E N G L A N D

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEARS GROUP PEOPLE

IN THIS ISSUE

PAGE 08In the NewsCatch up on the latest news

PAGE 16Student LifeNew range of accommodation

PAGE 14TradeswomenTradeswomen Ambassadors

MEARS MATTERS

WELCOME 03

MEARS BEGINS WITH ME 04

BUSINESS NEWS 05 - 06

PAYING FOR IT 07

IN THE NEWS 08

2 MINS WITH SCOTT HABER 08

WORKDAY INTRODUCTION 09

MAGGIE MAKES IT HAPPEN 10

FUN DAY 11

CONFERENCE REPORT 12

MILITARY VETERANS 13

WOMEN INTO MAINTENANCE 14

MAKING A HOUSE A HOME 15

ONETOUCH 16

STUDENT LIFE 17

RED THREAD 18 - 19

COMPLIMENTS 20

MEARS FOUNDATION 21

LONG SERVICE AWARDS 22

LIFETIME TRAINING 23

LAST WORD WITH NEIL OWEN 24

CONTENTS

Contents

MEARS MATTERS

Welcome

We’re one Mears with many talents!

As a group we continue to go from strength to strength, which was highlighted in our recent Managers’ Conference, as well as our preliminary results to the city. Our success is thanks to the hard work and tenacity each and every colleague shows every day, whether you’re on the frontline, or in one of our support services.

We were pleased to see 10,500 colleagues at our annual Fun Day at Alton Towers recently and we hope you all had a great day! The event is organised as a thank you to all colleagues around the business, and you can read a full write up on page 11.

On page 07, you’ll see that we’re involved in a major piece of work in partnership with the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU). The published report, entitled Paying for It: The Human Cost of Cut Price Care is a hard hitting document, which warns that care is being bought at prices that can’t be sustained.

A snapshot of our Say What You See survey results are now published on page 19, which will give you an insight into how our culture defines us as a business. You’ll also get to see a list of our most recent Customer Smile winners, along with a raft of compliments from around the group!

This current issue is bursting at the seams with stories from around the group, including our response to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond’s announcement of £2bn into the social care sector, contract wins, introducing Workday – our new HR platform, Mears Student Life, Tradeswomen into Maintenance campaign, our bid to tackle homelessness in Bromley, Rotherham and Milton Keynes, interviews with colleagues, plus much more besides!

We hope you enjoy this issue of Mears Matters – England and Wales, which you can either read on the go, or in branch. If you have any comments, or you’d like to send us a story for a future edition, please contact internal.comms@mearsgroup.co.uk

WELCOME

First off, welcome to the first edition of Mears Matters – England and Wales for 2017… it certainly has been a great start to the year!

MEARS MATTERS

Mears begins with me

Care to succeed

“You can’t work in Care if you don’t care,” smiles Tony Eccles. And Tony is a man who cares: about his clients, his colleagues and care work itself. Since joining Mears a year ago, Tony has found a niche where he can do all these things. As the registered manager for two extra care schemes in Nottinghamshire – with a third being built – Tony divides his time between Poppyfields and Darlison Court. His office holds timetables, a calendar and a detailed location sheet to keep him organised.

Not that Tony is often found inside his office. “I like to get out and meet the residents and be visible for them,” he says. If anyone has any issues, he makes a note to go out and see them. “If I don’t see them they come and find me!” he adds. Tony likes to sit and have a chat and find out how they are, listening to their concerns and queries.

Tony believes in keeping residents and colleagues involved, letting them know early on if there will be changes that might affect them. This way, potential problems are quickly dealt with. “We don’t seem to get any complaints – we only get compliments!” Tony puts this down to pre-empting niggles before they grow into complaints.

With more than 15 years’ experience managing a charity, and a background as a care support worker for people with a variety of needs, Tony’s responsibilities have quickly grown during his first year with Mears. How does he stay on top of it all? “You’ve got to be proactive,” he says. “You must have confidence, otherwise your staff and residents won’t put their confidence in you to solve their problems.”

Tony is supported by his valued staff team. “I love the people I work with - I’ve got a fantastic team.” He enjoys seeing his staff develop, whether they’ve previously worked in care or not. “You can tell at interview stage who has the qualities for the job. We bring them in and they grow from there.”

Whatever he asks of his staff, they can be sure that Tony would be happy to do it too. “You can’t expect colleagues to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.” Whether preparing a client’s breakfast, helping with their personal care or delivering their newspaper, he says, “staff have got to see that nothing is beneath you.” It’s this desire to serve that led to Tony being a finalist in our Employee of the Year 2016 awards.

Tony looks forward to increasing his team, and has a word of advice for colleagues present and future: “Set yourself a target of whatever you want to be. Mears is a great place to work, and full of opportunities. Work hard, and you’ll succeed!”

MEARS BEGINS WITH ME

“ We don’t seem to get any complaints – we only get compliments!” Tony Eccles

Employee of the Year finalist Tony Eccles shares why he loves his job.

We’ve won an important new contract with Manchester City Council and its housing management organisation, Northwards Housing.

Starting from April, we’ll carry out repairs, empty property and servicing work to 13,500 homes in the north of the city, in a contract worth up to £86m over the next 10 years.

We’ll also do new adaptation work to all Manchester City Council homes, following a four-stage tendering process and strong competition between four firms.

Des Morris, who leads our team in the North West of England, said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded the new contract. We can now build on the solid foundations already established over the last 10 years through the Manchester

Working joint venture to deliver excellent services, value for money and tenant satisfaction.”

NEW CARE CONTRACT IN HAVERING

Homelessness: building solutions

Our work with Genesis Housing Association is now well underway. Since we began providing them with estates services in November, we’re very pleased with how things are going so far – and the Genesis business managers tell us that they are too!

The initial four-year contract sees us delivering cleaning, grounds maintenance, window cleaning, bulk refuse and pest control to a wide range of social housing sites throughout North and East London.

