December 2017
Merry Christmas
Bring on the Bacon Butties! Pimp Your Section Last year’s Pimp Your Pod was so successful that it’s back again this year. This time there’s a difference – Pimp Your Section is the new, improved version to allow for the changes to office layout so that the huggers and hoppers on Floor 1 get the chance to express themselves (festively speaking)! So, get your thinking hats on and let’s see which section emerges victorious from the glow of tinsel and glitter.
The Rules • Decorations need to be fire retardant. Christmas lights need to be new otherwise PAT tested first. • Please avoid using extension leads, any trailing cables, sticking anything on to the walls and no hanging decorations. • Judging to take place on the morning of Friday 15th / Wednesday 20th December. • There will be a first, second and third place prize for the winning teams. 2
Did you know that Raspberry Catering now offer a breakfast roll delivery service every Friday morning? What a way to end the week! All rolls are priced at £3.50 and there needs to be a minimum of 10 people ordering so if you’re looking to put an order through, why not ask colleagues in other teams if they would like to order too? Here’s what you can choose from: • Bacon Roll • Bacon and Egg Roll • Bacon and Mushroom Roll • Sausage Breakfast Roll • Vegetarian options are available on request Rolls will be delivered between 10am – 10:30am. Cash payments will need to be made by individuals on delivery. Order your rolls by midday on the Thursday (the day before) by emailing: julie@raspberrycatering.co.uk
Pickles Winners
Dewi Parry
Nathan Cook
Dewi is still all at sea, but we imagine he will be spending his vouchers on a new cutlass.
Nathan will be spending his vouchers on toys for his best buddy, Ole the Boxer dog.
Here are a selection of “Pickles” that you have awarded to your colleagues recently: Julie Nicholas has ‘pickled’ Nigel Casson for… "accompanying a new homes officer on a very early morning camping validation visit today!" Claire Freeman has ‘pickled’ Jason Thomas for… "getting Experian to agree free credit reports for our tenants when engaged with the debt service – saving £2 for tenants and a quicker more efficient service being delivered."
Ben Hennessy
Suzanne Powell
Ben is heading to WH Smith to add to his library. We haven’t got the heart to tell him the “Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley” is out of print...
Suzanne will be spending her bumper winnings on “ME! Normally I would spend on my grandchildren (I have 8 of them)”.
Ben Hennessy has ‘pickled’ Alisa Price for… "helping us get some postcards out at very short notice on Friday." Sarah Jones has ‘pickled’ Alison Bromham, Emma Assender and Cath Murray for… "delivering advent calendars to foodbanks on behalf of the Money Wise team. Thanks." Sarah Jones has ‘pickled’ Caroline Evans for… "dropping everything to help me send something urgently for a tenant that saved her travelling to an assessment. Thanks for your help."
Jessie O'Connell
Maria Williams
I will be spending it on the baby most likely as she now takes priority over me haha!
Will be splashing out on lovely goodies for Christmas!
Do you think your colleagues should be recognised for their additional work efforts? Then award them a pickle via In House. A prize will be awarded to the employee with the most deserved pickles during the quarter. 3
#MHAMAD17 by Emily Townsend
What a fantastic night! The 7th Annual Making a Difference Awards was held at the Cwrt Bleddyn in Usk in early November. It is MHA’s way of recognising all of our amazing tenants and the people in the community that make it a better place to live. There were so many inspirational people and groups, who have overcome some incredible challenges and have made a massive difference to their own lives and the lives of others. 4
Thank you to all staff who supported the awards, especially those who nominated the tenants that they work with! We had a record number of nominations with 56 individuals or groups nominated and some of these were nominated more than once.
