in the
Scunthorpe area. Set up in 2007 to transfer housing stock from
North Lincolnshire Council, the organisation has faced considerable
challenges in establishing itself as a financially sound,
independent body. Mentor has been on hand throughout the early
years, providing support and advice on a range of employment and
health & safety issues.
Today NLH employs more than 280 staff. Whilst
most staff have been inherited from the council, the new flatter
structure has led to redundancies and recruitment, as Jo Sugden,
Head of Human Resources, explains. “Inevitably massive change did
not come without a price and some individuals faced having their
posts changed radically or even deleted. Some new teams were built
from scratch and we embarked on a recruitment campaign to fill key
support posts within Finance, HR and Information, Communications
and Technology (ICT) where few staff were transferring from the
council.”
One vacancy led to an unusual situation with a
Mentor Consultant working in-house as an interim Health &
Safety Manager, the first time such an arrangement had been tried.
“Having Mentor gave us time to breathe while we advertised,
interviewed and selected a permanent replacement,” says Jo.
Many businesses talk of how Mentor gets
personally involved, and that certainly rang true with Diane
Shakesby, Health & Safety Consultant, filling the gap for over
a year. During this time she introduced a health & safety
reporting system, carried out risk assessments, and delivered over
30 courses. Every member of staff has received training on the
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Passport. Mentor
put in content specific to NLH and the bespoke course runs over two
days instead of one, with the option to attend catch-up sessions.
Diane remains heavily involved, with training days booked until
March next year to keep up with new recruits.
A more significant change saw Andy Orrey take
over as Chief Executive. Andy had worked as Finance Director and
took over as Deputy Chief Executive in June 2009, before taking on
the permanent CEO position in May 2010. Striving for the high
quality standards is part of his commitment to taking NLH forward
as a major housing provider, community partner and local
employer.
“Andy wants things right, and health &
safety management is key,” says Jo. “As well as every employee
being put through the IOSH Passport, all the senior managers attend
the IOSH Managing Safely which again sets a good standard.” The
result is a head office management team as fully conversant with
health & safety as those out working on construction sites.
As well as having access to Mentor’s services
at any time, Jo values having help to stay one step ahead of any
changes in legislation, keeping NLH compliant. Most recently Mentor
provided guidance on asbestos issues, a problem when housing stock
dates back to the 1970s.
Mentor has been used by NLH for almost three
years, during which time NLH has changed a lot but Mentor has
stayed reliably the same. “My team has an excellent working
relationship with Mentor. They have made some tricky times easier,”
says Jo. “Whilst the work we have undertaken could not be described
as easy, through their support it has been managed properly and
positive outcomes have been achieved. They understand our
organisation fully and are quick to respond with good, solid
advice.”
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