It’s an important win for our Estates team who already work across a number of London Boroughs. Genesis is a large organisation managing 33,000 homes across London and the South East. The mobilisation team have done a brilliant job: transferring 65 staff from six different companies, adding more than 100 sites, setting up schedules to maintain 350 sites of mixed tenure including offices, communal blocks, street properties, sheltered housing and key worker accommodation. We’re looking after bulk refuse and pest control and started raising invoices. Coming soon: some great resident engagement and social value activities.

Mears Housing Management is bringing together all of its offices and teams under one brand. Over the years we’ve grown to include a variety of names and brands and it’s now time to bring them all together to make it easy for customers and colleagues alike to understand who we are.

We manage 10,000 homes across the country from ten offices including Omega Lettings, Chapter 1, Plexus and Omega Housing. It’s important that we work as one team with a clear message about how we work and what we stand for.

Omega Lettings Ltd will be renamed as Mears Housing Management Ltd and the two housing associations will retain their names while being run by Mears Housing Management.

During the coming months we’ll introduce new signage, letterheads and branding in offices. We’ll also launch a new Mears Housing Management website to further promote our work.

Our sincere thanks go to Demetrios and Harry Antoniou who founded and built Omega into a very successful housing business with their father Zenon. The Antoniou family have been a great help to us since we acquired the business in 2014. We will continue to work on new business opportunities with the brothers after they leave their full-time employment with us on 31 March.

If you would like to know more please contact John Taylor at john.taylor@mearsgroup.co.uk or Manpreet Dillon at manpreet.dillon@mearsgroup.co.uk

GENESIS CONTRACT OFF TO A FLYING START!

Launching a One Mears Housing Management

LAUNCHING A ONE MEARS HOUSING MANAGEMENT

NEWSBUSINESS

Councils face a growing demand for temporary homes to manage the impact of homelessness. Placing tenants in bed and breakfast accommodation can be expensive for local authorities and unsuitable for families, so we’ve developed a much better solution.

Our factory-built modular housing units can be quickly assembled on site and leased to the local authority. We even prepare the land and take care of the design and construction.

The lease rent for the temporary structure covers the supply of the modules, cost of construction, full management and maintenance services, as well as clearance of the site at the end the term when the council may have an alternative use for the land.

These units can be configured to meet a range of needs. For example, they can house singles or families, and can be self-contained or have shared facilities. Management offices, laundry facilities and children’s amenity space can all be provided.

It’s a cost-effective solution and can rapidly be deployed on spare land. The modules require temporary planning permission only, giving councils flexibility in their decision making. The modules can be clad in appropriate materials to fit in with the local area.

The first of our modular housing units in Milton Keynes is now open for viewing. Visitors to this private and secure space for living, cooking and sleeping, can see for themselves the benefits of this innovative form of housing.

Ciarán O’Shea from our Housing Management Team says, “‘We’re pleased that this innovative form of housing provides Local Authorities with a much needed new housing option that can accommodate homeless individuals or families as well as housing for care leavers.”

To find out more, please contact Ciarán at ciaran.oshea@mearsgroup.co.uk.

We’re delighted to have been awarded a place on the London Borough of Havering Active Home Care framework (AHF). This means that Havering will continue to commission Care and Support services from Mears Care. The contract began on 30 January and will run until 29 January 2022.

Well done to all involved!

MEARS MATTERSBUSINESS NEWS

MearsConnect: A new business tool for you

Two new sites for Mears New Homes

Mears to maintain Warrington’s public buildings

MEARS MATTERSBUSINESS NEWS

NEWSBUSINESS

Our New Homes team have secured two new development sites in Oxfordshire.

The sites in Aston and Freeland each have outline planning consent for 41 new dwellings, ranging from 2 to 5 bedroom homes. 20 of these homes will be delivered as Shared Ownership and Affordable Rent tenures, with the rest being sold on the open market to cross-subsidise the scheme.

Working with Sovereign Housing Group, one of the largest housing associations in the country, our detailed design development and planning has already begun. Work starts on site in Autumn 2017.

Warrington Borough Council have awarded us a new contract to look after their public buildings. This includes the borough’s schools, who may opt in or out.

The contract, which starts on 1 April, is initially for five years with the possibility of a two-year extension. Our original contract with Warrington was part of our Manchester Working portfolio. From now on, our branch at Barnard Street, Warrington will be fully Mears-branded to reflect the new partnership.Thanks to the excellent performance of Manchester Working over the previous seven years, we were the strongest contender in this successful bid.

Well done to all involved!

MearsConnect is an exciting new Intranet providing a hub and communication centre for everyone in the group to collaborate and interact on computers, tablets or mobile from anywhere.

You can create a profile, join groups, follow people and communicate with colleagues. It’s a great way of sharing best practice, tips and ideas with like-minded people across the country in the spirit of ‘One Mears’.

You can also add people to your network, post status updates, share and update files, use various external applications and receive relevant communication, share success stories and pick up the latest Daily Mears Matters.

One of the most impressive features of MearsConnect is the introduction process which recommends interests, groups and people based on your selection. Helping you find events, departments and news that may be of interest to you.

Here’s what some of our users are saying:

“It’s great to now have Departments pages with information that is relevant to me!”

Katy Bowling, Travel Manager

“I can’t wait to see how MearsConnect can help us engage staff within Care”

Bernadette Walsh, COO Care

“Finally I can see the forms I need from my mobile”

Charlotte Vicary, Office Manager

For a guide on how to get started visit www.mearsgroup.co.uk/gettingstarted

We look forward you seeing you on-line!

Celtic Horizons are encouraging women into the Construction Industry. So working alongside Construction Youth Trust we held a Women in construction Taster Day for women to come to the training centre at Caerphillly to spend a day with us learning basic Carpentry and plumbing skills.

