The Loop May 2013

LOOPThe

The Beautiful South

Keeping you in the loop May 2013

Pages 6 & 7

May 2013

FROM THE TEAM Contents

3 Word on the streetNews from around the Group

4 POPS POPS goes BAU!

6 Cover story The Beautiful South

8 Values LOVE-in the Values

11 Behind the scenes Hyde’s worldwide window

10 Hyde’s Heroes Victorious Victoria

12 Residents’ conference Coming together

14 Finance Thanks a billion!

16 Spotlight on Catching up with Core

18 Hyde on Demand Driving digital

Media moments19 Wellbeing Let’s get physical

Snippets

To the moon and back

20 20 Questions Thomas Tarrant, Treasury Analyst, Corporate Finance and Treasury Team

Do keep sending us your story ideas and feedback about your magazine to [email protected]

Produced by Communications

The Hyde Group 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ

[email protected]

020 3207 2701 © Hyde Housing Association

In this issue, there’s plenty to share...On page 4 you can find out more about

the gradual roll out of the Purchase Ordering Payment System (POPS) that began 12 months ago. Then, on page 5 there’s information about the Welfare Reform changes that came into being on 1 April and those that lie ahead in the coming months. The Cover story on pages 6 and 7 drops in on the South Region’s Away Day that took place in March and is followed by LOVE-in the Values which focuses on the staff who were presented with LOVE (Living Our Values Everyday) awards at the Away Day, for actions that had demonstrated Hyde’s refreshed values at work. News of another award-winning member of staff can be found on page 10, where the latest Hyde’s Hero is announced.

The second Residents’ Conference also took place in March and on pages 12 and 13 you can find out what happened on the day, including which residents received the Making a lasting difference awards. On pages 14 and 15, in Thanks a billion! there’s a chance to meet the Finance team responsible for bringing investment into Hyde, including the recent £102m of investment from Legal and General.

The changes made within Core Operations after the ’18 months on review’ are shared in Spotlight on which can be found on pages 16 and 17.

Media moments follow on page 18, along with news about Hyde on Demand.

In Wellbeing on page 19 you can find out how Hyde is limbering up to test pilot the Global Corporate Challenge. There’s news too on this page in Snippets about Hyde’s travel plan.

As always, there’s 20 Questions, which has been taken on this time by Thomas Tarrant.

So what are you waiting for?

Happy reading.

The Comms team

Cover Pic: Left to Right: Adrian Addo, Becky Squibb and Josh Wood.

2 The Loop The Hyde Group staff magazine

5 Welfare Reform Size matters

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Word on the street

The Loop The Hyde Group staff magazine 3

WINNER!

Rochester Riverside Rocks!Hyde’s new flagship housing development at Rochester Riverside in Kent was officially opened by Councillor Doe from Medway Council on Friday 15 March.

The keenly awaited first phase of Medway Council’s prestigious Rochester Riverside development will provide 73 new homes and a commercial unit: Bellerophon House has a mix of 41 one and two bedroom extra care apartments with communal areas, a restaurant and a hairdressing salon; The Royal Oak has a mix of 24 one and two bedroom apartments available for Shared Ownership and Nymph House has eight affordable rent apartments. The names chosen are a tribute to three ships that brought prosperity to Medway.

In his welcome, John Tibbitts, Hyde Group Business Development Director said: “We’re very proud to be creating this new community. It will help address the substantial demand for housing in Medway. This project is a great example of partnership working in action. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Medway Council, Denne and Hyde, have all shown a tremendous level of commitment in Rochester Riverside.”

Congratulations to Michelle O’Toole, PA and Office Manager at our Partners office at Colebrooke Place, who correctly solved the Sudoku puzzle. We hope that you’ll enjoy spending your £100 of very vouchers.

5 3 4

6 7 2

1 9 8

6 7 8

1 9 5

3 4 2

9 1 2

3 4 8

5 6 7

8 5 9

4 2 6

7 1 3

7 6 1

8 5 3

9 2 4

4 2 3

7 9 1

8 5 6

9 6 1

2 8 7

3 4 5

5 3 7

4 1 9

2 8 6

2 8 4

6 3 5

1 7 9

Michelle’s clever

Over the past few months, Hyde has been holding events to help residents understand how the changes to the Welfare Reform Act could affect their benefit entitlements.

Recently, residents have been particularly interested in looking to swap homes to beat the ‘bedroom tax’. In the first two weeks of April alone, mutual exchange applications doubled, in response to the changes to the government’s welfare benefit system that came into effect on 1 April.

When staff from Resident Services, Lettings and Hyde Plus in the London Region worked together to arrange an event for 3 April, to promote mutual exchanges between under-occupying and overcrowded families in the Brent area, more than 70 local residents (including those from the other RSLs) came along to the Hyde Hillside Hub.

Diana Wade, Hyde’s Lead Benefits Support Officer, gave a presentation which included information about how to get further advice and support based on individual circumstances. Whilst at the event, residents were also helped to use the available computer facilities to register on exchange websites, or to search for suitable properties.

