State of Engagement 2026 Report |
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When Nichola Hembury joined ForHousing as Director of People in 2023, ForHousing had a clear mission: to drive Employee Engagement as a central pillar of the organisation’s five-year strategy. In a sector as demanding as social housing, where the emotional stakes are high and the challenges are complex, employee engagement and connection with the organisation’s purpose is crucial.
Today, ForHousing stands as a beacon of how to lead with transparency. By combining a rigorous leadership approach with a deeply empathetic welfare programme, the organisation has transformed how its 539 colleagues view their role, their leaders and their future.
The journey began with a fundamental shift in how ForHousing listens. Prior to using Best Companies engagement surveys were internal, useful, but lacking the external benchmark and Psychological Safety required for radical honesty.
“It was all about selling the difference”, Nichola explains. “We knew we needed to move to a recognised market leader like Best Companies. But this wasn’t simply a change of platform - it was a five‑year commitment. In our sector, that means securing long‑term budget sign‑off and being clear that this is a strategic investment, not a short‑term fix. Because it was a new initiative, strong leadership buy‑in was critical to making it a success.”
Their first task was to ensure strategic and leadership alignment with the Executive Management Team. By ensuring that accountability started at the very top, the organisation sent a clear message: the results of the survey would lead to direct action. Every team holds a workshop and agrees actions to drive improvement and engagement within their own team and the wider organisation.
"Our ultimate goal is Psychological Safety. We wanted colleagues to know that when they share their truth, it goes into a safe environment that only reports back in a way that ensures anonymity and action is taken – we hear and we act"
One of the standout successes at ForHousing is that they have outperformed the Leadership score average for the Housing Association sector - a metric many organisations struggle to move. This wasn't achieved by simply drafting a strategy, but by creating Organisational Clarity through a relentless commitment to shared guiding principles.
The catalyst for this was the ForHousing strategy which outlines clear outcomes and measures for their Customer, Homes and Resources strategies detailing their nine strategic measures, mission and vision and their values. This serves as a living reference point that prevents strategic drift and progress is shared regularly through internal communications and engagement activity.
The golden thread of the ForHousing strategy runs through all ForHousing does.
These are high-energy, face-to-face sessions (with digital access for agile workers) where executives stand directly in front of colleagues. By walking through the nine strategic measures in person, the leadership team demonstrates that the strategy is an active commitment to transparency, highlighting how colleagues play their part. This proximity ensures that Organisational Clarity is felt at every level.
"We talk the talk and walk the walk", says Nichola. "In every briefing, we are looking at the data-driven insights. We talk about performance and tenants’ perceptions of our services. And we ensure that every decision made links back to strategic outcomes - giving people the 'why' behind the numbers. It builds a leader they can actually believe in."
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of ForHousing’s culture is how it treats emotional intelligence and wellbeing as a working tool through the Your Mind Matters framework and Structured Professional Support for colleagues in tenant-facing roles. In social housing, those everyday conversations can quickly become difficult, high-stakes moments.
"Our sector is very emotional", Nichola notes. "Our people deal with challenging situations and support tenants and their families complex lives."
To meet colleagues in those moments, ForHousing introduced a proactive wellbeing intervention, creating a confidential space to pause, reflect and reset, and to build practical strategies for staying well at work.
It’s aimed at role-related wellbeing, practical, preventative support that helps people hold healthy boundaries, build resilience and protect work–life balance.
Delivered by external clinicians, sessions might include:
The focus isn’t therapy - it’s early, practical support that helps colleagues stay well and confident in demanding roles.
Alongside this, there’s a rolling 12‑month calendar of Your Mind Matters sessions, open to colleagues in all roles. In 90 minutes online, they unpack real workplace pressures, from stress and burnout to boundaries, anxiety, neurodiversity, menopause and vicarious trauma - so people leave with both understanding and practical tools. This focus on the person behind the role has helped ForHousing outperform the Housing Association sector average in the Best Companies Wellbeing factor.