The women who attended got a valuable insight into the Maintenance and Repairs Industry while discovering the opportunities available to them. Apprentice plumber Emma Ford and carpenter Naomi Gillifan, guided the group on the day. As a result of the taster day, a young woman completed eight weeks’ work experience with us and we’re delighted to have offered her an electrical apprenticeship.

We have recruited nine apprentices (including five women), thanks to the huge amount of talent coming through our colleges. They are all thriving in a variety of trades including bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, carpentry and business administration.

NEW HORIZONS FOR WELSH APPRENTICES

PAYING FOR IT MEARS MATTERS

Mears has been involved in a major piece of research into the UK’s crisis-hit Home Care Market.

We tied up with independent think tank and Local Authority member organisation the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) to partner a report called Paying for It: The Human Cost of Cut Price Care.

The hard-hitting report warns that care is being purchased at prices that are simply not economically sustainable. Mears, as one of the UK’s largest Home Care providers, has already had to withdraw from a number of contracts because we deemed the commissioning offer to be verging on illegal to deliver.

The report was launched exclusively on BBC’s Panorama programme on Monday 20 March and is being followed up with round table discussions in London, Rotherham and Edinburgh featuring local authority officials and elected members. Mears Executive Director, Alan Long, said: “When the system no longer serves anyone well, it is past time to make a serious reflection on why and how we can fix it. Although much of this comes down to money, it is not simply about money, but about wider approaches to commissioning and a lack of transparency in accounting for costs and outcomes.

“As a home care provider, we will play our part in improving the service we deliver, helping join up services and making a career as a home care worker more aspirational than it is today. We very much hope that we don’t have to give up any more care contracts due to unsustainable rates, but our first priority, will be to only work in areas where we have a chance of delivering the kind of service experience, that we all want and need.”

“ We will play our part in improving the service we deliver” Alan Long

Paying for it

The human cost of cut price care

Hi Scott, how have you found your first few weeks at Mears?

Very enjoyable! I’ve loved meeting my new colleagues and beginning to understand what they do.

I’ve already visited Dartford, Leicester, Leeds, Welwyn, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Devon…! I’ve taken photos of all the offices I’ve visited – to aid my memory, but also as a way of understanding the varied places we work.

Tell us about your experience

I’ve worked in recruitment in various roles for 20+ years, having worked for the likes of Capita, working to attract the best talent.

What attracted you to Mears?

I was impressed with its strong sense of purpose and wanting to make a difference to people’s lives. I was also impressed by the recognition of the importance of recruitment to business success.

What do you hope to achieve?

It is early days, but broadly I have four objectives. Firstly, we have just started a partnership with recruitment specialists Blue Octopus, so I want to do all I can to make sure that is a success.

Secondly, we already have many people within Mears doing a great job in recruitment, but I’d like to get them working together more, to share ideas and knowledge.

Thirdly, I want to give managers clear and easy processes and toolkits for recruitment.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to understand from colleagues what they are trying to achieve and understand their needs, in order to make sure we continuously improve recruitment and show how Mears is a great place to work.

Got your own question for Scott? Email him at scott.haber@mearsgroup.co.uk

Spring Budget Competitor Watch

And finally…

Housing White Paper

IN THE NEWS

NEWSIN THE

Big news for care, as the Chancellor announced an additional £2 billion funding for social care in England in his Spring Budget in March, as well as the promise of a green paper on long-term financing and strategic direction for the sector. Read our reaction at: https://www.mearsgroup.co.uk/mears-response-spring-budget-2017

On 1 March, Mitie sold its troubled homecare business, MiHomecare, to an investment group for just £2 – and gave them almost £10 million to fund losses and wrote off £37m costs.

The next day, Keepmoat announced they had sold their regeneration arm to energy and services provider Engie for £330m.

In January, our very own Chief Executive, David Miles, featured in The Guardian newspaper, in an indepth interview talking about both care and housing – read the full article on the Guardian website.

In February, the Government released its housing plan “to reform the housing market and boost the supply of new homes in England.”

It aims to reduce obstacles to house building, help local authorities and developers, and improve affordability.

Read the white paper ‘Fixing our broken housing market’ here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-our-broken-housing-market

Affordable homes in ScotlandIn March, the Scottish Government made £590m available this year to increase the supply of affordable homes.

Councils will share £422m while the remaining £168m will fund national schemes, and support the Government’s commitment to deliver 50,000 affordable homes – 35,000 for social rent – in Scotland by 2021.

Scott joined Mears in February in a new role as Group Head of Recruitment. He lives in London with his wife and three children, aged 7, 12 and 14.

2 minutes with...

Scott Haber

MEARS MATTERSMEARS MATTERS SCOTT HABER INTERVIEW

WORKDAY MEARS MATTERS

The beauty of Workday is that it gets rid of a lot of paper-based tasks, ranging from how we process starters, transfer, leavers, holiday requests, appraisals, absence management to updates of personal information like bank details and addresses. By digitising these processes, everyone in the group will benefit from faster response times and smoother working.

Until now we’ve been using different systems and approaches to manage our HR records. Although we take good care of your information, it’s a big job to administer everything when it’s not all in one place. For example, when a new colleague joins the business it’s very labour intensive to scan their forms before printing and emailing them to HR – and with so many steps it’s easy for mistakes to happen.

We listened to the business, who told us that the mixture of systems wasn’t working for them, and that managers needed something quick and simple to use. Having meaningful information close at hand will enable quicker and better decision making.

We chose Workday because it’s the best in its class and is designed to last. We are not alone as the system is used by many household names and leading multinational companies. It will help our dispersed and mobile workforce work more efficiently, saving reams of paper at the same time!

“It’s a group solution, in the spirit of One Mears,” explains Group HR Director Jo Fry. “It will be a great leap forward, because it’s so easy and intuitive,” she adds, “Our focus is on all team members gaining the fastest, best secure access to their information.”