Since the event, letters have been sent to all attendees, reminding them that if they’re interested in mutual exchange they need to register with Homeswapper or other similar schemes. Residents were also encouraged to alert staff to any changes that arise in their personal circumstances.

Changing Rooms

How will changes affect you?What do you need to do?

Council tax benefit

Housing benefits

Child Benefit

Bedroom Tax*

BENEFITSARECHANGING

All residents who expressed an interest in mutual exchange at the event are now being contacted individually to discuss how this might be achieved.

Local events will continue to be held across the Group over the coming months. These will concentrate on non-dependant deductions, the benefit cap and universal credit. Practical help with money/budgeting, debt, jobs and training, grants and bursaries will be available for residents to help them prepare for these changes through the specialist teams within our business.

Left to Right: Councillor Doe, John Tibbitts, Councillor Chitty.

See page five for further information on Welfare Reform.

Diana Wade, Hyde’s Lead Benefits Support Officer


POPS

Doesn’t time fly?One year on from the official launch of this new way of buying goods and services, The Purchase Ordering Payment System (POPS) has now become second nature to many of us. It was introduced into the business through a phased approach that involved training a few teams at a time, providing them with support and building on lessons learnt to improve the next phase of delivery.

Top five 1. POPS provides

Hyde with one standard process for purchasing and paying; it streamlines the way we work

2. We now only order from approved Hyde Suppliers

3. Suppliers receive prompt payment within 30 days

4. The right levels of authorisation happen before money is spent

5. It reduces the time taken to process invoices

How’s it been for users?

“I’ve found the New POPS system really easy and straightforward to use. I’ve even

managed to set up “my favourite” cost codes which saves me time as I don’t have to keep looking them up. This new way of raising orders and receiving goods has

made it so much easier and quicker for me to keep a record of outstanding orders. Also, for me, the thought of not having to ‘stamp’ any more invoices fills me with joy!!”

Nic Haig, Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, East Region.

“POPS is a welcome process that is helping us to account and streamline the ordering and payment of

goods/services to our suppliers. This system has improved and reduced the processes when compared with the

manual process of sending batches to Accounts Payable.”

Trevor Marsh, Accounts Payable Manager.

“I’ve been using POPS since the roll out to the ICT department in Phase 2. As part

of the projects and change team I mainly have to order consultancy hours from vendors but I have also

used POPS for some stationery items via the ‘punch out’ to Banner and found both ways to be very easy and

straight forward to use.”

Lindsey Wherrell, Project Administrator, ICT.

“There have been some real challenges establishing the system and getting staff up to speed on making it work for them, but we’ve managed it! A partnership approach has helped

colleagues in the project team to work and support each other, as well as the business, through all the stages; from

project launch, through training to support and, since the end of March, Business as Usual (BAU).”

Bharat Solanki, ICT Project Manager and lead

If you have any queries or feedback, please raise these through the ICT Service desk


Welfare Reform

On 1 April, 2013, the long heralded Welfare Reform changes to the UK benefit systems came into force amidst a range of headline grabbing media stories. For Hyde and our residents, the most challenging of these changes have been the housing benefit cuts and the introduction of Under Occupancy or the ‘Bedroom Tax’.

Although Eastenders’ character Dot Branning is fictional, feedback from Hyde residents has been that they feel exactly like the famous East End character.

From the work that we did ahead of the changes coming into force, we identified around 3,500 Hyde households that would be impacted by this reform. We wrote to each of them and have been speaking to individuals about their options.

In the months leading up to April, Denise Brend, Lettings Manager, London Region and her team had been talking to residents affected by the changes and are continuing to do so. She said: “We’re finding residents are worried and are handling it in many different ways. Some would like to downsize but are finding it hard to secure a home they can move to, whilst others are worrying over practical issues, for example, separated parents who won’t have a room when their children come to stay if they downsize. Yet others are asking about what to do with items of furniture that they won’t have

room for if they move into a smaller home.“Some residents want to stay put, even

though they can’t afford to, others are looking for ways to increase their income and have asked for advice about taking in lodgers.”

Hyde’s doing everything possible to support tenants. Benefit advice specialists in our Income teams are helping residents to make sure that they’re accessing the right benefits.

So far 1,000 Hyde residents have attended locally arranged information sessions to hear more about the changes and to ask questions about their particular circumstances.

Gilbert Stowe, Income Business Manager and project lead for Welfare Reform said: “It’s vital that tenants make use of the help that’s available to them. For example, Discretionary

*Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP)DHP is a pot of money given, each year, to local

authorities to help people who qualify for housing or council tax support, but are having trouble paying their rent or council tax. The council decides who should be given the payments. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) may be paid weekly, or can be a lump sum. Payments can be backdated.

