Stonewater

“No meetings at lunchtime” was the golden rule introduced by social housing provider Stonewater to ensure staff could grab the chance to take some exercise in daylight during lockdown. CEO Nicholas Harris took the lead from Stonewater's Leicester headquarters to encourage the team of 800 staff across England – 99% working from home – to take a breather.

Furloughed staff weren't left out either: they were sent a wellbeing toolkit and mental health first aiders raised their profile across the intranet site to highlight the support they could offer. With 32,500 homes in England for 70,000 residents, including supported living for older and vulnerable people and women's refuges, Stonewater's priority was to improve communication to keep the workforce up to date on developments. From informal coffee cup conversations to webinars and podcasts, team members and furloughed staff were encouraged to join the conversation on plans to fulfil Stonewater's vision to give people the opportunity to have a place that they can call home with an ambitious housebuilding programme.

It aims to build at least 1,500 new homes each year from 2022/23. In the past year, Stonewater's charity, Longleigh, has given out a record number of grants since it was set up in 2015, not only for struggling customers but also staff hit by unforeseen costs during the pandemic.

The new Employee Support Fund was managed directly by the charity so staff would not be required to disclose potentially distressing circumstances to colleagues.