Face to face always wins the game in my eyes

So often we hear that staff across the organisations are doing a great job. Whether it is feedback from residents, their managers or their colleagues. But how many times do we actually take the time out to say thank you to them for a great job and encourage them to continue improving the service that they are providing for residents.

That was what myself as Chair of the Hackney Homes Board along with Vice Chair Alice Burke did all last week. We were up bright and early meeting staff whose daily shift starts at 7am carrying out repairs in around 24,000 homes across Hackney. With over 300 staff in the repairs section, we met them in groups of 30 over a whole week.

Meeting with staff is always something that I enjoy. It is a good opportunity to catch up with some faces that I have not seen in a while, to meet new staff and to learn about any issues and concerns that they are facing. It is also a good time to give them feedback about what residents are telling me when I meet them across Hackney about what is working and what they think may need improving.

The main feedback that I was able to give staff when we met last week was the admiration that I had for them for all the hard work that they had done to help achieve 2 stars for Hackney Homes. The Vice Chair also commented on how the inspectors were clearly impressed with the knowledge and commitment of our staff.

Staff left feeling refreshed, appreciated and many told me that they were on a buzz for the rest of the day. Meeting staff like this face to face is something that we will continue to do in Hackney Homes. We don’t underestimate the impact that this has on staff.

For top tips on communicating internally, check the Idea website www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=7816302