Neighbour from Heaven Ruth Davies
The winners were: Community Champion Mike Logan, Mr & Mrs Moeller
Inspirational Young Person Jacob Ball
Most Inspirational Journey Leroy Weir
Outstanding Contribution to MHA Emlyn Lunn
Outstanding Achievement in Self Development Sam Edwards
Best Group Project or Initiative Carbonne Link Road Community Group
Volunteer of the Year Sue Fletcher 5
Welsh Housing Awards
Julie Nicholas, New Homes Manager tells us about the amazing night at the Welsh Housing Awards 2017
O
n Friday 17th November the New Homes team attended the Welsh Housing Awards at the Vale Resort near Cardiff, the biggest celebration in the social housing calendar. We were thrilled to have been nominated for the ‘Best New Idea or Approach’ category, but knew we were up against a tough shortlist; a fantastic homeless project by Charter Housing and the brilliant Space Saviours scheme, which MHA is also a part of. (Just our luck that the two services MHA were shortlisted for this year were in the same category!) We were delighted to attend the awards and hear about the best practice, projects and people working in the housing industry in Wales - it was an honour to be there. We were slightly disappointed when the winner of our category was announced and we were not named (nonetheless well done
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Charter!), but we were determined to enjoy the rest of the evening. Towards the end of the night the ‘Members Choice’ award, the penultimate category voted for by housing professionals from across the country, was announced and we could not quite believe our ears when ‘The Monmouthshire Housing Association New Homes team’ was proclaimed as the winner. We were (independent sources tell me) the loudest table to react to their win - there may even have been some screaming (but to be fair to him, John Keegan was very excited!). Karolina Gola, Nigel Casson, Emma Gallo, Amy Brine and I all stepped up to the stage to claim our award and bathe in our 60 seconds of glory. (Whilst Loz Denley was toasting us on holiday in Poland!)
P’
s in
your pod
?
Why does it matter? Isn’t it just selfcongratulation for selfcongratulation sake?
re
5 Well I think it depends on what you are doing it for. For me it was a great way to end the year with a team who have worked their socks off, got great results and made a massive difference to hundreds of people’s lives. But more importantly it is about being part of an industry that never rests on its laurels, that continues to grow and shares learning for the benefit of all. In the last 12 months the New Homes team, have seen substantial reductions in arrears, tenancy extensions and void turnaround times for starter tenancies. We have changed our practice considerably and are keen to go further, to shore up tenancy sustainability levels further. I have already had a North Wales housing association contact me to pick our brains about our New Homes approach - they will take away some of our ideas, and who knows, maybe improve them further to benefit others, including us. I believe it is vitally important we share our new practice in social housing, especially when it comes to traditional service areas. Housing management may be the oldest part of the business, but MHA just proved you can teach an old dog new tricks, you can continue to improve, and you can give tenants an even better deal than the one they have got when it comes to your service. Plus we got to see Nigel Casson in a tuxedo for the first time. Thanks to everyone in the New Homes team who have worked so hard in the last 18 months - being recognised by my peers with all of you, at the top award ceremony for our industry will certainly be one of my career highlights. You can read about all of the 2017 shortlisted projects and approaches in the CIH Good practice compendium, available at www.cih.org/ welshhousingawards/goodpractice17
e Are th
Mrs Holmes would like to thank Cath Murray for...
"Nominating her for the self-achievement award. It means so much to her and she was blown away when the letter came in the post. Without Cath she doesn’t think she would have even got an interview let alone an opportunity and a job that she holds so close to her heart. She was taken on fully after her six month probation. She’s been in her job for nearly 1 year and she can honestly say she loves it!"
Ms Gizzie would like to thank all of the staff at MHA for... "All of the services you brilliant people carry out right across the spectrum from the lovely lady that cleans domestic stairs to the tradesmen, you all do a brilliant job and are so friendly and helpful."
Mrs Mansfield would like to thank Daniel Hedges for... "Attending and being very thorough. Mrs Mansfield said Daniel is a lovely lad."
Mr Reece would like to thank MHA for...
