About Watford Community Housing Trust

At the Trust, they recognise that the capability of their leadership team is key to achieving their business goals. Therefore, they continue to invest in their wider management team, as leaders of the organisation. Their Leadership Development Programme involves all people managers from the Chief Executive to first line managers, plus aspiring non-managers who have been identified as having high potential as 'leaders of the future'. The programme consists of a diagnostic questionnaire to assess perceptions of current culture, which all participants complete. This is followed by workshops for each of the cohorts in the programme, using appreciative enquiry and active learning set techniques to enable leaders to think about: - Your Future, Your Choice – change, growth and personal development is based on choice, and belief in that choice; - Accountable Ownership – taking full responsibility for actions and seizing the chance to make a difference. - Aligning corporate and personal vision - ensuring the vision is clear, concise and compelling is bought into by everyone, who will understand their role in making it happen. - One Team - a positive team moving in the same direction who want to shape the future, and not have it shaped for them; - Action - at the heart of leadership, and all interventions; the theory in action. This will ensure a common leadership expectation across the Trust, and enable leaders to provide a united direction for the wider workforce in the years ahead.

All employees at Watford Community Housing Trust are encouraged to own their own development path within the Trust, and to have frequent discussions about their personal development with their manager. The Trust actively supports staff who wish to undertake professional qualifications, which includes supporting financially and time away for work for professional qualifications and study. The Trust has a graduate programme aimed at local residents. In 2015, their first two graduates successfully completed their 2-year programme and secured permanent positions within the Trust. The programme consists of a number of placements in different departments, designed to ensure that the trainee gains a broad exposure to the various parts of the organisation and can build up a range of important skills. Alongside this the trainees studied for and obtained a recognised Housing qualification. They also have an established apprenticeship programme, which again has led to two local residents developing skills and becoming a permanent part of their workforce; they have just recruited their second cohort, increasing the number of apprenticeships to three. Watford Community Housing Trust commitment to staff development is recognised in their achievement of Investors in People Gold status.

As a community-based housing association, Watford Community Housing Trust undertake a lot of work in and with their community. In relation to volunteering, they have this year established an employee volunteering scheme whereby their staff can take two days' paid leave each year to support a charity or volunteer for a community organisation. Staff have so far taken 8 days out of the business to volunteer, including participating in a charity golf day to raise money for musicians with learning difficulties. As a business, they have supported 18 community activities and projects through their Community Development Fund programme, as well as running an all-day, large-scale community event, called "Community at the Colosseum" - last year's event attracted more than 700 people and they hope to build on this at this year's event. Watford Community Housing Trust have also continued to sponsor the Hertfordshire Pride event for the third year running, ensuring that local LGBT*Q residents are aware of and feel confident and able to access their services. They also recognise volunteers outside of their workforce, and marked National Volunteer Week with a 'thank you' dinner for 40 local volunteers who themselves run community-based activities. It was an honour for Watford Community Housing Trust to run this event for their local volunteers, who are the life blood of their communities.