About Yarlington Housing Group

Yarlington are constantly rethinking and reinvigorating how they can help their team learn more and develop their approach. A recent example of this is when the company delivered a series of three half day workshops to five different management teams across the business, helping them explore the new Investors in people framework so that they could take ownership of it and use it to improve their approach to leadership, performance management and continuous improvement. Yarlington also offer bespoke workshops for individuals and teams with specific learning needs and believe that investing in face to face learning allows people to interact with colleagues and their L&D Adviser in a safe and learning orientated environment. The staff are now working in a more agile way through the ELearning Academy, a web based application which gives everyone access to the Infinity Library of courses, covering everything from IT Skills and Finance to Personal Development and Written English. For those who wish to continue their professional development, the Yarlington Bursary enables people to access the best academic courses available to them and then apply what they learn at work on a daily basis.

Yarlington’s comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme is free of charge, confidential and available to all staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Colleagues and their family members can use this service for personal, legal, financial and even health matters to name but a few. If the EAP recommends additional support, for example a series of counselling sessions, this has always been fully funded by the organisation. Yarlington are also keen to promote various benefits for its employees, ranging from childcare vouchers for parents to subsidised gym memberships for all. Staff are encouraged to keep fit through the Yarlington Running Club and they provide shower facilities and bike storage to encourage employees to cycle to work. They even facilitate a Pilates class for colleagues to participate in. If a member of staff is diagnosed or thought to be experiencing workplace stress, the company automatically refers them to ensure that they are receiving support or guidance at the earliest opportunity. Managers are also able to complete online awareness training that develops their understanding of workplace stress and the potential signs or indicators, helping to identify issues before they progress.

Yarlington has a Performance Related Pay Scheme, which not only rewards corporate success but also focuses on individual performance and appropriate rewards. It firstly determines whether corporately the company have achieved their goals and then it begins to look at colleagues’ individual performance. All colleagues have monthly one to one’s with their Line Manager, which is a great opportunity to discuss their role, current issues and performance. This maintains communication and is particularly helpful when staff work on a remote basis or in an agile manner. Staff performance is also captured at their half yearly and end of year appraisal. Colleagues’ performance is graded according, not only based on what they have achieved in relation to their objectives but more importantly on how they have achieved them. A Performance Related Pay award is then made to those who have been successful. The higher the performance, the higher the award. This has actually increased in value year on year and represents a significant investment by the company. Yarlington also have a Recognising Excellence Scheme, which allows employees to nominate one another to recognise their achievements. These nominated employees are then rewarded with prizes, such as shopping vouchers and certificates.