"The work that was done to ensure that his mother (and previously father) stayed in their home until she passed away in August. The house had been their family home since 1960 and there was never any pressure for his parents to move in to other accommodation. In fact every adaptation that they needed was done in good time. The service they received was excellent, thank you." 7
Cape Verde By Kate & William Fitzpatrick This was our first winter holiday abroad, had heard good things about Cape Verde and just needed to recharge our batteries so thought we’d give it a try! Sal is an island in Cape Verde, situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa. In the east, Pedra de Lume is the site of a former salt mine in the crater of an extinct volcano, with reputedly therapeutic salt water. North of the capital city, Espargos, the Terra Boa mirage appears as a lake in the desert landscape. The island’s white-sand beaches include the long, half-moon shore at Santa Maria, a busy town on the southern coast which is where we stayed. The temperature ranged between 28-30 degrees and, apparently, we picked a good time as they have regular rain between August/September and during January. 8
It’s worth bearing in mind the island is fairly uncommercialised and not a great deal to do outside of the resort (apart from the odd dune-buggy excursion) but perfect if you are the type of person who likes to sprawl on the sunbed in beautiful surroundings and be pampered in the sunshine. The ClubHotel Rui Funana is an all-exclusive TUI resort providing everything we could possibly want during our stay. There are 570 rooms in two-storey apartment blocks dotted around the complex, together with a large pool area, a central restaurant, bar and lounge area and 3 speciality restaurants – all providing lots of choice and delicious food (and
drinks!) throughout the day. They also have a spa centre and gym which we visited once or twice but the novelty soon wore off! The staff were attentive, really friendly and full of fun and this definitely made a difference.
Our typical day‌ Breakfast, poolside and cocktails, lunch, siesta, poolside bar/lounge, evening meal, cocktails, snooze... All very tiring! So, mission accomplished! Batteries recharged and six pounds heavier - would definitely recommend a visit. We found the whole experience very relaxing (apart from the quirky airport but that’s a whole new story!) 9
Foodbanks Foodbanks are being more frequently used in areas of the UK where Universal Credit has been fully implemented. Foodbanks across Monmouthshire are preparing for it to take effect from March 2018.
Foodbanks in Monmouthshire are located at: Caldicot: Caldicot Town Council Office, Sandy Lane. Friday 10am – 12pm
Abergavenny: Abergavenny, Cornerstone Centre, 2/3 Horsingtons Yard, Lion St. Tuesday 12pm – 3pm, Friday 10am – 12.30pm Chepstow: The Bridge Church, Unit 1a Critchcraft Buildings, Bulwark Industrial Estate. Wednesday 10am – 1pm AND Chepstow Baptist Church, Lower Church St. Friday 12pm – 2pm Monmouth: Monmouth Baptist Church, 3 Monk St, Monmouth. Friday 10am – 12pm
What you can do to help:
Make a referral to the Income team if you think a tenant is struggling: Keep an ear out if they haven’t eaten regularly; are going without meals to feed others or are going without heating. Donate food: Most foodbanks have LOADS of pasta,
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what they run low on is: Tinned vegetables / Tinned meat / Tinned fish / Toiletries – especially feminine hygiene products / Coffee
Donate cash: Foodbanks use cash to buy short life items such as milk. Donate time: If you’re interested in giving your time on a regular basis, say 2 – 3 hours once each week, then foodbanks would love to hear from you. Training is provided as you will need to know about how other organisations can help those in need. Christmas tends to be a well-stocked time, however the food banks tend to run low from March through to August – donations through the spring and summer months are much needed and very welcome! Keep your eyes peeled for campaigns for donations from next February when Monmouthshire based foodbanks will be preparing for UC.
MHA staff getting into the Christmas spirit
by Cath Murray
The generosity of MHA staff has again shone through with the annual donations of the advent calendars. Money Wise’s Sarah Jones sent out the siren for donations and staff did not disappoint. We collected 53 advent calendars and 33 selection boxes in total which were donated to local Monmouthshire foodbanks in Monmouth, Chepstow, Abergavenny & Caldicot to be given to families with children who are utilising the foodbanks. This is a difficult time for families on low incomes and these treats can go a small way to ease the pressure that Christmas can bring and also bring smiles to little ones faces. All foodbanks were incredibly grateful for these donations. So, a big thank you to everyone that donated calendars, selection boxes and £20 cash which was spent on additional chocolate goodies. 11
Why not say hello to all the new starters on
Greg Thomas Carpenter I'm 32 (although most people think I'm 18 due to moisturising regularly!) and I've been a carpenter for 13 years. I've been married to Carly for 10 years and we've been together since we were 16, we have a son Leo who is 18 months old. I completed 6 triathlons this year and in September 2018 I am taking part in Ironman Wales, a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile run for charity.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with and why? If I had to be stuck in a lift with anyone it would have to be Sir Ranulph Fiennes I'm sure he would have some great stories.
