Getting the culture right

We could look to the formal assessment routes for this assurance – yes, we have Investors in People Gold accreditation and we are a Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisation. Or the awards we pick up – any number of them in the housing sector plus – the ones we are most proud of – the ones from health and social care, where we are often the only housing association to feature. We are up for another one in the autumn. All good stuff, but it wasn’t that.

Then there’s the feedback we get from new arrivals – staff and customers. On the basis that you only have a new pair of eyes once, we always ask people to give us their first impressions, warts and all. We want to know.

“[Fostering a strong culture] is at the heart of the leadership challenge.”

The feedback is always useful, particularly the criticisms: “there are too many doors here”, “diversity isn’t visible enough”, “I need more clarity on the strategy”. Most of it is lovely. I can’t remember the last time a new arrival didn’t start by saying “people here are so friendly”. And I hear many variations on that theme: “there are no egos here”, “everyone wants to do the right thing for the customer”, and “there is no internal politics”. Fantastic, but it’s not that.

There are stakeholder surveys, praise and grumble analyses, customer surveys, internal audits, regulatory reports, benchmarking results, sector scorecards. The list goes on, but it’s none of those.

Then there are the numerous chance conversations I have with people I come into contact with on a daily basis – politicians, partners, contractors, customers, funders, regulators etc: “your reception staff were brilliant”, “I am so pleased with my repair”, “where did you get her from? She’s great.” Fantastic – and useful – but it’s not those.

It was this.

Inside Housing published a Q&A last week with one of our younger members of staff, James Smith.

Mr Smith and his colleagues have just picked up a TPAS Northern award for their work with young people in Rotherham.

They are called the Maltby Environmentalists. But when asked what the most private thing you would be willing to admit to your colleagues, read what he says: “I’m pretty much an open book at work, perhaps too open at times. But despite that, I’ve always been embarrassed to admit to people that I’ve experienced anxiety since I was young. I live alongside anxiety in peace nowadays, and it’s never stopped me from doing anything throughout my life.”

“We work for an organisation where the culture is to be brave.”

This stopped me in my tracks when I read it. How brave and honest was he?

I caught up with James and told him this, and this was his reply: “I have had loads of good feedback about this. I wasn’t sure whether this was the right thing to do at first. Then I thought, other people might be encouraged to see how I have prospered and learned how to live a good life in spite of this health issue. And I also thought if anyone could say this anywhere, without fear of the consequences, it would be at SYHA.”

That was it. We work for an organisation where the culture is to be brave. And to share. And to encourage others. And to foster good mental health.

That will do me – for today.

Tony Stacey, chief executive, South Yorkshire Housing Association