bpha

You can now find the latest news, information and updates from bpha on our WhatsApp channel, which you can find here: https://ow.ly/CboM50X2F75 - just click 'follow channel'. If you've not yet discovered WhatsApp channels, you can find them when you open WhatsApp and click 'updates' - you'll then see any channels that you already follow, and suggestions for other channels you might be interested in.

We were delighted to welcome Anneliese Dodds MP for Oxford East, to Shotover View, an Independent Living with care scheme with 54 apartments in Cowley. Shotover View is home to Waste2Taste • Oxford, a café providing affordable and ethical food that’s open to the community. The café, scheme activities, regular visitors and the residents themselves, make the scheme a great example of what Independent Living can be. Anneliese had the opportunity to meet staff and residents – but also Dr Phil Freizinger and his Sweet Zombie Horse who provided the musical soundtrack for the visit. Anneliese Dodds: “It was lovely to see how the supported housing at Shotover View is working- providing independent and healthy living for people from a range of walks of life. It was clear that the model of providing care on site was something that the residents valued and could rely upon. Finally, the partnership with ‘waste to taste’ (and amazing musical entertainment) was clearly being enjoyed by all! “Well done to all the staff at Shotover View for making it such a welcoming place for people to live in - and in many cases, thrive in.” Find out more about Independent Living with bpha here: https://lnkd.in/ezeP_6Pz #StartsAtHome #SaveOurSupportedHousing Image one shows Helen Murfitt, bpha, Anneliese Dodds MP, Dr Phil Freizinger. Image two shows Sandra Ruge, Waste2Taste

In the latest edition of Better Together, our ezine to keep partners up to date on what's happening at bpha, we spoke with Michelle McIsaac, who manages bpha’s Allocations and Lettings Team of nine colleagues. “Our team manages the process of allocating rental homes, from ending tenancies and advertising properties, assessing and actioning applications through to offering and setting up new tenancies. Our overall aim is to make the process straight-forward for the customer, ensuring the service provided to them is excellent and properties are let correctly and in a timely manner. Between 1 April and 30 June this year, we completed 151 relets and 21 first lets (new builds)." Find out more about the team's responsibilities here: https://ow.ly/Map150X4USg

Last week Eddie Kelly had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the Inside Housing Communications Conference. The panel was on projecting social purpose: authentic, customer-focused communications, and asked the question how can housing providers communicate in a way that truly reflects their social purpose? There was lots of interest around how we’ve involved customers in some of our recent projects, including bring our maintenance service in-house, sharing contact wait times on our website and what we’re doing with the big listen in the coming weeks. Read more about that here (https://lnkd.in/eXTfNfM4). It was great to hear the experiences of Eddie and the rest of the panel, Steve Hayes, Director of corporate affairs and communications at GreenSquareAccord, Thea McNaught-Reynolds, Director of culture, communications and involvement at Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association Ltd, John Quinton-Barber, Executive chairman and partnerships director at Social, and was hosted by Katharine Swindells, Deputy features editor at Inside Housing.

Our customer voice report is out now. The report looks at our engagement activity from April 2024 – March 2025. An opportunity to reflect on our achievements and the impact the Customer Service Improvement Panel and involved customers have had on helping to shape our services, and ensuring the customer perspective remains at the heart of decision-making. To read the report in full visit https://lnkd.in/e-i8-WaV To find out more and how bpha customers can get involved with helping to shape and develop our services email [email protected]

“I think both bpha and the housing sector are on a customer journey - the focus and understanding of customers is a lot better now, although there's still lots more to do” Katherine Horrell Katherine is a bpha Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Group Treasury Committee, which deals with all aspects of treasury management, including providing advice to the Board on treasury implications and the ability to finance the Group’s Corporate Strategy and business plans. She has now worked in Corporate Treasury and Finance for over 25 years, holding Group Treasurer positions at Centrica plc, and Arriva plc, before joining Sizewell C. Katherine has also served as trustee for a mental health charity in Surrey for eight years. In our interview, Katherine talks about the impact direct customer involvement can have on Board decisions. https://ow.ly/Wfp450WVT8Z

Thank you for joining our volunteering event and sharing with colleagues the great work being carried out Bedford Giving and 4YP UK Ltd mentoring programme. #Volunteering #Communities #Mentoring

As part of recently launched apprenticeship programme with The Bedford College Group we’ve recently welcomed nine apprentices into our In-House Maintenance Service. The cohort will be undertaking a number of operative roles, including carpentry, multi-skilled, electrical and systems and service improvement. During their first two weeks they’ve been be getting to know bpha and meeting colleagues from across the organisation, before shadowing maintenance colleagues to deliver a great customer service in residents homes.

Our annual ‘Team Spotlight’ Awards recognise two teams, one that has mainly external customers and one with mainly internal customers – other colleagues. Managers across the organisation can nominate any team, putting forward the reasons they feel that team makes a difference and shows that we are definitely ‘better together’. A panel of colleagues reviewed nominations from across the organisation, considering which best represented bpha values: We take responsibility We are better together We show empathy We are ambitious Every colleague at bpha had the opportunity to read the short-listed nominations and vote for their winners. Our ‘internal customer’ winner is the Business Support Team who manage our offices and the onsite needs of around 600 fellow colleagues. Our ‘external customer’ winner is the Inhouse Maintenance Schedulers, the team that coordinates all repair appointments carried out by our Inhouse Maintenance team of operatives. Find out more: https://ow.ly/kFvx50WVE98