So whether you want to access your payslips, update your contact details or book annual leave, you’ll have so much more information at your fingertips – on your mobile device or desktop computer. Look out for Workday launching this summer!

Workday

The easier and more effective way to manage HR information

Later this year we’re launching our new HR platform: Workday. It’s an exciting new HR system designed to give all of us self-service access to view and manage our records.

MEARS MATTERS

Maggie makes it happen

Employee of the Year: Maggie Elliott interview

MAGGIE ELLIOTT INTERVIEW

“ Work hard, show commitment, have a go” Maggie Elliott

When Maggie’s not answering customer enquiries and managing public relations matters, she’s arranging events for our apprentices and mentoring individuals on work experience, several of whom have gone on to gain full time employment.

On top of her day-to-day duties, Maggie takes charge of a variety of community initiatives such as pensioners’ Christmas lunches and coffee mornings, food bank collections and assisting with the collection of selection boxes for special needs children. Maggie is also the key contact with the local hospice (St Andrews, Lanarkshire). As well as organising and supporting events on behalf of Mears, Maggie works for the hospice in her own time, helping to organise their Annual Charity Ball and sorting donated items in their warehouse.

It’s this dedication and passion for her community that has earned Maggie the title of Mears Employee of the Year. The judges explained why Maggie was the clear winner: “We felt that Maggie encompassed what being a good Mears Colleague is all about. She embraces every one of the Red Thread behaviours and goes the extra mile. Her charity work, its links to Mears and enthusiasm and commitment are commendable.”

With such a full life, how does Maggie keep up her high standards in everything she does? “I’m a calm person,” she says. “People don’t see me shouting and bawling; I just take everything in my stride.” Her talent for organisation means that she’s always prepared – even when the unexpected happens. “I don’t stress,” she laughs, “I just try and fix it and you get there in the end.”

Maggie has a knack for fixing things: a few years ago the local newspaper reported an attack by vandals on a school nursery. So Maggie called the nursery and asked how the local branch could help. She and 20 volunteers spent a morning tidying the garden and mending and painting the fence. They even built a model “Nessie” from old tyres for the children to climb on. Some of the nursery children came along with their parents to help out and within a few hours the garden was transformed.

Now in her tenth year of service with Mears, Maggie looks forward to improving many more lives around North Lanarkshire. “Mears is a great company to be in as it’s full of opportunities just now.” Her advice to colleagues looking to make the most of these opportunities: “Work hard, show commitment, have a go. Be prepared to do whatever’s asked of you. Never say that’s not my job; I would never ever say that. Because we’re all working together, we’re all a team. So if you can help somebody, I always do.”

“You forget you’re at work sometimes,” jokes Maggie Elliott, our Scotland Housing team’s Customer Services Officer. And it’s hard to see where Maggie Elliott’s work ends and her spare time begins, as Maggie always has a plan on the go.

MEARS MATTERSFUN DAY

Our annual Family Fun Day is the perfect occasion for all our colleagues around England to get together with family, friends and team members for a day full of thrills, fun and laughter.

Fun Day is organised as a big thank you from the executive team for all the hard work you do each and every day. This year, we had the keys to Alton Towers Resort – and as always it was all completely free!

Around 10,500 Mears colleagues and their families shared a fantastic day on 11 March at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire.

With sole use of the park for the whole day, the Mears family filled the grounds, enjoying rides, CBeebies Land and the Rapids, all against the backdrop of the famous Gothic mansion. While some headed straight for the thrills of the rollercoasters, others took a stroll in the beautiful Grade 2 listed gardens, and the sun broke through the light cloud just in time for lunch!

Once again there was a Mears Foundation stall selling tombola tickets and serving tea and coffee to raise vital funds for the charity’s work.

After a busy day at the stall, Trina Eagleton, one of the Foundation’s Trustees said, “It has been another fantastic family day. It’s so nice to see so many people returning to the Mears Foundation stall year after year to support us.” Graeme Earle from our Gateshead Housing team brought his wife and young children. As his son drew a winning

ticket on the tombola Graeme said, “Mears Fun Days are great because everything is free. We always visit the Mears Foundation stall because it’s important to support their work.”

Kelly from St Helens said, “We always enjoy the Fun Days. Mears are really good to treat our family to this day. We like to come along and say ‘Thank you’ back to them.”

Kamaldeep, a care worker from Wolverhampton, has been coming to our Fun Days for the past few years and was pleased that the weather stayed fine and dry. “I came because the kids like it,” she said. “Not many employers would hire you a theme park for the day!”

Care co-ordinator Becky Jones from Rotherham was watching her friends brave the Oblivion ride, a thrilling dive coaster with a 55 metre drop. “I’ve worked at Mears for 10 years,” she said, “We always come – it’s wonderful of Mears to send tickets for me and my family to have a nice day out.”

Justin Montague, a roofer, brought his mother Danielle, who loved the Smiler ride with its record number of twists and turns. “It’s brilliant”” she said afterwards as she got her breath back. “My son has never worked for a company which offered a day out like this. I can’t believe how many people are here.”

Thank you to everyone for coming; it was lovely to spend the day with so many of you!

One a-Mearsing day! March saw another successful Fun

Day as thousands of colleagues and their families gathered at Alton Towers.

MEARS MATTERS

Our Annual Conference at Drayton Manor last month brought together managers from across the group to discuss our plans for 2017. Colleagues learned about the new initiatives and activities that they will lead throughout the year.

The theme of the day, “One Mears, Many Talents” celebrated diversity and how we all play a part in making the most of the different people, skills, abilities and talents available to our business. We talked about the tools and resources that will help managers to put together diverse teams and strive together for the highest standards.