Stacey Duggan Income Officer Trainee Hi all I’m Stacey Duggan. As well as working in housing I have two small children who keep me on my toes constantly and 3 younger sisters that I’m really close to.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with and why? There are sooo many people I would love to be stuck in a lift with but I think I’d have to pick JK Rowling. She is a fascinating woman and I’d love to speak to her on a real level. I guess that’s a boring answer so my funny answer would be the Tasmanian Devil because I loved that cartoon as a kid!
Jennifer Cole Income Officer I’ve worked in housing for 20 years. I am a Bristol girl and new to working in Wales so my colleagues are teaching me how to pronounce the road names. I am a singer in my spare time and recently finished a stint with an amazing covers band. Highlights included performing many times at fab venue The Tunnels near Temple Meads (run by ex-rugby star Gareth Chillcott) and singing Proud Mary with ex Bristol City player Paul Cheesley. Outside work, I do open mic gigs with friends occasionally but I particularly enjoy vegging out with my two gorgeous cats and a Netflix boxset if I’m totally honest.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with and why? I’d love to be stuck in a lift with Dave Grohl so that we could talk music and stuff - I am obsessed with him and my work mug even says Mrs Dave Grohl on it... I wish! 12
We wish them the best for the future
Martyn Lynch Carpenter
Shane Reece Maintenance Officer
We wish them the best for the future
Aileen Wallen Neighbourhood Manager
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Our New
Housing
Management
Trainee
Hannah Rowson In June this year, after a number of years juggling full time work and study, I finally completed my undergraduate degree in social sciences through the Open University. Prior to and during my studies, I worked in a variety of support settings including a mother and baby homeless hostel in Cardiff and as a tenancy support worker in Newport. I always enjoyed support work, finding it varied, challenging and rewarding. However, having taken so long to complete my degree I really wanted the chance to use it. Working in tenancy support had sparked an interest in the wider context of housing provision and management and I was keen to broaden my knowledge of and experience in the sector. However, only having experience of support, I was unsure which area of housing I wanted to go into. Therefore, when I came across MHA’s job advert for a Housing Management Trainee it seemed perfect, as it would give me the rare chance to learn what was involved in a number of different roles whilst also working towards a professional housing qualification. I applied and was lucky enough to be offered the job which I started in September. I think it’s fair to say I hit the ground running, being given a six month project to manage on my third day (Eek!). The project, Rightsize, is a six month pilot which aims to offer financial and practical support to MHA tenants over 60 currently under occupying their properties. 14
The main aim of the project is to free up some of our larger family homes. Having never done anything like this previously, I was a little doubtful of my abilities to begin with! However, I quickly realised that I didn’t need to panic as I was surrounded by a whole organisation of people whose knowledge, experience and, most importantly, willingness to help have been invaluable in getting the project off the ground. As well as working on Rightsize I am currently based within the Homesearch team. I am really enjoying learning about how properties are allocated and the team have been great, helping me settle in to MHA and being very patient with my constant questions! Even after just two months I have learned so much. Now I am starting to realise just how varied this role is, it is difficult to say what I am looking forward to most over the next two years. I am keen to see what the findings of Rightsize will be and what other projects I will be set following this one. Hopefully what I learn from Rightsize will make any future projects less daunting to begin with! I am also looking forward to being able to move between teams and departments so I can get a really good idea of how different parts of the organisation link together and get to know those I have so far only met briefly, if at all.
Unacceptable Behaviour Policy and Procedure by Chris York A review of MHA’s Unacceptable Behaviour Policy and Procedure took place in May and June 2017. The work aimed to improve how MHA deals with aggressive or abusive behaviour and unreasonable demands and/ or harassment, when directed towards staff. Thanks to everyone for their help with this work. The updated Unacceptable Behaviour Policy and Procedure is available on In House.
Following some basic principles will help MHA deal with unacceptable behaviour more effectively: • Talk to your line manager if you want to raise an issue where unacceptable behaviour has affected you. • Managers should take at least some type of action, which may often involve nothing more than having an informal chat/providing support to someone worried about an experience. • Complete an accident and incident form (available on In House) to formally report an incident of unacceptable behaviour. As well as this being a very important part of MHA’s procedure, there are important reasons for doing so – linked to health and safety legislation.