Size

If you have any queries, contact Gilbert Stowe on ext 17496 (01243 817 496)

“...it may be a three-bed with under adequate

occupancy or whatever them big words are, but it ain’t that to me. To me

it’s my home.”

[Dorothy Branning (Mrs), Albert Square

Walford, E 20].

Housing Payment (DHP)* is short-term money that can be given by local authorities to help families dealing with the financial impact of under occupancy and we’ve been supporting Hyde tenants in their applications to their local authorities.”

Hyde Plus advisors are providing money and employment advice, helping residents to maximise and manage budgets.

Recognising that some residents would prefer to speak to other residents, Resident Engagement has also trained up 72 Welfare Reform Champions, so that they can also spread the word and direct their neighbours to appropriate sources for help and further advice.

Both our website and HydeWide pages are other ways in which information is being shared about Welfare Reform.

Disability Living Allowance

Benefit Cap rolled out nationally

Welfare Reform timeline of changes

From April 1 June 15 July

2013

Under-occupation Bedroom Tax (Bromley and Croydon)

Benefit Cap New Council Support Scheme

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Non-Dependant DeductionsSocial Fund

Universal Credit Pilots

matters

Cover story


Wednesday 6 March saw 100 members of Resident Services staff from across the South Region come together at the Hilton Hotel in Avisford, Arundel to join in a day of information sharing, feedback and fun at the Beautiful South staff conference.

This was the first time since the delivery of the new group-wide Resident Services’ structure on 4 May 2012 that colleagues from all parts of the South Region (Chichester, Southampton, Hove and Roundshaw) had come together.

Jane Ball, Regional Director, opened the conference by setting the strategic scene. Throughout the course of the day, a range of different themes were then introduced by a mix of senior management team members and guest speakers from other parts of the business who had been invited along to the event.

Staff were particularly keen to learn as much as they could from Gilbert Stowe, who heads up Hyde’s Welfare Reform project group, to help them in their work with residents.

As well as the presentations, there were team building activities, opportunities for networking and workshop sessions to capture thoughts and suggestions from all present on key future activities.

The conference also provided an opportunity to recognise the achievement of 11 colleagues, who were presented with LOVE awards (Living Our Values Everyday) on the day for going the extra mile. To find out more, turn to page 8.

The day’s messages stimulated some dynamic debate and feedback confirmed that the day had been well received.

South Region’s very own Ant and Dec: Mark Armitage (left) and Pete Smith.

Team work in action.

(Left) Gilbert Stowe, Project Lead Welfare Reform and (right) Jane Ball, Regional Director.


LOOPThe

The Beautiful South

Keeping you in the loop May 2013

Pages 6 & 7

“Altogether now, after three...”

“Anyone got a glowstick?”

An appreciative crowd.“You’re not singing

anymore...”

Trying different looks for that perfect cover shot

Promises made on the day

In presenter mode

Values

In recent weeks The Hyde Group Values have taken centre stage as we’ve all been completing the

‘Look Back’ and ‘Look Forward’ elements of our annual performance appraisals.

We’ve all had to rise to the challenge of gathering evidence to support the ways in which we’ve helped bring the values to life,

whilst working towards achieving our objectives. However, for a number of colleagues in the South Region, actions really have been louder than words and this was recognised, when they

were presented with LOVE (Living Our Values Everyday) Awards at the South Region Away Day which took place on 6 March.

Housing Officers: Jane Taylor, Noreen Blackstone and Laura DillonWorking together, these three colleagues have helped strengthen the sense of community on an estate in East Grinstead and worked with families in poor quality housing in Chichester, to improve their homes.

VALUING PEOPLE

LOVE-in the Values

Above: Noreen Blackstone (left) and Jane Taylor. Left: Laura Dillon.


Values


Caretakers: Vince Meenaghan and Jim Eagle. PA: Suzanne TerrettVince is commended by residents for always ensuring the communal areas he looks after are well maintained and inviting to visitors.

Jim supported residents who had no gas over a number of days in January. He made sure that all customers were well cared for and kept informed.

Suzanne takes responsibility when dealing with stakeholders and colleagues.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

BEING INNOVATIVE

WORKING TOGETHER

BEHAVING WITH INTEGRITY

Caretaker: Tony David When Tony noticed asbestos casually thrown

away in a communal bin he didn’t just walk away, he dealt with it appropriately and followed the clean-up by delivering an information leaflet about how to handle asbestos and the risks of DIY to all homes on the estate.

Roundshaw Income Team: Sarah Raw, Mark Privett, Jane McClellan, Tracey Stafford

This team has grasped the nettle to tackle very high levels of debt and non-payment of rent at Roundshaw. They have not only hit targets for recovery; they’ve successfully increased referrals to Hyde Plus and money advice services.

Lettings Officer: Elizabeth Brown and Housing Officer Sue Harrison

Liz (pictured below, left) has worked hard to embrace the challenges of a completely new role, understand what’s needed of her and find innovative ways to provide residents with the best possible service. As a result, she’s created a database of information that’s proving a valuable strategic tool to the business when talking to stakeholders and commissioning future support services.