Chief Executive Officer David Miles opened the session with an overview of the business, before Executive Director Alan Long presented encouraging results from the latest Say What You See survey. Then Alan Long asked the senior team a range of questions sent in by people from across the business; in the hot seats were CEO David Miles, Managing Director of Mears New Homes Tim Carpenter, Housing Chief Operating Officer Colin Middlemass, Managing Director of Mears Housing Management John Taylor and Care Chief Operating Officer Bernadette Walsh.

Three teams pitched their community project ideas to a “Dragons’ Den”-style panel of experts and won funding to help make them a reality.

In the afternoon Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell OBE spoke powerfully about the importance of teamwork and working together towards a goal. The former athlete took the time to meet as many colleagues as possible, having personal conversations, taking selfies and displaying her medal. At the end of the conference Sally presented our annual Smile Awards to recognise staff for their outstanding service to the business and our customers.

Colleagues said that it was a valuable day and that they went away inspired to make the most of our many talents!

CONFERENCE REPORT

OUR STRATEGY:

1. Customer service leadership

2. Success through partnership/good client relationships

3. Evolve the breadth and depth of our services in two core markets

4. Well trained, motivated and diverse workforce

5. Robust cost control

6. Responsible culture - Responsible business

Red Thread Branch of the YearMilton Keynes (YourMK)

Team of the YearBasingstoke Key Worker Team

Manager of the YearSara Wilkinson,

Aberdeen Supported Living

Community Project of the YearLocal Employment Advisory Forum

(LEAF), Rotherham

Employee of the YearMaggie Elliott, Customer Services Officer, Mears Scotland Housing

One Mears, Many Talents

“Become the very best that you can be.” Sally Gunnell OBE

Mears is a diverse group of people covering the whole of the United Kingdom. We do a wide variety of different jobs and work across several industries. Together, however, we’re one large and successful company with so many talented people contributing at all levels.

Have you served in the armed forces, or are you a current reservist? We have a Military Veterans Group just for you! Colleagues with experience in the Forces are best placed to encourage more ex-service personnel to consider Mears, whether within housing or care, for future employment opportunities. Our Facilities Management team are sponsoring this initiative, led by FM contracts manager Andy Farmer, himself a veteran.

The group met recently at Rotherham Training Academy with the military charity RFEA. This charity looks at ways to help military veterans with securing a job, including training and advice. Heather Hughes and the Mears Learning team are now working closely with RFEA to see how we can open existing schemes to veterans as well as developing new training specifically for them.

If you’re interested in joining our working group please contact Andrew.Farmer@mearsgroup.co.uk. You can also find our online community, featuring discussions and events news, on MearsConnect. Just look for “Mears Military Veteran Colleagues.”

We’re aiming to build a network of mentors from all areas of our business. We need mentors who can give guidance to veterans on the qualifications and training needed in their particular field.

Military Veterans’ Group

MEARS MATTERSMILITARY VETERANS’ GROUP

WOMEN INTO MAINTENANCE MEARS MATTERS

As part of the project we developed a Schools Toolkit and recently showcased it at the National Housing Maintenance Forum conference in Birmingham. Two of our tradeswomen, Oretha Richards and Victoria Naylor, were on hand to show how it works.

The Schools Toolkit is made up of four trade-inspired modules all linked to the National Curriculum supporting Key Stages 2,3 and 4 and the Adult Core Curriculum. The modules include activities in Plumbing, Electrical, Carpentry and Painting and Decorating.

Our own Executive Director Jane Nelson is Co-chair of the Tradeswomen into Maintenance Project Steering Group. She spoke at the conference giving insights into how recruiting and retaining women can address skills shortages across the sector.

Jane says, “When a woman applies for building maintenance training our branch managers are delighted to see the applications come in. They want to build a representative workforce.”

However, relatively few women are applying in the first place. “We want to encourage them to apply,” Jane adds, “The more women we get in, the more role

models we’ve got to go into schools and talk about how good the sector is.”

Our Tradeswomen Ambassador Training also took place recently. This two-day event successfully introduced around 30 of our tradeswomen, and some colleagues and external partners, to the Schools Toolkit. Tradeswomen Ambassadors received an update on the progress of the Tradeswomen into Maintenance project and were pleased to see that their suggestions from the Tradeswomen Conference in November 2015 have shaped the content of the Schools Toolkit.

Following the two days’ training, delegates shared that they had grown in confidence and felt more prepared to speak and present in a school environment. The Schools Toolkit is now available for branches to use. Gainor Keeton and Tracey Lyth held webinars in February to give Community Managers guidance on the Schools Toolkit. They explained how it will be distributed to branches and how it supports our Social Value Strategy.

Please contact Gainor Keeton, the initiative’s Project Manager for more information at gainor.keeton@mearsgroup.co.uk.

Tradeswomen ambassadors shape learning in schoolsOur Tradeswomen into Maintenance Project is supported by the Construction Industry Training Board. It aims to increase the number of female trade operatives and apprentices in our company and throughout the Social Housing Building Maintenance sector.

MEARS MATTERSHOUSE TO HOME

Jo explains, here at Mears we pride ourselves on having a social heart. Every branch and colleague is encouraged to make a positive difference to the lives of our customers and in the communities we serve.

So in the spirit of the Dragons’ Den television format, we asked branches to pitch their community project ideas that would make a lasting difference to people’s lives. Then at our Annual Conference in February a panel of Mears experts heard the pitches and awarded three projects investment finance of £5,000.

Jo Thornton-Pickering, our Medway Customer Care and Community Manager, won a grant for her “House to Home” furniture and appliance recycling scheme. The judges agreed that it is a true win-win, tackling waste and providing vital comforts to those in need.

Jo explains: “When a new tenant moves into their first home, they may have little or no furniture, particularly if they have previously been homeless. Being presented with their first home means a roof over their head, but very little in the way of home comforts. Imagine walking into YOUR first home with just a bag of your possessions and nothing else, not even a bed.”