• Where a form is completed a staff member and line manager should jointly agree the action to take. A manager has to ultimately sanction the action to take, but should also provide a full explanation for the reason behind the decision as appropriate, especially if staff feel MHA is acting inconsistently. NB: on the surface two seemingly similar situations could give the impression that they require the same action. However, they may actually require very different actions, when all relevant factors are considered to reach a decision. • Managers should aim to take action on the unacceptable behaviour within 5 days (dependent on circumstances). • Ring from your landline to make sure the call is recorded if you think unacceptable behaviour is likely to occur. • Report any incidence of abuse and/or harassment on social media quickly. • Don’t treat one form of abuse e.g. received via email as being more acceptable than others e.g. sent in a letter. • Talk about incidences of unacceptable behaviour in 1-2-1s. The Community Safety Manager will retain a record of individuals that have reduced contact with MHA, in conjunction with overseeing our warning database. Bespoke training could also help to develop resilience and has proved to be helpful for teams that are customer facing – speak to HR for advice. 15
Silver Line believes that no one should have to spend Christmas alone. Last year they were unable to answer more than 5,000 calls due to the huge demand, but just ÂŁ5 can enable them to answer a call from someone who needs them. That's why they're launching Foam Alone...
The Idea
Agile Working
Huggers & Hoppers
They want to challenge people of any age to foam up their face with a Father Christmas style beard, so older people don't have to spend Christmas home alone.
What is a hugger zone?
Step One: Grab some shaving foam / cream / anything that will make a convincing beard and create your very own Father Christmas beard. This is your chance to be creative!
What is a hopper zone?
Step Two: Send your photo or video to Emma or Louise in Corporate Services. Step Three: We will donate ÂŁ2.50 to Silver Line for every person with a Foam Alone beard.
How You Can Help We need as many people as possible to get involved and share your pictures online using the hashtag #FoamAlone. We're looking forward to seeing your photos and videos! 16
A hugger zone is for staff that need a permanent work space at HQ and will have an allocated desk.
A hopper zone is for staff that work with tenants on a more face to face basis within the community. A work station will be available for you during your time at HQ. The Collaboration Zone will be staying and we will be adding a Quiet Zone.
Launch day is 11th December
Family Fun This Christmas Looking for something new to try with the family this Christmas? Check out some of the events happening around South Wales this year and click on the titles for more information.
Pontypool & Blaenavon Heritage Brecon Mountain Railway Railway Santa Specials Santa Specials Furnace Sidings, Blaenavon NP4 9SF
Pant Station, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 2DD
Cardiff's Winter Wonderland
Christmas Kingdom
Cardiff City Centre
Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport NP18 1HQ
Santa's Toy Mine
Christmas Grand National
Rhondda Heritage Park
Chepstow Racecourse, NP16 6BE
Monmouth's Lantern Parade
Abergavenny Christmas Fair
Monmouth Town Centre
Abergavenny Market
2nd - 23rd December
9th November - 7th January 2018
24th November - December 24th
8th December
25th November - 23rd December
23rd November - 7th January 2018
27th December
10th December
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Up & Away Capsel is embarking on an exciting new venture. Over the past few months the team has been busy starting work on a brand new online and full estate agency – Upstix, which will take over from Capsel Sales and Lettings. Upstix is friendly, affordable, and honest offering a professional but simple service. Choice is a big part of the Upstix service from choosing what service you want to use to the colour of your for sale board. The idea behind Upstix is to provide a unique house selling experience combining the best of an online and full service allowing customers to build a package to suit their needs. Upstix will offer
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a simplified online estate agent service for £250 and additional services such as floor plans and photography can be added on for an additional fee or sellers can use the full estate agency service for £1,250 using the expertise of Sarah and Hayley. Potential buyers will also be able to search for new homes advertised on the website. The Capsel team have been busy preparing for the launch of Upstix which is due in February working closely with the team developing the website. There was a productive user experience day in Cardiff to map out the functions of the site and how it will work. The website development is well underway ready for the launch.