Sue’s multi-team approach to tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) on an estate in Havant has helped reduce ASB by 50%, inspire friendships and encourage neighbours to work together to change the estate’s poor reputation.

LOVE-in the Values

Below left: Vince Meenaghan (left) and Jim Eagle. Below right: Suzanne Terrett.

Left to right: Sarah Raw, Mark Privett, Jane McClellan and Tracey Stafford.


Each Christmas time since 2007, the Kent Resident Engagement team had organised a highly successful Santa Tour. Over one or two days, a small team of staff had visited residents on geographically dispersed estates across the region. That was up until Christmas 2012.

On this occasion, the usual timing of the tour coincided with the Maidstone office move. However; mindful of how disappointed residents would be if the Tour didn’t happen, Resident

Engagement Officer, Vicki France, put a plan in

place to visit some

VICTORIOUS VICTORIA

Hyde’s heroesHyde’s heroesHyde’s heroes30 estates covering approximately 1,500 properties over a period of eight days during December, with just one or two members of staff on each occasion.

Initially, all went well, but then the Noro-virus struck and although Housing Officers kindly stepped in when they were able to, on three occasions Vicki was left on her own at the last minute. Rather than let residents down, (particularly the children), she asked her Dad to don his Santa suit and together they went out in the rain with huge sacks, to dispense chocolate and Christmas cheer.

Vicki, her Dad and a colleague from the Resident Engagement team even carried out visits to five of the estates on a Saturday.

Feedback from residents was really positive and on the Saturday alone Vicki signed up 11 residents to join the Hyde 5000.

It’s great to recognise people for a job well done and to see our values in action in our everyday work.

When noticing and congratulating individuals for a job well done, don’t forget to think about whether they’ve gone above and beyond what’s expected of them as part of their role in the business.

If that’s the case, why not send in a nomination for The Hyde Group’s official staff recognition scheme, Hyde’s Heroes either by filling in one of the nomination cards available at all of our offices and send it to

Communications, The Hyde Group, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ, or click on the Hyde’s Heroes banner on HydeWide and fill in the online version. Alternatively you can send your nomination by email to

[email protected]

YOUR SHOUT 2012 FEEDBACK

You said

You said

We will

We did

Make it clearer what to include in nominations and what differentiates the behaviour of a Hero from a job well done.

You said Increase the number of staff involved in the judging process

Tell the staff who were nominated, even if they didn’t win

Publicise the names of all the nominees on HydeWide once the judging is complete and the winners have been notified

We didAny member of staff can put themselves forward to be on the judging panel. If you’d like to put yourself forward, contact the communications team at [email protected] by the 30 May 2013.

l Produced a top ten tips for writing nominations which is available on HydeWide

l Have linked Hyde’s Heroes to our refreshed values to strengthen the link between the two

l We’ll be advertising closing dates for nominations ahead of each judging panel meeting


Hyde’s heroesBehind the scenes

Armed with the valuable feedback provided by colleagues from across the business and a resident focus group about its design, look and feel, the Communications Team worked closely with colleagues in ICT to look at what changes could be made using the existing website content management system (the platform on which our website sits).

So what’s new?

l Rotating banners on the main page which allow promotion of three topical news items at any one time. When a banner is clicked it takes the viewer straight through to information about the item eg Welfare Reform, Winners of awards, the ASB strategy

Our external website received a much needed facelift in February. If you haven’t explored it as yet, please see what it has to offer residents and other people who visit it to find out more about Hyde.

l Space to highlight four more items through use of the stationary banner spaces. As with the rotating banners, clicking on a particular one takes the viewer straight through to the available information eg Hyde Plus; Rent and Service Charges, housing moves

l The navigation bar now sits on the left-hand side of the home page, in line with the layout of most other websites

l The map section has been moved to the top right-hand side of the home page

l All sections now have pictures with text previews alongside them so that it’s clear to the viewer what information sits within each subsection in a particular section, making it easier for people to find the information that they’re looking for.

l The information in all sub-sections has been updated and is presented in user-friendly language If you have any feedback, suggestions or

questions about the website please email [email protected]

Fast facts and figures

Unique visitors

Page views

Pages per visit

Bounce rate reduced

up17%up153%up115%by82%

Hyde’s worldwide window

Residents’ Conference

The event, hosted by involved resident Lee Robinson, included an address from TPAS* Chief Executive Michelle Reid who praised Hyde’s dedication and commitment to ensuring resident engagement is at the forefront of everything it does. “It’s great to be part of Hyde’s residents’ conference and see so many people actively involved. Hyde has demonstrated a strong commitment to resident engagement by setting up robust scrutiny structures in the form of its Resident Assurance Committees (RACs) and is leading the way in terms of engagement.”

