ACCORD GROUP STAFF MAGAZINE SPRING 2015
ACCORDGROUP.ORG.UK
Top of the shops in Walsall!
Already Loved Furniture opens in town centre Turn to page three to find out how you can get involved..
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
SPRING 2015
More savings as Accord Rewards is extended Welcome Welcome to the Spring edition of The Word. In this issue we celebrate the launch of the new Already Loved Furniture shop in Walsall. Check out page three to read more about how you can help the shop become a great success. We also take a closer look at our new Dementia Centres of Excellence. I interviewed Dawn Hendon, who managed the process to this stage to find out what it was like to work on such an important project. Read more on pages four and five. Finally, we’ve made a few changes to your staff newsletter over the last few editions and we’d really like to know what you think. Turn to page seven to complete the reader survey or speak with your local Staff Voices representative to give your feedback. Happy reading,
Elaine Email: elaine.wolkowicz@ accordgroup.org.uk Telephone: 0121 500 2393 Twitter: @elainewolkowicz 2
accord
mAKING IT COUNT FOR YOU rewards
As an employee of Accord Group, you have exclusive access to your new and improved employee discount scheme. For over a year Accord Rewards has helped employees save on brands including Argos, ASDA, Marks and Spencer, B&Q and Apple. A fantastic 75 per cent of staff opted into the site during 2014 and took advantage of the wide range of high street and local savings available. The scheme has now been extended and allows you to save even more on your everyday spending with offers on groceries, eating out and leisure, insurance, home and electrics, holidays, shopping and motoring. Remember you can share the scheme with family and friends, so log on to Making it Count for You today at makingitcountforyou.co.uk and take advantage of the benefits available to you. If you have not used the site before, you can register using our scheme ID 0007. The first time you login to the new site, you’ll be asked to complete your profile. Please follow the instructions, you will only be asked to do this once. Going forward, the HR team and Procurement are looking at additional benefits that could be made available to staff. If you have any ideas, please contact, Joanne Antcliff on 0121 500 2050 or email joanne.antcliff@accordgroup.org.uk
Did you know...? UNIFORM TAX RELIEF If you wear a uniform to work you may be able to claim tax relief on the cost of cleaning, repairing or replacing an item. Mark Stringer, a caretaker for Caldmoreaccord, claimed tax relief after receiving a leaflet attached to his payslip. “I simply called the tax office and I gave them a few basic details. Within weeks, they sent me a cheque for £230.” Find out more at gov.uk/tax-relief-foremployees/uniforms-work-clothing-and-tools.
Mailbag
Email it to Got something to share? group.org.uk and we’ll publish it here! ord acc z@ elaine.wolkowic
We love you! In February, you had that warm and fuzzy feeling for all your lovely colleagues. You nominated those who showed that they had a real heart of gold! All of the winners received a chocolate heart. Well done everyone. Jason Dudley – Heantun Leon Spence – Heantun Claire Mason - Accord Group Saima Yaqub - Accord Group Anne King – Heantun Tracey Blakemore – Heantun Lucy Esply - Accord Group Noorbahar Begum - Accord Group Colleen Whitehall - Accord Group Jackie Bayes – Ashrammoseley
Well done Lakhbir!
, has raised over Lakhbir Jaspal, Deputy Chief Executive for the Group across the Sahara race a in part taking by en Childr £4,500 for Action for competition the earth, on ce footra est tough the as n desert. Know over five miles, 156 ng is a gruelling multi-stage adventure coveri ’s most world the of one in ape days, through a formidable landsc family gues, collea ous gener the to you Thank es. inhospitable climat support of in ed donat all who olders stakeh key and s friend members, visiting justgiving. Lakhbir’s fantastic challenge. You can still donate by com/Lakhbir-Jaspal
Open for business! ‘Already Loved Furniture’ has opened a shop in the Park Place shopping centre, Walsall.