Capsel Manager Liz said: “Upstix is home selling made simple.” “Capsel are excited by our new brand Upstix, a quick, easy, low cost way to sell homes with local people and knowledge at your door.” The countdown to February is on and there will be lots of exciting things to come over the next few months. But do not fear, this does not mark the end for Capsel, which will continue to provide home services and property maintenance.
news
Don’t miss out – find out on In house MHA turns 10 in January
On Friday 19th January 2018 MHA will be holding a staff celebration party to celebrate our 10th birthday. Find out what’s happening by visiting the What’s On page in the Staff Room or click here. Talking of birthdays, why not wish your colleagues Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas via In House You can visit their profile and write on their timeline same as you would via Facebook. You can even add images.
What’s Eric been upto?
Eric is your Electronic Resource & Information Character and often blogs about the latest news! Why not give blogging a go yourself and tell your colleagues what you’re up to? It’s easy, you can even visit the how to blog guide to tell you how. Remember you can send an alert to all staff by entering @Monmouthshire Housing Association (Company) and @Capsel (Company) If you’d like help with In House, please contact Graham, Emma or Louise in Corporate Services and we’ll be happy to help.
Remember it’s your intranet! Are you one of the 64% of active users? Top bloggers in Nov were: Buy & Sell
Having a clear out? Looking to earn some extra cash before Xmas? Why not sell those unwanted goods for free via our buy and sell page.
Louise Davies Nathan Cook Shane Hatherall Kayleigh Frost Missed out on these blogs? Still time to see what they’re all about. You can even like and comment. 19
3,574 Followers
Following 615
4,482 Tweets
2,212 Likes
@DeriViewPrimary looking forward to working with @MonSportDev and @ Mon_Housing to create our new parent and child group based on stories, arts & crafts and sports. Our children designed the new logo this week and chose the name Giggles! We’ll keep you posted on developments!
@Mon_Housing How to celebrate 280 characters on Twitter?! With news of our forthcoming #MHAMAD17 awards of course! Will you be there? We’re thrilled to be announcing winners of our awards – and we’ve got some new awards too!
@JulieNicholas_ Oh my god! People’s Choice Award – thrilled to bits!!!! #newhomesteam #whacymru On Twitter? Follow us @mon_housing 20
Be safe at home this Christmas! by Blodwyn Prosser
Once a year, twinkling fairy lights and colourful Christmas illuminations are retrieved from damp, dusty storage spaces and used to decorate homes for the festive season. But, poorly stored and old electrical decorations and overloaded sockets can create unnecessary hazards at this time of year. Check that your Christmas tree lights conform to a British Standard (BS EN 60598) by checking to see if there is a British Safety Kitemark symbol and to also check whether it has a CE Safety Standard Mark. If your lights do not carry either of these safety marks, it could mean that your lights have not undergone UK testing and are not safe to use. Poor safety standards mean they carry a greater risk of fire and have been made with cheap electrical components. If your lights do have one of these symbols then it is considered to be safely produced however, there are still some checks to be made and safe practice to be followed to ensure the lights and decorations have not become and are not likely to become hazardous to your family or your home this Christmas. In addition to lights and decorations, there are some other precautions you may want to consider over the Christmas season.
Key festive fire safety points: • Check the rating of Christmas lights and other electricals and ensure that the rating of the equipment will not overload the socket or extension lead. Click here to check ratings. • Always switch Christmas lights, e-cigs and mobile phone chargers off and unplug them when they are not being used. • Lights that have been designed for use indoors will not be suitable for use outdoors. • Candles can be a great way to make a room festive and create some atmosphere, but don’t forget that naked flames are a key factor in many house fires. • Ensure there is a smoke or heat detector on each level of your home and that it is tested regularly. Batteries must never be removed. • Try not to leave cooking unattended as most fires start in the kitchen. • Unattended, discarded and forgotten cigarettes, roll ups and pipes cause many house fires each year. Acting responsibly in disposing of them, dramatically reduces the risk of fire in your home. Sourced from Electrical Safety First 21
Engagement A New Approach
Working together to realise aspirations, strengthen communities and improve services which deliver value for money 2017 has been an exciting time for the Engagement Team. Work has been underway implementing the new approach to Engagement. Here is a snapshot of some of the work so far: Social Regeneration - We are taking a grassroots approach and focusing on ‘social regeneration’ providing intensive engagement in communities which are receiving large improvement works. 22 tenants in Oakley Way, Caldicot will be working with the landscaper to co-design the communal garden. Our Summer Events Programme engaged 324 tenants including 27 children through sponsorship places at MCC’s Leisure Services Monmouthshire Games. These places enabled children to attend who might otherwise have been excluded due to the cost. It was welcomed by low paid working parents who might otherwise have had to take time off work to care for their children in the holidays.