Information ExchangeA number of information stands were available throughout the day where residents could ask questions and provide feedback on a range of matters including Welfare Reform, Hydewide Residents’ Eye (HRE), Hyde Plus, ASB and the Group-wide residents’ magazine HydeLife.

On the ASB stand there was a residents’ summary available of Building Confidence and Reducing Harm – Hyde’s two year strategy for ASB. If you haven’t already seen this,you can view it on our website www.hyde-housing.co.uk

Working TogetherDuring the day residents took part in two interactive workshops to offer feedback and discuss a number of key projects.

What residents told us...

Working on the web This workshop discussed Hyde’s current website and what residents like and dislike about it.

Residents said...l We’d like more local information about our area

l We’d like a log-in page with all our personal information and account details in one place

l We’d like live assistance online, not just an email address

We said...l We’ll use all the information given to us to

develop a new website which will be launched during 2014

Hyde on demandThis workshop discussed how residents prefer to access Hyde’s services, for example online or visiting a local office; and how Hyde can support residents without internet access to get online.

Residents said...l Face-to-face contact with staff is still very

important via local offices and visits

l Confidence is a barrier for some to getting online

l An out-of-hours service is needed

We said...l We’ll make sure that we continue to provide

opportunities for residents to visit a local office

Comingtogether

Over 200 Hyde residents gathered at the Emirates Stadium in North London on Friday 22 March for a special involved residents’ conference, followed by a glamorous awards’ evening where residents were recognised for the positive difference they make to their communities.


*Tenant Participation Advisory Service


and maintain regular face-to-face contact with our local teams

l We’ll provide dedicated training and support for residents who would like help to get online and use the internet

l We’ll review our current out-of-hours service and look to make improvements so that the service is consistent whenever residents contact us

Innovating involvement This workshop discussed how well Hyde currently involves residents and explored new ways for residents to get involved.

Residents said...l We’d like more communication and feedback

about resident engagement, including celebration of achievements and local information in newsletters

l Hyde should offer wider-reaching engagement opportunities to residents, including more face-to-face and virtual activities

l We need more training and empowering to be properly involved, including how to use new technology and online communication

We said...l We’ll work with residents to develop a

communication plan to ensure news about resident engagement activities is fed back in a number of ways

l We’ll look into new and more accessible ways for residents to be involved, including the use of online technology

l We’ll work to train and support residents to get involved, including developing training courses to use online communication and technology

togetherAward Winnning Ways

In the early evening, presentations were made to the winners in the six categories of the Making a lasting difference 2013 Awards

Community Excellence Award – Shawn Collick from south London

Effective Resident Scrutiny – Stella Young from south London

Hyde Training or Placement Opportunity – Keith Gallagher from Maidstone, Kent

Val Taylor Award - Dorothy Higgins from Faversham, Kent

Working in Partnership Award – Hyde Procurement Panel

Young Person Award - Young people from Inverary Court in Ramsgate, Kent (Connor, Alfie, Billy, Molly-Ann, Jack and Sadie)

Seven entries also received a highly commended certificate.

To find out more about the winners and to see all the nominees, visit our website at www.hyde-housing.co.uk

Hyde Procurement Panel

Representatives receive the Young

Person Award from Tom Gardiner,

Hyde Plus Regional Manager, East

Shawn Collick and Dorothy Higgins receive their Awards

Tackling tenancy fraudThis workshop discussed how residents can work with Hyde to combat the issue of tenancy fraud.

Residents said...l We’re likely to know if tenancy fraud is being

committed in our neighbourhoodl We need to be sure that if we report tenancy

fraud to Hyde, it remains strictly confidential and no names are mentioned

l Hyde should offer a freephone hotline number for reporting tenancy fraud

We said...l We’ll use all the information given to us in this

workshop to develop a new tenancy fraud strategy.

Finance


In order to develop new homes, Hyde needs substantial sums of money and with Government funding being withdrawn; we need to explore other funding options. At the Briefing Managers’ Event held on 26 February 2013, news was shared that Hyde was close to sealing a deal that would secure a significant sum of investment money for our business. A few days later, when the investment deal had been confirmed, the good news was shared with the business that Legal and General had invested £102m in Hyde.

Natalie Spearman, PA to the Finance Directors and Heads of Finance.I worked for Hyde for five years starting in 2005, before leaving to spend two years living in Hong Kong where I spent my free time helping a friend set up an education centre, learning yoga and eating dim sum, hotpot and sushi! I’ve now been back at Hyde for just over a year, and love the variety and different challenges my role brings on a daily basis.

Thanks abillion!

Julie Brown, Treasury Operations ManagerI’ve been at Hyde for 15 years (most of my working life!). My role involves making sure that Hyde has the right amount of cash in the right bank account at the right time. This means forecasting future cash balances to make sure that we have enough cash, or if not, enough loans in place to cover our predicted expenditure. I also work on the Treasury budget where we budget the amount we’re going to spend on interest on our loans – currently around £65m.