Jo runs a local tenant group which has been looking at ways to recycle and reuse furniture from void properties

and from garage clearances. In these cases a tenant may have left the property and not reclaimed their belongings from storage. Or sometimes the family of a deceased tenants do not claim their possessions.

Medway branch are partnering with a local charity who offer a home and meaningful work to people in Medway who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion. The furniture from Jo’s project will be stored until collection, then it will be refurbished by the charity. White goods and small electrical items will be PAT tested before going on sale in the charity’s shop. By obtaining affordable furniture in this way, tenants may not need to seek loans to furnish their homes.

The Medway team pitched to the Dragons’ Den judges for a storage container to hold the items of furniture and white goods until a large enough amount is available to be taken to a local charity for refurbishment and PAT testing. Since their successful bid, they’re about to sign an agreement to house the container rent-free in a convenient location.

Jo hopes that the scheme will help clients gain a new skill in furniture refurbishing - a skill which they could take forward into a job. The scheme would also provide affordable furniture to new tenants who have very little to furnish their homes with.

Making a house a home

“I feel strongly that items left in voids by residents should be recycled or reused by those people most in need. Mears regularly have to dispose of perfectly good furniture, white goods and electrical items and even medical equipment.

“Re-using and recycling is a bit of a passion of mine. I’m very excited about all the pieces of the jigsaw finally coming together, thanks to the award from the Dragon’s Den. I’m glad we can be part of a major contribution to our local communities.”

Joanna Thornton-Pickering and the team at Medway won £5,000 investment in our Dragons’ Den community project challenge.

ONETOUCH MEARS MATTERS

OneTouch is the system that was developed in partnership with our IT and Customer Success teams, in order to capture and collate all our customer feedback.

As we continue to embed the system throughout the business, we’re receiving requests for access either by phone, email, MearsConnect to name a few.

To make sure we can process requests as quickly as possible, could you email our Customer Success team directly at Customer.Success@mearsgroup.co.uk, with the colleague’s name, branch, contact number, as well as letting us know what level of accessibility is needed.

Don’t forget to log all

compliments on OneTouch

All it takes is OneTouch to improve customer relationship management!

At Mears, customers are at the heart of what we do… it’s in our DNA.

MEARS MATTERSSTUDENT LIFE

Our new Student Life brand offers an exciting range of purpose-built accommodation for students in locations around the country. Students can choose from fully furnished 2, 3 and 4 bedroom shared flats ideal for groups of friends.

Our Salford accommodation, Bramall Court, is proving popular with students – Manchester’s lively city centre is just ten minutes’ walk away.

The accommodation is fully managed by the on-site team whose aim is to help residents settle smoothly into university life, running a range of social events to help meet new people. All sites have fast Wi-Fi as standard and the rents are fully inclusive so there’s no need to worry about paying and dealing with utility bills. Staffed 24 hours day, they provide an ideal environment for students to fully enjoy their university experience.

When we acquired our Salford location in August 2016, we saw great potential in the building. Making the most of the Mears supply chain, we plan to improve the communal facilities and kitchens within the flats over

the next couple of years. These works will give Bramall Court a new lease of life with improved communal facilities for the 15-floor building.

John Maragna, who leads our Student Life team says, “Our Salford development is setting the standard for further projects of this type. We’re excited by the potential for expanding this business model – laying the foundations for a great future for Mears Student Life.”

Mears Student Life have recently opened bookings for the 2017/2018 Academic Year. To find out more about Bramall Court, Salford, or our other locations in Dundee and Plymouth visit www.mearsstudentlife.co.uk or follow us on twitter @mearsstudent.

WHAT’S ON OFFER:

• 346 bed spaces over 15 floors

• A variety of accommodation types: students can choose from standard, large or extra-large rooms with single or double beds

• Apartments with 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms – giving privacy but also the opportunity to make new friends

• Water, electricity and Wi-Fi are all included in the rent

• Communal facilities include a social lounge, shared kitchen and laundry room

• 24-hour security and free resident parking permits

Student accommodation in a class of its own

RED THREAD MEARS MATTERS

How are we doing?Red Thread defines our culture – it’s the way we do things around here. Whether you’re working in care, looking after vulnerable people, or in housing, as part of our maintenance services, everyone has a part to play in Mears’ success.

Red Thread can help us achieve more as individuals, as a team and as one Mears. Throughout the year, we’re consistently looking to improve our service performance, find out how our colleagues are feeling, and recognise the great work colleagues do in our branches.

On these pages you will see some of the ways Red Thread is being brought to life across the group. These include a snapshot of our recent Say What You See survey, our Customer Smile Award winners, and our Five Star Red Thread branches.

2016 CUSTOMER SMILE WINNERS

January: Chloe Muncey, Eastleigh, housing

February: Louise Calver, Medway, housing

March: Debbie Riddell, Torbay, care

April: Dean Wilson and Kieran Hutchinson, East Durham, housing

May: Sam Twist, Bristol housing

June: Graham Mears, Lambeth MFS, housing

July: Ann Hamilton, Galashiels, care

August: Jeannette Burnham, Laindon, care

September: Vicky Coombes, St Neots, care

October: Phyliss Welford, Sutton Housing Partners

November: Cheryl Brierly, Wallsend, care

December: Shropshire MHI Team

To nominate a colleague, please send your positive comments to customer.success@mearsgroup.co.uk

Say What You See survey 2016 results snapshot:

FIVE STAR RED THREAD BRANCHES

Care Prestwick Day Centre

Care Kings Lynn

Housing Amicus Horizon

Housing Islington

Housing Mears Task Team

Housing Milton Keynes

Housing Northampton

Housing Octavia

Housing Penzance

Housing Catalyst Gas

Specialist Mears Direct

Specialist MHI Shropshire

Congratulations to all of our Customer Smile winners and Five Star Branches!

