Taking an agile approach to the coronavirus crisis
As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc worldwide, our Chief Executive Elspeth Mackenzie reveals some of the ways Thrive Homes has sought to cope with the challenges the pandemic has presented.
As we all adjust to the strange new world created by the coronavirus pandemic, our sector is having to re-think the way we do things in order to fulfill our fundamental purpose while keeping our customers and teams safe.
At Thrive, we were fortunate to have systems in place which ensured we could pre-empt the national lockdown and respond promptly to the challenges it has posed.
We started planning as soon as the global crisis began unfolding, making early decisions about what action we would take if the situation worsened. That gave us the time to think through what it could mean for our operations, allowing us to draw up contingency procedures and communicate them to our people.
This disaster response and recovery planning has enabled us to maintain our focus while giving our executive leadership team the opportunity, through virtual weekly meetings, to navigate the mass of information and evolving national guidance so we can take a collective view.
This, in turn, has created clarity so our teams have had time to prepare and adapt to changes in the way we work. We have also worked hard to reassure frontline staff, providing suitable personal protective equipment and adopting appropriate measures so they can do their job safely.
Agile working
A factor that helped hugely in our response to the coronavirus crisis was the fact that we had already developed agile working systems and technology, making the transition to working remotely or from home less challenging.
Our move to a new office in Hemel Hempstead 18 months ago was the catalyst for this considerable investment in the technology and platforms to support agile working practices. It seemed a brave decision at the time but one which has paid off.
For instance, all Thrive contact centre staff are able to take calls and work from home. Our teams have also been using ‘OneThrive’, our version of Workplace by Facebook, as a collaborative tool since 2017. This has supported formal and informal channels of communication across the organisation.
As well as having weekly online meetings of the leadership team, our digital platform for reports and other documents has enabled the Board and our Customer Experience Panel to continue liaising with members and holding virtual meetings.
Strong relationships
Fortunately, we have not had to furlough any staff but have strategically redeployed some people so we can still deliver key services while seeking to maintain our income streams.
For example, after a grounds maintenance contractor furloughed its employees, we redeployed some members of our maintenance team –who were only able to carry out emergency repairs at the time – to cover grass cutting. Similarly, as we received fewer customer calls, a number of contact centre staff were transferred to the income management team for early contact work.
As an organisation, our aim is always to be flexible and adaptable, making efficient and creative use of our resources – and we appreciate that the goodwill of our team is crucial to achieving that.
The value we place on our colleagues is evidenced by Thrive’s Investors in People gold accreditation and ‘100 Best Companies To Work For’ ranking. This commitment has not wavered throughout the current climate.
Managers keep in regular touch with team members, responding to concerns and taking a common sense approach to the challenges of home working. Although unable to host our annual ‘Staff Day’ this year, we continue (albeit remotely) to make thank-you gestures through our established long service and staff reward schemes.
In the same way, good relationships with contractors and suppliers are playing a vital role in keeping us on track. We liaised with them early on and keep in close contact, making sure we fully understand each other’s changing circumstances and needs.
We are engaging with customers by various means, including social media, to communicate clearly the impact on our services and the need to observe safe working practices to protect our employees and communities.
Through these difficult times we seek to take a pragmatic line with our residents, staff teams and commercial partners. This approach reflects the relationship we are keen to nurture through our Thrive Deal with customers – one of mutual respect, trust and consideration.
It is only by working together in such a way that we will be able to get through this crisis and look to the future, whatever that may have in store.