My other job is taxi driver for my two girls! I also have a two-year old Springer spaniel that needs lots of walking, which helps to counteract the effects of going out for a meal and the occasional glass of wine at the weekends!

Anna Wallace, Corporate Finance and Treasury ManagerI’m the newest member of the team, having joined Hyde in November 2012. I support Ray by obtaining new finance for the organisation, managing the existing loan book and providing technical expertise on new projects. I also strive to ensure Treasury is as efficient as possible, and obtains the best value for money for the group. Outside of work I love baking, testing out afternoon tea emporiums and cultivating super-hot chillies to surprise people with my atomic homemade chilli con carne.

Here’s a chance for you to get to know the staff responsible for raising finance to fund our new housing development programme, as well as keeping our loan interest costs to a minimum. Together they form the Corporate Finance and Treasury team.

2012/13 was an exceptionally busy year for Hyde’s Corporate Finance and Treasury team. The icing on the cake was undoubtedly the new funding that came into the Group, including the L&G £102m. However, we cannot forget the cake – all those things that go on in the background to ensure that Hyde has sufficient

funding, at the right time and at the best possible price in order that

we can continue to deliver great service to current and future

residents and communities. We talk about Hyde having “a business head and a social

heart”. The Corporate Finance and Treasury team really bring

this motto to life.’ Simon Peacock,

Group Finance Director


Ray Christopher, Director of Corporate Finance & TreasuryI’ve been with Hyde for five years now. Originally I started as a Treasury Consultant – but following the credit crisis of 2008 decided that I’d better sign on the dotted line, thinking ‘’it’ll all blow over in a year’’ - how wrong I was! I really enjoy working with a great team of committed individuals, all with different backgrounds, who demonstrate time and time again their ‘can-do’ attitude. Raising finance is an important part of our business allowing us to continue to build homes and we’re all very proud of reaching the £1 billion raised mark. In my spare time I like dancing the cha cha cha.

Mark Gugenheim, Treasury Solicitor and Securities Manager I’ve worked at Hyde since December 2011. Previously, I worked as a Solicitor. I enjoy working in-house for a registered provider and getting stuck into new projects. I enjoyed working on the stock swap with Amicus and also enjoy refinancing and negotiating new loans such as the recent deal with Legal and General. In my spare time I’m a Ceroc dancer and the proud father of 10-month old boy Dylan.

Atinuke Alder, Treasury Securities AnalystI joined Hyde four years ago. My first six months were spent working in a Customer Services role and then I moved across to Treasury. Before joining Hyde, I’d worked in commercial banking in Nigeria and then for HSBC in the UK. At one stage I’d wanted to become a stockbroker. My present role involves preparing and packaging security (property) for our lenders so that we can secure our loans, as well as the administration, valuation and disposal of property.

I met my gorgeous husband at Hyde (so Hyde will always have a special place in my heart). We both volunteer at an elderly sheltered scheme in South East London which brings us a lot of joy.

Thomas Tarrant, Treasury AnalystI joined Hyde in December 2008 after working at Shoosmiths Solicitors for four years as a paralegal in Commercial Property. Initially I worked exclusively on securing Hyde’s loan facilities with RBS and Lloyds, but have since moved towards the operational side of the Corporate Finance and Treasury team. This includes dealing with covenant testing, treasury transaction data, trade inputting and Group cash management and forecasting.

To find out more about me, see this month’s 20 Questions on the back page.

Facts about Hyde’s finance

l We’re currently borrowing over £1.2 billion and our interest bill represents about 25% of the total group costs, so it’s important that we manage this expense exceptionally well!

l Over the last five years, a staggering £1bn of investment has been raised for Hyde. A key aspect in achieving this has been to protect our credit rating so that investors have continued to have confidence to invest large sums of money with us – raising £200m through our maiden bond issue and the recent £102m deal with Legal & General are both good examples of this confidence in our financial strength.

Spotlight on

Catching upAs part of the planning process for creation of Core Operations (OHOV Phase 1), it was agreed that all five elements of service delivered to our residents through this would be reviewed 18 months after Go Live.

with Core The intention was that the review would provide an opportunity to:l Find out whether the implementation had

been a successl See how Core Operations was performing

overalll Identify what, if any, enhancements needed to

be made to further improve services.The review, which was carried out in January,

showed that Core Operations had achieved a great deal in terms of improving the consistency and level of service for our residents. However, it also highlighted that after all of the hard work that had been put in, we’d reached a point where it was ready to take Core Operations to the next level of excellence by making some changes.

Complaints’ ResolutionSince Go Live on 4 July

2011, the Complaints’ Resolution Team has been working hard to raise their profile within the Group and to highlight the importance of complaints being seen as a valuable way to improve the service that we offer to our residents.

To strengthen this important area of work, the Complaints’ Resolution Team moved into the Customer Services Team on 1 April 2013. Six additional members of staff will be joining the team so that the level of support that this team can provide to colleagues across the business when they’re handling a Stage 1 complaint can be significantly increased.