8590 responses received42% of colleagues would speak positively about our approach to Diversity and Inclusion

RED THREAD MEARS MATTERS

SAY WHAT YOU SEE SURVEY 2016 RESULTS SNAPSHOT

76% of staff regard Mears as a great place to work

Our net promoter score has risen from -1 to 15.4, so we now have more colleagues who would promote us than say something negative about us

Together, all of us can truly make Mears a Great Place to Work

MEARS MATTERSCOMPLIMENTS

MANCHESTER WORKING

“I would like to highlight the excellent work Mike and his team have done over the last 9 months or so at Wythenshawe Hall.”

“The Task Group has agreed that the site management, care and attention to detail Mike has displayed have been excellent. His joinery skills and passion for his work, flexibility and calm, professional approach to the management of sometimes difficult situations are a real credit to him, and have, in no small way, contributed to the excellent progress that we have been able to make since the fire. This has been recognised nationally by the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings and Historic England.”

CARLISLE CARE

“Rachel went to the client’s home to ensure everything was okay over the Christmas period with her package. The lady was extremely happy with all the staff who attend to her care. They are always happy to help with anything: they are always prompt, professional and reliable. All staff are friendly with the client and make

her feel comfortable to have care at home.”

LAMBETH MFS

“It is so nice to be able to send good feedback after a job has been completed. Marian was sent by himself to do an immense amount of work in a limited time. Initially, he was only given one day, but he contacted his supervisor and was allocated a second and then a third day. I must compliment Marian who was so diligent, hard-working, skilled, and professional.”

“He had to strip off wood chip paper, then re-paper with wallpaper I supplied. He never cut corners even though time was short, and rubbed back and prepared surfaces, making good with plaster in the bathroom, where the flood from the upstairs flat had caused a good deal of damage.”

“He always cleared up after himself, was friendly and charming and is a credit to your firm. If ever I need work again I hope I get Marian again, as his standard of work and work ethics are so high. Today, he had help from another friendly young man, called Jodie, who also worked really well, again clearing up after himself. They completed the painting in both bathroom and bedroom, and have done a brilliant job.”

“Thank you Marian & Jodie!”

CELTIC HORIZONS:

“Everything was done on time and it was a perfect job.”

CELTIC HORIZONS

“Hello, I think this should be complimented: Rebecca Evans was attending a coffee morning about three weeks ago at our care scheme when an elderly lady had a fall and split her knee open. The lady was rushed into hospital for stitches and rested there for a few days. Rebecca went out of her way to visit the elderly lady to drop off some jelly babies and to ensure the lady was well and happy. Rebecca stayed for roughly 15 minutes to check all was well. I have been very impressed by Rebecca’s compassion. She is definitely a fine example of customer service: she has a real care and passion for others. I think Rebecca deserves praise for going the extra mile to ensure someone is well.”

BRIGHTON RESPONSIVE REPAIRS

“The guy was really helpful, friendly and explained everything to me that he’d done with plenty of pictures. Really professional.”

YOUR MK

“Brilliant service! The lady who took my call was really helpful, the repair man arrived half an hour later and the job was done! Couldn’t fault them at all. Thank you!”

Compliments England & Wales

MEARS MATTERSMEARS FOUNDATION

Would you like to join our Chairman Bob Holt on one of the Foundation’s fundraising walks this year? You can raise money for the Mears Foundation or for a charity of your choice.

The walks, which are all between 10 and 12 miles long, are great fun and as well as raising money, it’s a good opportunity to get together with colleagues from other Mears’ operations in the area.

If you want to walk on a day when you are usually working please get approval from your branch manager before registering for a place. You may be able to allocate your 16 hours annual paid volunteering time to participate.

THIS YEAR’S WALKS:

Monday 27 March Edinburgh, Scotland

Friday 5 May Hadrian’s Wall, Wallsend, Northumberland

Thursday 11 May Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Friday 12 May Dovestone, Greater Manchester

Thursday 1 June Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk

Friday 30 June Minchinhampton, near Stroud, Gloucestershire

• Participants will be sent a sponsorship form and instructions on where and when to meet.

• Each walker needs to obtain sponsorship to raise funds for their chosen charity.

• Cost of accommodation or transport to and from the start of the walk will not be covered by Mears or the Mears Foundation.

• Walkers should come prepared with a sturdy pair of walking shoes/boots and suitable attire for the time of year (eg waterproofs/sun hat depending on the British weather)

• Walkers will be provided with a Mears Foundation t-shirt, a bottle of water and a chocolate bar on arrival.

To register for a place on your chosen walk(s) please email: mearsfoundation@mearsgroup.co.uk or please call Judith Herbert on 07801 910 935.

The Mears Foundation stall had a busy day at the first of this year’s Family Fun Days, at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. We raised a grand total of £839.91, which will be used for the charity’s vital work. Look out for us at the Scotland Fun Day, at M&D’s theme park in Motherwell, on 2 September.

First Fun Day of the Year

Harrods Christmas Hamper Kate Harlow - St Neots

£100 Argos Voucher Gwyneth Morrison – Scotland

Pamper Day for two Pauline Dunn - Thamesmead

Kindle Fire Daniella Murray - Gloucester

Congratulations to our lucky Christmas Raffle winners

Foundation News

Put a spring in your step – with Mears Foundation Walks

MEARS MATTERSLONG SERVICE AWARDS

Long service awards: January to March 2017Congratulations to our long service achievers!

