About Phoenix Community Housing

Right from induction Phoenix Community Housing make it clear to all staff that the ‘how’ of delivering services is as important to them as the ‘what’. The organisation are committed to embedding a strong sense of shared culture across Phoenix and they believe this is key to positive staff interactions and the resulting delivery of excellent customer care. In 2015 they introduced the Conscious Leadership Programme for all staff. Phoenix regard all of their staff as Leaders and cultural champions. The programme combines their understanding of neuroscience, team dynamics and how organisations perform when they have a positive and productive culture. It is about developing an understanding amongst all staff of how they can lead one another more effectively, regardless of their job title, as well as managing themselves. The programme covers becoming more aware of thoughts, feelings and reactions, understanding why others react and behave as they do and using this knowledge to create more positive, productive and creative working relationships with colleagues and in teams. The Conscious Leadership Programme is now a core part of staff induction and Phoenix know that many of their staff have benefited from applying it to their personal lives away from work. Their lunch and learn programme also ensures that the learning from the Conscious Leadership Programme is constantly kept alive and real.

Phoenix’s Community Chest project sees an annual fund of £100,000 made available to groups and organisations with ideas for projects that will improve the community and life chances for residents. Since 2013, Phoenix has awarded £300,000 worth of funding to projects that have benefited more than 3,000 Phoenix residents and local people and are set to reach even more. Community events include a Phoenix Festival, which attracts more than 3,000 people each year, a Summer Fun programme for children in their area and regular Community Links events where residents can get involved in what’s happening in their locality. They supported a small village in Togo via the Dekamile charity through inkind support and also engaged with staff to raise £12,000 to support further essential construction. They offered an opportunity for one Phoenix staff member, along with an employee of the subsidiary Phoenix Repairs Service, to travel to Togo to support the construction project and see first-hand the impact of their contributions. Unemployment in Lewisham, London, is more than twice the national average. Phoenix offer a range of initiatives to support local people to take the necessary steps in or back to work. Their ‘Roots into Work’ programme offers a weekly job club, one to one advice and coaching from dedicated careers advisors, plus CV and interview workshops and a broad range of flexible training programmes. In 2015-16 they supported 48 residents into long-term employment. Free training ranges from functional skills in English, Maths and IT to vocational programmes that include work experience/placements. They also offer apprenticeships each year and seek to maximise job and apprentice vacancies within contractors and broader supply chain. Since 2014 a total 33 Lewisham residents have benefited from apprenticeships.

Phoenix worked with staff to develop their new strengths framework, which underpins all of their recruitment and performance development and is understood as a way of achieving the corporate vision. Their strengths framework represents a cumulative understanding of ‘essential behaviours’ at Phoenix. They believe that the behaviours are a unique perspective of current and future cultural aspirations and very much about a shared understanding of how to create a workplace that they love. The eight core Phoenix strengths complement and sit alongside their four core principles and values of Community, Customer, Consideration and Collaboration. The four C’s, as they are known, are visible and salient throughout the organisation and within their offices. Posters are displayed prominently in resident facing areas and customer service spaces so that they are accountable to customers and partners. They have also used giant whiteboards on the stairwell, allowing staff to write up how their job roles help deliver corporate objectives. This has helped staff understand  one another’s contributions to the business and sparked further internal talks and working groups. All colleagues received a strengths toolkit, workbook and bespoke journals that reinforce the messages. Their new ‘thank you card’ initiative prompts staff to celebrate and acknowledge outstanding examples of customer service and work against these core principles.