Going forwards this team will be responsible for:l Managing the end to end complaints’ processl Monitoring resolutionl Keeping the complainant regularly updated

on progress These changes will also lead to improved

reporting and a focus on ‘lessons learned’, both of which will contribute to improvements in our responses and consistency in Complaints’ handling service for residents across the Group.

This is an exciting time for the Complaints’ Resolution Team and we’re keen to see the new team up and running and the anticipated improved customer satisfaction levels from our residents around both handling and resolution of their complaints.

16 The Loop The Hyde Group staff magazine *Complaints Resolution, Customer Services, Income, Leasehold and Service Charges

LOOPThe

Keeping you in the loop June 2011

Core blimey... it’s all go!Getting ready for Go Live! Meet the team inside

Be sure to enter our competition on Page 11

Fancy a enter our competittttiiiiiiioon on Page 11

Saturday night at the moviesSaturday night at the movies?


Catching upwith Core

If you have any questions regarding these changes or any other Core Operations issues please email David Morrissey, Director of Core Operations at

[email protected]

Hot PropertyOn 5 February, staff within the Leasehold and

Service Charges teams attended a meeting at the Gatwick Hilton Hotel where proposals were outlined for a new combined service area – the Home Ownership Team.

The proposals for the new service area structure included:l One Head of Servicel Expanding the resource to include a

specialised Compliance Teaml An Interim Gateway Project teaml Realignment of finance based roles to the

Finance Directorate

Following this meeting, a 30-day consultation process for all affected staff began.

The new structure, with Nazia Khaliq as Head of Service, was officially launched on 8 April. All members of the newly formed Home Ownership Team are based at our Long Lane office.

Although, the Leasehold and Service Charges teams will carry out the same work collectively as they do now, there has been a shift in some of the roles and responsibilities.

The dedicated Compliance Team will be a huge bonus to the business in relation to Section 20’s, right to buy and right to acquire and the Interim Gateway Project team will mean that our residents will benefit from the Group-wide roll-out of the Gateway principles.

The Gateway principles were used in a

successful trial carried out last year in a small number of our schemes where Service Charge team members worked closely with residents to review the items and amounts that were due to appear on their Service Charge statements. They dealt with any queries or concerns that residents had before reaching agreement about the items and amounts that would be appearing on their statements. As a result, there were fewer enquiries and complaints made this year when their Service Charge statements were sent out to them. The roll-out of the Gateway approach across the whole of the group is due to be completed by the end of 2013.

*Complaints Resolution, Customer Services, Income, Leasehold and Service Charges

A copy of the new Home Ownership Team structure is available to view on HydeWide, although please be aware that for a short while, a transitional period will be in place to assist with implementation and to aid sharing of local knowledge, as well as helping to ensure that we have adequate resource levels.


Hyde on Demand

Media MomentsIt’s really important to make sure that the good work we’re doing continues to reach the media. Please play your part by sending your plans through to [email protected]

Here’s a flavour of some of our work that has been picked up in the press

Social media Tweet Cred Our followers on twitter continue to grow. We now have over 3625 followers, still the largest in the G15* and we’re still getting great feedback, such as Peter from Brighton – “you #Give such #GoodSupport to us here in #Brighton ty” – follow us and see what we’re talking about!*G15 – 15 of the largest Housing Associations in London

Face2faceDuring March we had 14 stories which were seen by almost 2000 people. The most popular being the Residents’ Conference! Caroline Benford the TPAS Resident of the Year 2012 said: “What a fantastic day and so many deserving winners x”

Nationals

Financial TimesMention made of the Legal and General Property £102m loan to Hyde.

Trade Press

London Housing News Coverage of the Making a lasting difference 2013 award winners from the London area (Shawn Collick - Community Excellence Award and Stella Young - Effective Resident Scrutiny Award).

Housing Association Building and MaintenanceA piece was carried on the 124-

home development at Wardalls Grove. The article spoke about the fact that at the official opening, the Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, had praised the strength of the partnership between Hyde and Lewisham Council.

Property WeekMentioned that Legal & General Property had made its first residential investment at the beginning of March when it agreed to lend £102m to Hyde.

Local Press

Isle of Thanet GazetteReported on the six young people from Inverary Court in Ramsgate

Hyde On Demand is a campaign with three main aims:

l To encorage more of our residents to get online and access services digitally

l To build the digital confidence of our residents through training and support

l To maximise smarter working opportunities for staff

ICT is leading on the smarter working aspect; Hyde Plus is leading on the work with our residents, and internally Core Operations is looking at how we can most effectively support the predicted growth in online reporting of ASB, Repairs, Complaints and Feedback and the Communications team is developing plans for a new website which will have self-service options available.

who won the Young Person Award in the Making a lasting difference awards 2013.

Canterbury Times Carried the story about involved resident Dorothy Higgins bringing people together for free social events at her local community centre and how recently almost 100 people attended an event about the benefits changes.