40 YEARS:

Paul Williams Catalyst

Ray Fidler Home Group NW

30 YEARS:

Neil Templeton Home Group NW

George Strong East Durham Homes

Ronald Bell East Durham Homes

20 YEARS:

Ruth Farrow Kings Lynn care

Jaspal Sandhu 3C Mars

Chris Goatcher Brighton

Neil West Scion Oxfordshire

Hilma Mason Chiswick care

Darren Lauritzen Maidstone

Jack Robinson Sedgefield

Neville Lowerson Sedgefield

Steven McAllister Home Group NW

John Costello Motherwell

10 YEARS:

Emma Riley Peterborough care

Susan Porter Waterbeach care

Alison Jackson Old Stratford care

Shirley Wade Laindon care

Dave Hilton Central Services

Pauline Austin Central Services

Helen Leftley South Cambridgeshire

Chloe Parks 3C Mars

Robert Cook 3C Mars

Grant Morris Celtic Horizons

Simon Willliams Celtic Horizons

Kelvin Anderton Barnwood

Mumta Patel Barnwood

David Phiri Chiswick

Pushpa Perera Chiswick care

Satinder Dhuffer Chiswick care

Andrew Kirkham Milton Keynes

Peter Kearley Lambeth

Marcel Hobby Lambeth

Tanya Nugent-Wadsworth Central Services

Cindy Bing Manston

Steven English Task Team

Sharon Farley Maidstone

Andy Roalf Moat

Nicky Winton Moat

Daran Hellier Brighton

Dave Jarvis Brighton

David Warner Brighton

Dee McKenzie Brighton

Mark Westmore Brighton

Stephen Crouch Brighton

Stephen Prior Brighton

Gary Swallow Crawley

Lee Smith Islington

Patrick Tapping Islington

Samira Abdullahi Islington

Robert Stone Medway

Timothy Clarke Eastbourne

Michael Bonarious Southwark

Pedro Fenick Southwark

Amanda Tilbury Redbridge

Sukhwinder Lota Catalyst

Nicola Plant Rotherham care

Sharon Walker Rotherham care

Carole Booth Rossendale care

Joanne Greaves Rossendale care

Yvonne Proctor Rossendale care

Matthew Shipley Sedgefield

Lee Charlton Gateshead

Maggie McAdams Gateshead

Michael Dixon Home Group NE

Shaun Bowes Home Group NE

Bob Williams Leeds

Christopher Mitchell Leeds

Keith Brook Leeds

Mechala Barningham Leeds

Richard Smith Leeds

Steven Woffinden Leeds

Wendy White Richmond

Keith Dermott Wigan

Stephen Pierce Wardley

Kevin Morton Manchester Working

John Eckersley Wigan

MEARS MATTERSLIFETIME TRAINING

Reach your

with Lifetime TrainingWe’ve selected Lifetime Training as the exclusive provider of Health and Social Care, Business Administration and Customer Service qualifications across England. Established for over 20 years and with 900+ members of staff, we’re looking forward to joining the 20,000 learners who train with them each year.

A qualification takes between 12-18 months and is delivered in the workplace meaning observations, coaching and practical skills assessment all happen on-the-job. The training includes a 2 hour visit every four to six weeks from a Lifetime Regional Trainer with remote support whenever we need it. Their expert team help you complete your Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) qualification so you can learn while you earn and maintain continued professional development.

Qualifications on offer:

• Health and Social Care Level 2 and Level 3

• Care Leadership and Management Level 5

• Business Administration Level 2 and Level 3

• Customer Service Level 2 and Level 3

If you’d like to register your interest please contact your line manager to discuss which qualification will be most suited to your skills and job role. They will pass your details to Lifetime Training who will then get in touch to get you started.

Bernadette Walsh, who leads our Care business, said, “We are delighted to be partnering Lifetime to work with us in delivering on our QCF and Apprenticeship aspirations in Care. The partnership working with Mears Learning and Development will ensure we have a well-trained workforce driving up standards in care and deliver a return on our investment through the Apprenticeship Levy taking effect from April 2017.”

Pictured are apprentices from Mansfield and Poppyfields celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with their #careergoals. Alan Clay, Dace Veide and Marta Czarnecka.

MEARS MATTERS

Neil joined Mears/YourMK in March 2016, seeing Mears as a progressive, supportive company which was a market leader in the housing sector. Bringing 34 years of building industry experience with him, he has managed various social housing contracts incorporating repairs, voids (empty properties), planned works and aids and adaptation contracts.

This background has proved invaluable to Neil as General Manager of YourMK, a new company in Milton Keynes which has been formed by a 50/50 partnership of Milton Keynes Council and Mears Group PLC. His team provide a repairs and maintenance service for more than 11,500 homes across the city and leads on a regeneration programme which, over the next 15 years, will make long lasting changes to areas in the borough through investment and community engagement.

Since his early days as an apprentice bricklayer, through site managing and now as General Manager, Neil has always cared passionately about his work. “I’d like to think my colleagues see this in everything I do,” he says. Neil’s goal for his team is to provide Milton Keynes residents with the best possible repairs service, and he knows that good relationships are key: “I must listen to everybody within the team and implement their ideas to achieve the high standards I have set myself.”

It’s these high standards – one of our five Red Thread Values – that helped earn YourMK the title of Branch of the Year recently. The trophy, presented by Sally Gunnell OBE at the Group Annual Conference last month, takes pride of place in Reception at their Cedar House offices.

“Winning Branch of the Year is undoubtedly my biggest achievement so far,” says Neil, proudly. “We had to bring two existing teams (Milton Keynes Council and the outgoing contractors) together and get them working as one.” Neil pays tribute to the “real team effort” that made this possible. To celebrate their award, Neil plans to take his colleagues for a curry night at a local restaurant.

Having achieved such success and recognition for his team in his first twelve months at Mears, Neil has started as he means to go on.

“Everyone I work with has their good and bad days but ultimately we’re all trying to achieve the same target: to deliver a fantastic Repairs and Care service,” he says. And the secret of their success? “Listen to your team and ask for help when you need it,” advises Neil, “In the year I have worked for Mears, I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have without the support of others and the feedback from my entire team.”

LAST WORD: NEIL OWEN

Last Word: Neil Owen

It takes a team

“ We don’t seem to get any complaints – we only get compliments!” Tony Eccles

When Neil Owen saw that Milton Keynes was at the start of a new era, he was determined to be part of it.