On Tuesday 17 May Barnet Homes hosted our 3rd Strategic Partnering meeting. These annual meetings s are attended by senior staff from our contractors and consultants who provide services to our residents as part of the repairs, gas, major works, M&E and risk and compliance teams.
These meetings enable us to share with contractors and consultants what is happening with The Barnet Group and the impact on them.
The conclusion of this years meeting was our first ever “service provider awards”. This was set up as a way of recognising some of the excellent work carried out by staff working for other organisations but who frequently become the face or voice of Barnet Homes for when works are carried out to their homes.
29 Nominations were received across the three categories each based on a Barnet Homes value. Nominations came from a wide range of service areas within Barnet Homes and from contractors themselves. Three residents (Jan Anderson, David Atta and Aruna Bharat) undertook the challenging task of shortlisting and deciding a winner for each award.
Responding to individuals – James McCormack – Mears
Staff nominating James said “James has changed the system for agreeing costs for repairs which are not currently included in the schedule of rates. The detail he provides is easy to understand and is accurately costed. He is always cheerful and takes on board our queries and concerns and makes changes when he can. [He] has helped us a great deal in reconciling orders and dealing with any IT issues we have faced. James is very proactive. He is great to work with, and could be nominated across all three categories.”
Shortlisted;
Christiane Marlen – Mears: In her role as Customer Service Officer Christiane contacts residents on a daily basis to find out if the service provider by Mears has been up to expected standards. If the service has fallen short she takes ownership of the issue. She also assists with larger jobs in a resident liaison role. Christiane talks to over 300 residents a month and ensures that any improvement needs are fed back to operatives via tool box talks. Another essential part of her role is social value work, with Christiane being key to activities such as Christmas hampers and the doorstep challenge.
Darren Oliver – Mears: Staff nominating Darren said “I’ve worked with Darren for some time and have found him extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Whist dealing with disrepairs I would breathe a sigh of relief when I was informed the case had been allocated to Darren to manage as I knew things would go smoothly. His reports are easy to read and understand and he is always willing to explain technical aspects to those not technically minded. Darren keeps us informed at each stage of the works, and more importantly keeps the resident informed working with them to carry out works as quickly and effectively as possible reducing the impact on residents. I think my job would be 10 times harder had it not been for Darren.
Winner of One Team, One Outcome – Mears Commercial Team
They have a common understanding and sense of purpose as to why queries need to be resolved efficiently in order to keep the orders moving. They are very focused in ensuring all the processes set up between us work in the correct manner. This was demonstrated when our IT system was a work in progress. Together we worked to achieve a reduced queries on order reconciliations between systems. Whilst working on Variation audits we always come to an amicable solution which is achieved by good communications.
Shortlisted
Gary Fox – Mears: Nominated four times for this award staff recognised Gary’s commitment to social value works. Comments including his dedication to recruiting and training apprentices, and his willingness to put in extra effort for customers. “Nothing is ever too much trouble for him. He has given up his free time at weekends to assist me and demonstrates the real meaning of “one team, one outcome”
W A Mcgegors – Sub contractors to Morgan Sindall: McGregors have been providing an unrivalled service to Barnet Homes & its partnering contractors McGregors carry out electrical.
Despite losing a substantial amount of money when Connaught went into liquidation McGregors were happy to help out Barnet Homes by keeping an essential electrical repairs service operational in the transition period, until a new partnering contractor was nominated.
Winner Taking Ownership – Danielle Richardson – Wigginton (Sub contractor to Lovell T/A Morgan Sindall)
A fire broke out in a residents flat whist Lovell were working in the block. Danielle Richardson the Resident Liaison Officer on site managed to access the property and bring out the tenant who was elderly and suffers with mobility issues. On making sure that the resident was safe she then proceeded to put out the fire which was started accidently by the resident leaving an item on the hob. The resident suffered no ill effects thanks to Danielle’s brave actions.
Shortlist
Julie Clive – Mears: I, work with Julie Clive quite a lot around performance indicators and performance generally. When we have had issues / additional requests she has always taken ownership of those and worked hard to deliver the results / outcome we are looking for. She is always extremely helpful and hard working.
Stefan Eriksson – Mears: Stefan most definitely took ownership of the interface between MCM and QL. He regularly attended meetings and brought solutions to problems when no other help was available. He cares passionately about IT which was evident in his commitment to make QL work with MCM. He has the ability to communicate IT issues and solutions to those of us that are not familiar with this specialism. Stefan continues to work collaboratively with our Systems Support team to resolve interface issues. I’m not sure where we would have been without his input.