For Your Project’. All 8 ‘pitches’ from community groups walked away successful. The team signed up tenants to complete the Dementia Friends training course in Jan 2018 and found new locations to set up Coffee & Computer groups. To see what else we have been up to see the latest edition of Tenant Matters which was an Engagement Special.
What’s next:
• Setting up a Virtual Voice: Our new online community which will offer a high quality digital engagement service offering community forums and surveys as well as providing the results. 40 tenants have already signed up This year’s annual Making a Difference Awards was • Formalising the Community Benefits process to ensure we maximise on the investment our large a HUGE success again – See the winners on page 4 contracts can bring our communities. MHA owns a community hall - Wellfield Hall has • Develop a MHA training and skills academy. received a fantastic upgrade which now sees it boast • Explore the Timebanking concept, a way of a WHQS kitchen, new flooring, super comfy chairs ‘giving back’ to tenants who become involved and smart furnishings. This has already boosted its in improving their community or give feedback usage with community groups and private bookings. about our services. The Dragons are off again, distributing £12,000 to • Develop a Strategic Planning and Impact Group Monmouthshire Community Groups as part of ‘Pitch that will influence the corporate planning process 22
Fancy a game of football after work? Every Monday 17:00-18:00 at Cwmbran Stadium.
If you’re interested in joining up with colleagues for a friendly game of 5-a-side, drop Michael Harper or Dewi Parry an email.
Share Your Best Secret Santa Gifts Are you taking part in a secret santa this year?
You don’t need to be Messi or Ronaldo, all welcome!
Just £4 to play!
We want to hear about your funniest, wierdest or best gifts that you've received. Blog about them on In House or email Graham Harvey with some pics. These will be published in the February edition of EBuzz. 23
Send us a pic of your pet! The pets will be published in the next edition and you could win a £10 High Street Voucher. Email Louise Davies with a pic of your pet and tell us a little bit about them.
Visit the ‘Staff Room’ area on
to vote for the cutest pet.
Juno Kristina Leek
Chilli Katie Double
Monty Suzanne Powell
Holly Clare Thomas-Parr
Jimmy Natasha Jones
This is Juno, my naughty springer spaniel. Juno loves jumping in canals, getting stuck and getting someone to jump in after her to rescue her. She also enjoys sitting like a human, eating treats and spinning in circles.
Hi, my name is Chilli. I have just arrived in Monmouthshire to start an exciting new journey.
I love to go away in the caravan where I meet lots of new dogs and families. I love to play with mum and dad’s grandchildren, giving them sloppy licks. I love lots of treats and will do tricks to get them. On my walks I meet up with my mate 'Pudding' and am allowed off the lead to run around. At night I jump on the bed to make sure mum and dad are safely tucked up, and then I can go back downstairs to sleep on mum’s chair. It’s better than my bed sometimes.
This is Holly, one of my three 10 year old Kune Kune pet pigs.
I am cute, fluffy and a tiny ball of lushness... I am Jimmy Jack. I am a 10 week old Jack Russell and I love to chew shoes, skirting board, cushions (basically anything I can sink my tiny teeth into) and pounce on anything that moves.
All the other horses make fun of me because of my spots so I have a new friend called Oliver that sleeps with me at night. My favourite food is bananas and when I don’t get enough attention I pick my mummy up by her trousers!
They all have lovely temperaments will sit, beg and roll over to have their bellies tickled just like any dog. A big thanks to all those that “donate” their fruit and veg to them it goes down a treat, mmmm!
I love a cuddle but when I am wide awake I love to play, ducking and diving under the sofa from mammy with her shoe.
Congratulations to Pascal (and his owner Sarah Jones) on winning October’s Pet Corner competition! 24
CuIsine Corner
Welcome to Cuisine Corner! We all love food and it’s always good to get some inspiration from others about what to cook and where to go. Each edition, we want some tantalisingly tasty, tried and tested recipes and reviews to feature in Cuisine Corner.