Lakhbir Jaspal, Deputy Chief Executive, awards the shop’s 50th customer Natasha Reddall, with £50 of shopping vouchers
Run by colleagues and volunteers, the shop provides those on a budget with affordable, preloved home furnishings. Since its launch in June 2014, the project has helped over 200 people purchase good quality household items.
Get involved! At Already Loved Furniture we’re looking for volunteers to help us in the shop. Whether its creating displays, pricing up items or helping customers find what they’re looking for, you can volunteer for as little as four hours a day. With permissions from your line manager, you can use one or both of your volunteering leave days to support the shop. Wi-fi will is available for those who would like to work remotely. Contact Stephen Sharman for further information on 01922 705286. 3
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
The Accord Group sign deal to build two dementia centres of excellence Two multi-million pound, new state-of-the-art dementia centres of excellence are to be built in Lichfield and East Staffordshire as part of an exciting partnership deal with Staffordshire County Council. The new centres will be built over the next three years and will replace three council residential homes in Tamworth, Burtonon- Trent and Lichfield. We will take over the running of the existing residential homes and will run the new centres, which will be built by Keepmoat and designed by Quattro architects. Five years ago, Staffordshire County Council made a commitment to improve the lives of people with all stages of dementia in Staffordshire. The new centres will provide state of-the-art care and a safe and fulfilling home environment where residents will be able to hold family gatherings, keep pets and have access to communal areas and facilities such as a cafĂŠ. Support, including nursing care, will be provided as and when residents require additional care as their condition changes.
SPRING 2015
Innovation The centres will be state-of-the art, encompassing best practice principles in design to create a real home environment that will increase opportunities to engage in daily living activities such as cooking and gardening. All staff will be trained in the principles of Eden, which looks to reduce the impact of helplessness, loneliness and boredom. Our teams will work to create meaningful opportunities and will provide flexible care that keeps people with dementia within their own homes for longer. This way of working means we can adapt to the individual’s needs, right through to end of life. This is not only a new model for the Group, but nationally. The building will be designed in line with Stirling Universities Gold Standard and validated by the University of Worcester, who are nationally recognised as leaders in the field of dementia care.
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
SPRING 2015
To find out more about the Staffordshire Dementia Centres of Excellence bid, I interviewed Dawn Hendon, Business Support Manager and project manager for this phase of the project. What does it mean to the Accord Group to have secured these schemes? It’s a real achievement. This project will enable us to show our skills in providing excellent dementia services. There is also potential to deliver a number of dementia centres of excellence across Staffordshire, which is very exciting. Have we ever done anything like this before? No, this is a really innovative project. We have committed to delivering standards of excellence, both in the care services and in the building design. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is trail-blazing stuff. We are also being measured by the UK’s leading academic
research team in dementia, so we can show at the end of the project what we have delivered really is excellent. How long has it taken to get to this stage? The process from the initial notice from Staffordshire County Council to contract signing has been about two years. It has been fantastic to see effective cross-working, pulling in teams like Finance, HR, Regeneration, Assets, IT, and Communications. It’s been a real team effort and colleagues who have been involved in shaping the offer have worked really hard to get us to this point.
