believe housing has been recognised as an outstanding place to work — and its own staff are the ones leading the chorus of approval.
The County Durham-based housing association, which manages more than 18,000 affordable homes and delivers a range of innovative support services to customers and communities, has maintained its prestigious ‘two-star’ Best Companies accreditation.
Bill Fullen, Chief Executive of believe housing, said: “It’s fantastic to once again achieve this ‘two-star outstanding to work for’ status.
“We know our people are our greatest asset. If we can attract and retain the best staff, and keep them happy at work, we can achieve the best outcomes for customers and deliver on our ambitions for communities.”
The housing association took part in the accreditation scheme for the first time last year, when it also achieved ‘two star – outstanding to work for’ status. The rating is based on the results of a workplace survey, given to just over 570 believe housing employees. It focuses on eight factors of engagement including leadership, wellbeing and fairness.
Julie Brayson, Director of Transformation and Culture at believe housing, said: “I was delighted that 88% of our people took the time to participate in the survey this year, which is well above average participation in Best Companies surveys overall and a record for believe housing.
“This is important because we value our colleagues’ views and we want to better understand how people feel about working at believe housing. To know, after the challenging times we’ve all had, that our staff still feel strongly engaged at work is something we can feel immensely proud of. We acted on the results of last year’s survey and this year’s findings will help believe housing to continue to grow and develop in future.”
The Best Companies survey is the most respected measure of work satisfaction in the country. The independent research has been carried out for more than 20 years and informs the annual ‘Best Companies To Work For’ list. Last year, believe housing was ranked 12 in the UK’s 25 Best Housing Associations to Work For 2021 and was the only North East housing association to make the list. It also took the number 25 spot in the North East’s 30 Best Companies to Work For list 2021. The latest results mean that believe housing is hopeful of a strong performance in the 2022 list.
The not-for-profit housing association is investing heavily to deliver life without barriers in homes and communities stretching across County Durham and beyond. Its teams are growing due to the number of exciting projects it is delivering and a number of new roles are currently available.
