Staff at Look Ahead, a specialist supported housing association in London and the South East, help clients to make individual choices, achieve goals and take control of their own lives. Its passionate teams are committed to delivering high-quality services across social care, health and housing that support independence and help transform lives.

The association aims to help people feel at home and staff may work with someone to achieve a positive change or provide specialist care. It's just as important to Look Ahead that its own people feel at home within the organisation.

On average, employees receive 128 hours a year of formal training, with Look Ahead spending about £650 on each of them. Staff are encouraged to apply for sponsorship to obtain professional qualifications. Past examples have including staff studying for a master's degree in housing and a Higher National Diploma in building surveying. They have also been allowed to take time off for non work-related training, ranging from studying for a degree in counselling and social work to attending acting classes.

Internal movement is encouraged and many staff are promoted from within. A succession-mapping exercise is carried out after the annual performance review.

Senior leaders meet staff and teams on a rolling basis to communicate what is going on in the organisation and understand any issues that have arisen with staff. They then work with teams to resolve the problems.