New wellbeing days launched by Grampian Housing Association
In response to Grampian Housing Association’s concern about colleague wellbeing and resilience in the face of the enduring global pandemic, new wellbeing days are being offered to staff through its “Feeling GREAT” initiative.
Wellbeing days are part of a range of measures the Association has put in place to support colleague mental health. They will acknowledge the continuing hard work and commitment of staff in challenging circumstances as well as being a way of saying thank you and showing appreciation.
For Association staff, the pandemic has necessitated compulsory remote working, home schooling, caring for loved ones, furlough, financial hardship and a whole range of other impacts on their lives.
Chris Mathieson, compliance, engagement and support lead at Grampian Housing Association said:- “Diagnosis of stress, anxiety and depression are increasing daily throughout the UK and require specialist support. Our colleague wellbeing days are not a sticking plaster for these issues.
“Instead, we feel that we are playing our part in highlighting the importance of positive mental health through contributing something tangible and beneficial for colleagues which may provide a bit of respite and may help prevent an issue from becoming more significant further on. Our wellbeing days will help colleagues to clear their mind, process their thinking and come back stronger.
“It’s never been more important to be kind to yourself and to others. Businesses must make decisions which encourage staff to deliver but which acknowledge the challenges they face and offer support to help them cope and deliver outcomes and outputs which are beneficial for both.
“My resolution for 2021 is that colleagues take up this new employee benefit. I’ll certainly be encouraging them to do so, and can’t wait for the Spring to arrive to use my day to hit the hills on Deeside.
“We look forward to hearing how colleagues choose to use their day – going running, swimming, gardening, cooking, reading, spending time with family. The day is for individuals to use in a way which gives enjoyment and promotes inner calm.
“Ultimately, our Wellbeing Day highlights the trust and appreciation we hold for colleagues; a commitment to honest, open and a continuing conversation around mental health and wellbeing; and that it will deliver increased colleague commitment, satisfaction and engagement with Grampian. Happier, content and productive colleagues will deliver a customer dividend through enhanced service delivery and the customer first ethos that as a Registered Social Landlord we are rightly keen to deliver.”
Inez Kirk, Aberdeenshire UNISON Branch Secretary said:- “We welcome the work Grampian Housing Association has been undertaking to improve the wellbeing and benefits offered to our members. At a time when we are seeing the impact on our members’ mental health the GREAT initiative is a positive way to support and reward employees.
“This initiative leads the way in Aberdeen and UNISON will be keen to encourage other organisations to take a look at Grampian Housing Association’s ethos and to invest in their workforce in such a positive way and we are in full support of the ’GREAT’ proposals.”
Commenting on the Wellbeing Day, Dan Thompson, Senior Housing Officer said:- “It’s a very positive initiative and it is nice to hear how much thought is being given to the wellbeing of colleagues.”
Colleague wellbeing days complement the extensive work the Association has undertaken to support its tenants throughout the coronavirus crisis. This has included telephone check-ins with vulnerable tenants as well as providing practical help and access to its tenancy sustainment services which offer free money and debt advice, housing support and energy advice.
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Adverse impact of Covid-19 on tenants revealed
The results of the survey we have undertaken show the huge and long lasting effects Covid-19 has had on many of our tenants and their families.
Responses from 43% or 1,136 of tenants provide headline survey results which demonstrate this significant impact on households particularly in relation to income, employment and mental health.
With 51% of respondents affected financially, either through reduced hours of employment or being made redundant, there was real concern expressed by tenants that they are at risk of falling into rent arrears.
The changed circumstances of many tenants also sends a strong message to the Association of the work it has to do to ensure rents remain affordable and to work with tenants to help them claim all the benefits they are entitled to as well as to manage rent arrears in the future.
35% of respondents said their overall health had deteriorated but by far the biggest impact was on mental health with almost 70% of respondents feeling it had suffered and relationships had deteriorated. The impact doesn’t stop there. 42% of respondents felt their children’s lives had been adversely impacted too.
Chris Mathieson, compliance, engagement and support lead at Grampian Housing Association said:- “We continue to put our tenants first and we are using this feedback to ensure our services meet their needs and expectations as well as seeing it as an opportunity to engage more regularly and effectively.
“In response to the survey results our staff contacted tenants, depending on their circumstances, to offer follow up advice and to ensure they had relevant support in place where it was required.
“We also offered housing support as well as money, debt and energy advice through our Assist, Smart and Energy projects. Referrals to these services certainly increased at the height of the pandemic and we are pleased that staff were on hand to provide this extra help and support for tenants when it was most needed.”
Commenting on the services provided by the Association during the pandemic one tenant said:- “It was really good to get a phone call early on to ask if everything was ok. It was reassuring to know if help was needed I could call.”
Another tenant said:- “Grampian was able to listen when we called when we were having difficulty paying our rent. It was useful to be able to talk through issues.”
The daughter of one tenant also expressed her thanks:- “I really appreciated the call my parents received while they were shielding as I couldn’t visit and it felt they were being cared for.”
Grampian works in partnership with Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and The Moray Councils and the results of the survey have been shared with elected members to highlight the significant issues facing households throughout the North East as we continue to follow the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown.
In line with the Association’s strong customer focus, the survey was the first to be conducted using CX-Feedback, an online surveying and feedback management tool. It was procured during lockdown as part of the Association’s desire to make a difference to its tenants’ lives during a challenging time.
Going forward, CX-Feedback will see the Association’s decision-making based on feedback from more real time transactional surveys designed to drive improvements in tenant satisfaction and inform any changes in service delivery.
IMPORTANT REPAIRS UPDATE!
Please note that with immediate effect (Monday 21 December 2020) we are only responding to emergency repair requests. This follows the Scottish Government's latest announcement that mainland Scotland will move into Level 4 restrictions from Saturday 26 December 2020.
To report emergency repairs only (e.g. major leak, total loss of power) please call 01224 202900 during office hours or 0300 123 9279 out of hours.
A reminder that these are the arrangements during the festive office closure (from 12 noon on Thursday 24 December 2020) but these will now continue to be in place when the office reopens on Tuesday 5 January 2020.
We will provide updates on our Facebook page as well as our website based on Government advice and guidance.
Covid-19 Impact Survey Report
Click here to access the Report.
Recently, we asked you to tell us about the impact Covid-19 has had on you and your family and how it has affected your personal circumstances. Thank you to the 43% of tenants responded. We really appreciate this response which provides us with insight into the human cost of the pandemic.
By sharing your experiences you are helping us to understand the huge effect Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, on you and your family, including issues around mental health, employment and incomes. We will be using your feedback to continue to improve and enhance our services so they best meet your needs.
If you reported exposure to Covid-19, over the next few weeks our staff will call you to find out how you are and to see if Grampian can offer any further advice, assistance or support. Similarly, some of you told us you had applied for Welfare Benefits or feared slipping into rent arrears so our specialist staff will contact you to offer further help, including information about our money advice, housing support and energy advice projects.
Lastly, we are grateful to the tenants who left feedback telling us they are disappointed with aspects of Grampian’s services, so we’ll be in touch to see what we can do to address those concerns and work towards a better outcome for you.
Look out for further updates here, and in Keynote, around how we’ve responded to the information you’ve given us and our ongoing work to support tenants. Look out for information on how we will use your feedback differently, to perform better, to communicate more effectively with you and to improve your satisfaction with us as your landlord.