Restaurant Review Bar 44, Cardiff - By Graham Harvey
RECIPE Spicy 'Leftover' Turkey Noodles Ingredients • 250g medium egg noodles • 1 tbsp soy sauce • 2 limes , juiced • 2 tsp brown sugar • 2 tbsp vegetable oil • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced • 1 red chilli, thinly sliced • 500g cooked turkey • 2 spring onions , thinly sliced • 100g beansprouts • 30g salted peanuts (or any other nuts you have left over), roughly chopped coriander and lime wedges, to serve
Starters are my favourite course of a meal so we decided to go in search of lots of them in Cardiff. Bar 44 is a neat little tapas bar set in the shadow of the Principality Stadium. It was quite busy due to the rugby international played earlier in the evening but we were seated straight away (having booked online).
wanted and hand the list back to the waiter. We picked about 6 between us (on the advice of the staff ), the mini duck burgers, fried shrimp, pork croquettes and torta de barros being the pick of the selection. Luckily, we listened to the advice of the serving staff and stuck to 6 portions as this was more than enough.
The staff were friendly and helped create a good atmosphere and the service was speedy.
I would definitely go back to Bar 44 as there was so much more on the menu that I'd like to try. I would recommend booking beforehand as it can get pretty busy on the weekends.
We ordered drinks and were presented with the extensive list of dishes available. Being the classy couple we are, we then proceeded to circle the dishes we
Method • Cook the noodles according to pack instructions, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Mix the soy, lime juice and sugar together. • Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the garlic, chilli, turkey and spring onions, fry for around 2 mins, then tip in the noodles and the beansprouts and fry for 1 min more. Pour the sauce into the pan and toss everything together well, working quickly to coat all the vegetables and noodles. Once everything is heated through, season, and tip into bowls. Scatter over the nuts and coriander, and serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Recipe from Good Food magazine
If you would like to share your ideas with us, then please get in touch with the Corporate Services Team. 25
Capita Clinic - Dec 2017 Firstly before we get in to Capita Clinic, we just wanted to say thank you to everyone that attended one of our tenant insight drop in sessions. Keep an eye out for blog posts on In House over the coming weeks for further tenant insight updates and some information about what we have planned. Right, on to Capita Clinic... Did you know that we record information about how our tenants would like us to contact them and also how they would like to contact us on their records on Capita? It’s quick and easy to do and it helps to tailor our services to meet our tenants’ needs. Here’s how:
How tenants would like us to contact them Tenants can choose from a number of different methods about how they would like us to contact them. This information is stored in the contact tab in the persons’ record in the ‘Communication Format’ and ‘Communication Media’ drop down fields. You will need to update both of the fields with the tenants’ preferences. Communication Format – This is how tenants would like us to communicate with them day to day. Tenants can choose from options such as telephone, standard text letter, large print letter, email, SMS text e.t.c. Communication Media – This is how tenants would like to receive publications and any other corporate mailshots from us. This could be by email, print, large print, audio tape, braille e.t.c.
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How tenants would like to contact us We recently started collecting information about how tenants would prefer to contact us. This information will help us to manage our resources in the future so that tenants can contact us via their preferred method. This information is recorded in the circumstances tab in the persons’ record. Here’s the codes that you will need to input: CONT01 – Contact us by phone CONT02 – Contact us text message CONT03 – Contact us letter CONT04 – Contact us email CONT05 – Contact us messaging service CONT06 – Contact us live chat CONT12 – Contact us social media Once you have updated the record remember to click the save button to save your updates!
If you need any help with updating the information on Capita or would like some training please contact Claudia Blair or Nathan Cook in Corporate Services. All previous Capita Clinics are on In House on the Tenant Insight page. Click here to view.
PRESS RELEASES Press Coverage Update
Unfortunately we are no longer able to save or share press clippings from Newspapers or even share Online. If we want to share articles then we have to apply for a license to do this, so for the meantime we have put this on hold otherwise it could come with a hefty fine. This applies to all staff have a work social media account so please be careful and do not share any press coverage articles that we are mentioned in. Corporate Services will continue to monitor the local media and will advise teams if there is any coverage. You will then be able to view the article in the newspaper by visiting Corporate Services.
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