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When learning is not enough ... Expertise & services beyond LearnHousing
LearnHousing has been developed by Knowledge Generation, a Bristol-based consultancy and coaching business. Whilst working for a wide client base, spread over many industries, a range of services that are of particular relevance to Housing Associations are offered. Read on to find out more about these services and contact us if you would like further information.
Knowledge Retention – Managing the Loss of Vital Resources
High staff-turnover rates are one of the biggest challenges for Housing Associations. They not only affect an organisation’s ability to deliver quality services, but also consume valuable resources due to incessant recruitment and training activities.
More dramatically, though, it means that there is a constant drain of valuable knowledge, skills and expertise from the organisation – not only at managerial level. This affects all areas of operation because of:
- the loss of Housing Officers with valuable experience on how to get tenants to pay their rent, or who deal well with anti-social behaviour;
- the loss of Development Managers who have built up crucial relationships with the Housing Corporation, Local Authorities or Private Developers, or who know about good land deals;
- the loss of Sheltered Housing Managers who know all about that idiosyncratic heating system that keeps breaking down – leaving your tenants to freeze and adding to the frustration of your maintenance staff;
- or the loss of popular call centre staff who are the ‘friendly face of your organisation’ because they manage to keep tenants happy and calm in times of crisis … the list is endless.
Each individual piece of knowledge or experience may seem easy to replace – but it isn’t. New, qualified employees, even if they can be found, lack experience. At best, effort and costs are required to replace knowledge and expertise; at worst, the gaps cannot be closed at all.
The good news is that organisations don't need to run the risk of suffering 'lost knowledge'. There are many ways to ensure successful 'knowledge retention' and we can help organisations to find the right solution and support them by
- negotiating 'knowledge contracts' for new and existing staff (linked to personal and professional development issues, training needs, etc)
- harvesting key knowledge through focused exit interviews with departing employees or ‘exit coaching’ departing employees
- designing and facilitating knowledge-focused handover procedures
- reviewing and revising induction training and internal information and knowledge resources with regard to ‘knowledge loss risks’ and ‘knowledge retention potential’
- advising organisations on developing a ‘knowledge retention strategy’
Services in the area are offered on a consultancy basis AND through LearnHousing Xtra - you can read more about it here.
Career Development and Succession Planning
Staff turnover is a natural part of any organisation’s life-cycle. A certain level of staff turnover can even be beneficial, as it rejuvenates the staff pool and enables you to introduce people with new skills and ideas.
However, it can also have a negative effect on your business performance, especially if leavers are taking with them crucial knowledge and experience. Implementing Knowledge Retention (as outlined above) with leavers can help to limit the damage to the organisation, but it goes without saying that it is far more efficient to stop the individual from leaving in the first place. Career Development and Succession Planning can help to achieve this.
Housing Associations usually have some staff development programmes in place, often linked to appraisal systems and training policies. The track record is much worse with regard to Succession Planning. Honest discussions with staff, about career paths open to them within the organisation, often don’t take place – sometimes for fear of having to admit that opportunities will be limited, especially with regard to managerial positions.
Lack of Succession Planning puts your organisation at a double risk. Firstly, in the absence of clear career paths, key employees may lack commitment and be tempted to look for new employment that seems to offer better prospects. Secondly, the organisation misses the chance to assess the risk of gaps appearing within its employment structure if key people leave.
Knowledge Generation can help you to get your career and succession planning back on track by reviewing and improving your appraisal system, and by advising you on your Succession Planning strategies.
Services in the area are offered on a consultancy basis AND through LearnHousing Xtra - you can read more about it here.
Exploring, Selecting and Implementing New Forms of Learning and Training
A Housing Association’s performance is greatly dependant on the quality and motivation of its staff. Creating and maintaining a highly skilled workforce is a veritable challenge, especially when one considers the current recruitment and retention problems in the sector.
The provision of training for staff and Board members is often not very effective even if staff development programmes and training policies are in place. This is because there is a range of challenges which includes: analysing training needs accurately, making sure people can attend training in the light of pressures at work and at home, and finding financial resources. The ultimate challenge is to make sure that people actually use their skills on the job, rather than just ‘leaving their training manuals on the shelf’.
Knowledge Generation can help by providing advice and guidance on how your organisation can increase learning and skill development for itself and among your employees. This could take the form of reviewing your training policies and practices, or improving your appraisal system.
An area of special expertise for Knowledge Generation is to advise organisations on the effective use of new forms of learning and training: peer-to-peer learning, coaching and mentoring, or collaborative learning solutions (communities of practice, training partnerships).
Services in the area are offered on a consultancy basis AND through LearnHousing Xtra - you can read more about it here.
And even more services:
Other specialist services for organisations in the Housing Sector include: Effective Collaboration in Teams and Partnerships; Knowledge Auditing and Knowledge Mapping and Planning and Facilitating Events and Meetings.
Click here for further information about these areas of work or contact us for a chat.
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