We were delighted to be commissioned for this exciting project in our well-established collaboration as Castles & Coasts Housing Association‘s (CCHA) equity, diversity and inclusion delivery partner. In response to the changing regulatory landscape, CCHA are committed to embedding their approach to vulnerabilities and reasonable adjustments and with support from Positive About Inclusion have:
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Reviewed the existing policy documentation that articulates the organisational approach to tailoring services for residents with diverse needs
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Commissioned training to customer facing colleagues to embed the policy commitments into day-to-day service delivery
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Established a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities including a new organisational acronym (CARE) to support colleague behaviour
We provided advice and best practice guidance to CCHA colleagues reviewing the relevant policy which then formed a key element in our design of an interactive 90 minute online session. A programme of 10 sessions over a two week period was delivered to maximise impact and encourage colleague conversation. Each live workshop was introduced by a member of the CCHA senior leadership team as a demonstration of their commitment, and a condensed recording of the workshop has also been provided to ensure new starters will be briefed on these key expectations.
To ensure the workshop content was relevant, various social housing case studies and real-life scenarios were utilised to bring the policy commitments to life. These demonstrated to colleagues the mindset, attitude and behaviours required to ensure compliance with the Housing Ombudsman‘s ‘mantra’ to recognise, respond and record customer vulnerabilities and the reasonable adjustments required.
The sessions launched the new organisational acronym, CARE which will form part of an internal communications campaign, and colleagues were reminded to approach every customer interaction with CARE, i.e.
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Consider the preferred contact method
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Are there any vulnerabilities?
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Respect sensitive issues
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Each case is individual
Following the session, all attendees were invited to provide feedback via an online survey, hosted by Positive About Inclusion to reinforce its anonymity. This was an opportunity to flag up any organisational barriers or challenges to overcome, ensuring a collaborative approach to tailoring service and providing equitable outcomes for CCHA customers and communities.
Members of the Executive and Senior Leadership Teams were provided with a bespoke session to not only share the content of the workshop but to give an overview of the colleague feedback provided via the online survey.
The colleague response to the programme of sessions and the wraparound services provided has been extremely positive. Attendees awarded the sessions 4.4 stars out of 5 in terms of it increasing their confidence to understand diverse needs, vulnerabilities and make reasonable adjustments.
“Colleagues found the training incredibly insightful and thought-provoking, helping to further equip them to support the delivery of the Consumer Standards. The real life examples used and interaction/engagement was outstanding.”
Adam Gould, Head of Customer Service & Engagement