You were tasked with heading up the project so far. What has that been like? Exciting, interesting, challenging and frustrating! It has been demanding at times. Our partners at Keepmoat, the County Council, legal teams, service users and their families and staff at the existing schemes have all been involved. It’s not always easy to balance everyone’s needs and I’ve learned to be a diplomat! However, I think we’ve worked really well as a team. What are the next steps? We’re into mobilisation now so we are getting ready to take on the staff and service users at the three existing schemes from 1 May. We’re working really hard to ensure that transition works smoothly for everyone involved. EW
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
spotlight on
SPRING 2015
MEET THE TEAM
Communications
What is your name, title and location? Katie Hughes, architect at Indesign. What three words best describe you? Friendly, creative and conscientious. How long have you worked for the Group? Not very long! I started 30 March. Before that I worked for a private sector practice in Birmingham for eight years, specialising in social housing and regeneration. What is the best thing about your job? Working in the social housing industry means having the chance to help improve people’s lives by designing good quality homes. I am also excited to be working for the only social housing landlord in the UK who not only designs, but manufacturers and builds their own homes. What three things would you take on a desert island? Chocolate, a good book and a boat so I could get home! When and where are you happiest? Apart from being with family and friends, I’m probably most happy when I am on holiday with my camera in-hand exploring new places and cultures. 6
Who is in the team? From left to right - Elaine Wolkowicz, Senior Marketing Officer, Jamie Parkes, Junior Graphic Designer, Claire Barratt, Director of Communications, Jim Deaves, Graphic Designer, Rebekah Bensley, Internal Communications and Events Officer and Sarah Archer, Press and PR Manager. What does the team do? We work for all members of the Group. We are also the comms lead for Matrix Housing Partnership and Health for Living. The Communications team is your ‘go to’ for: n Marketing and campaigns - We can shape your offer, launch a new service, raise the profile of an initiative, promote a project or attract new and existing stakeholders – internally and externally. n Press and PR - We celebrate good news by alerting local, regional, national and trade media through press releases. n Social media – We manage the Group’s Twitter and Facebook accounts and monitor comments and feedback. n Newsletters – We write, edit and design the customer and colleague newsletters. Share your stories with us and we’ll tell our stakeholders about them. n Design – We design all of the Group’s promotional literature in-house. We make information attractive and easy to read. n Print – We can organise large print runs for you. n Promotional items – We can order branded items, such as pens, mugs and t-shirts for you. n Events – We can support you to organise your own event or can organise an event for you. n Core Brief – We write and produce the Core Brief bimonthly. Contact the team: PR&Marketingteam@accordgroup.org.uk
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
SPRING 2015
READER SURVEY Tell us what you want!
At the Accord Group we know how important it is to receive information in a clear and timely manner. Over the last six months the Communications team has been trialling different approaches to colleague communications. Therefore, the Communications team is asking you to complete this survey and either feedback via your Staff Voices representative or send your responses directly to elaine.wolkowicz@accordgroup.org.uk by 5 May 2015. If you have any queries you can call the team on 0121 500 2393. Do you want a staff newsletter?
q Yes
q No
If yes, what would you like to read about?
If no, why not?
If you would NOT like a newsletter, you do not need to complete the rest of this survey. The size of the newsletter has changed over the years what would you prefer?
q A5 q A4 q A3
The newsletter is currently quarterly. Would you like it:
q More often q Less often q Stay the same
Would you like the newsletter:
q Online only q Online with some printed copies in staff rooms
q Printed and delivered to my home q Printed and attached the payslips 7
THE WORD
Accord Group staff magazine
SPRING 2015
Take a break
Try your luck with these competitions and win £20
Wordsearch
Win a £20 voucher
Simply find the word that is NOT in the wordsearch to be in with the chance of winning £20 Love2Shop vouchers, which can be redeemed at over 20,000 stores. Send your answer to The Accord Group, c/o Elaine Wolkowicz, 178 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B70 6QG or email elaine.wolkowicz@accordgroup. org.uk by Friday, 19 June, 2015. Remember to include the name of the competition that you are entering, your name, address and a phone or email contact. One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries.
CROCUS
PANSY
TULIP
HYACINTH
BLUEBELL
DAFFODIL
SNOWDROP PRIMROSE
LILAC
How much money has Lakhbir raised by taking part in the Marathon des Sables? Answer the questions opposite to be in with the chance of winning £20 Love2Shop vouchers, which can be redeemed at over 20,000 stores. Send your answers and your name and email address or phone number to The Accord Group, c/o Elaine Wolkowicz, 178 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B70 6QG or email elaine. wolkowicz@accordgroup.org.uk by Friday, 19 June, 2015.
Where does Katie Hughes work? What is the name of the shopping centre where Already Loved Furniture has set up shop? What percentage of staff have opted into the Rewards scheme so far? Which council has the Group partnered with to develop centres of excellence for dementia care? 8