The impact shows up in two ways:
Across the year, face‑to‑face sessions reinforce the same themes - mental health awareness, domestic abuse awareness and trauma‑informed practice - so the message lands consistently, not just in a single campaign moment.
And it carries through into day‑to‑day management. The My Team factor scores above the sector average, with 81% of colleagues agreeing that “My team is fun to work with”. Managers are encouraged to start with welfare—creating ‘quality conversations’ that make space for what’s been challenging, not just what’s urgent.
This supportive structure is clearly resonating with the workforce; ForHousing’s ‘My Manager’ score sits 5% above the sector average, reflecting a culture where leadership isn't just about oversight, but genuine connection and care.
As well as important mandatory training, ForHousing has successfully gamified and decentralised learning. Using the Cornerstone Learning Management System (LMS), they have integrated a suite of self-serve tools that allow employees to own their career path. This commitment to development has directly influenced employee satisfaction, with ForHousing scoring 3% above the Housing Association sector average for Personal Growth.
The investment is significant - for LinkedIn Learning - but the return is even greater. Currently, the organisation has seen over 8,500 course videos being completed over the last year.
"It’s about choice", says Nichola. "You might be a core person who is fully qualified for your job and doesn't want a promotion. That’s fine. Or you might want to learn something for your personal growth. By making it self-serve, colleagues are motivated because they are in the driving seat."
It’s not just the breadth of LinkedIn Learning courses and certificates available to colleagues, by integrating a vibrant mix of learning resources with the LMS such as eLearning catalogues, digital books, internally curated content and more, ForHousing has created a truly comprehensive learning experience providing choices, and transformed its LMS into a true learning hub. Colleagues can now shape their own development journeys, marking a major milestone in ForHousing’s commitment to empowering people to grow.
ForHousing doesn't just look at Employee Engagement as a single headline figure; they export the data into parallel streams to analyse diversity and inclusion. This data-led approach directly led to three critical colleague networks:
These networks are sponsored by the executive team and meet monthly to drive proactive changes. This culminates in the annual Culture Day, a standout event in the summer.
"It’s the highlight of the year", Nichola beams. "Colleagues come in their cultural dress, share facts about their heritage, and participate in 'Ask Me Anything' sessions. It’s a safe space where a colleague can ask questions, It’s about education through conversation and sharing together."
Each network also plays a key role in reviewing the EDI Best Companies data and sharing ideas and suggestions for improvement which directly feed into the organisation’s action plan.
Their staff forum also plays a key role in ensuring ForHousing hears the colleague voice and that progress against our action plan is made.
If there is a foundation to ForHousing’s success with Best Companies, it is the depth of advocacy and expertise behind the rollout.
ForHousing took the initiative seriously dedicating time for a project to roll out, coaching and educating directors on how to unlock the full potential of their b-Heard results. Far from a simple briefing, ForHousing dedicated deep-dive sessions to every director, ensuring they didn't just see data, but truly mastered the insights within their packs to drive meaningful change.
"We made it a priority to support all leaders with their workshop during that first year", Nichola recalls. "It was an incredible investment of energy, we were passionate about providing actionable insight. We wanted to ensure every manager felt empowered by their data; helping them understand exactly what a 6.5 score represented and how to transform a specific factor into a meaningful, high-impact action plan."
This level of investment - is a testament to ForHousing’s commitment. It wasn't about a quick win; it was about building a foundation that would last a decade.
The results of this intensive focus are clear. The entire organisation achieved a 2-Star ‘Outstanding’ accreditation. ForHousing has become a more agile, kinder place to work, where we recognise and reward colleagues for living our values
For other organisations looking to mirror this success, Nichola’s advice is simple: “Invest the time, be transparent with the data and never forget that at the heart of every statistic is a human being looking for a place to belong.”
"We aren't just measuring KPIs anymore; we’re measuring the heartbeat of the organisation."
Nichola Hembury is the People Director at ForHousing, where she leads the organisation’s people strategy, culture and leadership development to support its social purpose and community impact. A highly experienced HR leader, Nichola has a strong track record across housing, utilities and commercial sectors, and is known for driving positive organisational change through inclusive, values‑led leadership.