Online

24dash.comA piece about the official opening of Rochester Riverside Phase 1 appeared on this online site.

Driving digital

For more information contact the project lead, David Morrissey Director of Core Operations on

ext 8854 (020 3207 2554) or email [email protected]


For the first time, Hyde will be taking an active part in the twelve-week Global Corporate Challenge (GCC)* which starts on Thursday 23 May. It’s the largest workplace health initiative of its kind in the world and every year, people from all corners of the globe, of all shapes and sizes, in all sorts of workplaces and representing all age groups take part.

This year, staff working in Core Operations, East Region and Human Resources are being invited to act as our test pilots. All they need to do to take part is to find six like-minded staff to form a seven-strong team and visit Hyde’s registration page at https://www.gettheworldmoving.com/portal/12405-46738/the-hyde-group by Friday 3 May.

Ahead of 23 May, around the globe, all people taking part will receive a natty little gadget that will accurately track their daily activity over the twelve-week challenge. The more active they are, the further they will

progress on a virtual interactive journey around the globe, learning more about the global community as they go.

We’ll of course be keeping you posted along the way about where in the virtual world each of the Hyde teams has reached.

*The challenge is all about inspiring, motivating and supporting individuals to make little daily changes that will have a significant and ongoing effect on their health and wellbeing. With the GCC, there’s no one in tight shorts yelling at you, no feeling guilty, no pain, no cutting out things that you love... just a whole lot of fun mixed with a nice sprinkling of healthy competitive spirit between teams.

Let’s get physical

During 2012, Hyde staff travelled a staggering 939,000 business miles. That’s the equivalent of two return trips to the moon or 17.5 members of staff driving all day every day for the whole year!

Whilst travel is an essential part of both our home and work lives, the more we travel, the more this affects the time we have available to do other things, the environment and congestion.

This is why Hyde has developed a travel plan which aims to:

l Reduce the total amount of travel that we do in connection with work

l Make us think about the best way to travel when we do need to, in terms of our productivity, achieving value for money and reducing the impact on the environment.

Minimising the milesHere are just some of the many ways the travel plan will help us to do this:

l Available technology is being explored to assess how it can assist with our plans for smarter working, such as use of tablets; computer to computer videoconferencing; screen sharing and instant messaging.

l Office handbooks will be provided which include suggested travel choices for popular journeys

l Pool Cycles will be available at the following offices: Park Street, Long Lane, Roman Way and Martlet House

l Business Cycle mileage will be claimable at 20p per mile

Check out the full travel plan on HydeWide

To the moon

and back

Wellbeing Snippets


20 Questions

Thomas Tarrant, Treasury Analyst, Corporate Finance and Treasury Team (CF&T) on cash, mash and a splash of paint.

1 What’s your role in the business and what does it involve?

I’m a Treasury Analyst. I deal with the Group’s day to day cash management including: investing surplus funds, ensuring loans are drawn in time to meet operational requirements, maintaining the Group’s liquidity position and ensuring compliance with Treasury strategy and policy.

2 What’s the best thing about your role?

I’m always busy and learning – team members are very good at sharing knowledge on best practice and suggesting ideas to one another.

20 If you could travel in time (forwards or backwards) where would you go? Since my early twenties I’ve had a group of friends who have all known each other since they were ten. I’d like to travel back in time and observe them in a lesson at school to see what they were like.

12 What’s your

favourite song?‘My Valentine’ by Paul McCartney

11 Which one item couldn’t you do without?My beard.

7 What did your school

report say about you?Not my school report as such, but I did receive a certificate for courtesy when I was nine and my A-Level German teacher was convinced I was going to be a foreign correspondent for the BBC.

18 What three words would your friends use to describe you?Old, kind and creative.

4 What’s your favourite TV programme?I tend to watch a movie. Drive is a particular favourite.

14 What’s your favourite film?Into the Wild.

3 What’s important to you at work?Doing a job that’s worthwhile and doing it well, learning and improving.

9 Which person would you most like to meet?Johnny Depp: a talented all-round artist.

15 Which month of the year were you born in?July.

10 If there was a film of your life story who would play you?Freddie Highmore (young), Ryan Gosling (now), Al Pacino (older).

6 What three things do you wish you’d known at 20?Getting dates will just get harder, knitwear is cool and it pays to be kind to your boss.

5 What’s your favourite meal?(Food is a common topic in CF&T) Pie and mash.

17 What’s the best advice

you’ve been given? Look after your loved ones.

19 If you could visit anywhere you wanted in the world in 24 hours where would you go?

Sicily in Italy and go sailing along the coast.

16 Where’s your favourite holiday destination?Sennen Cove, Land’s End.

13 If you could have any job in the world

(apart from with Hyde!), what would it be?

Artist.

8 If you won £1million what would you do with it? I would keep enough to put a deposit on a house and use the rest to help others do the same.

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The Loop May 2013

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