The team at this housing association is carefully structured to make sure it meets the needs both of the business and its 60,000 customers. It proactively supports the managers in the business and has moved over the past two years from a self-confessed 'mediocre' state to one that is the top performer among its peers.
Everything the HR department does at AmicusHorizon focuses on the business - but also nurturing a sense of fun among staff. It acts as the organisation's change agent, embedding new ideas and new ways of working, making sure it inspires confidence within staff.
And while its strategy boils down to promoting innovative employment practices, encouraging people to love their jobs and boost profits, this team has not overlooked its transactional and data responsibilities, as well as its role as the 'administrative expert' at AmicusHorizon.
The HR team is not cowardly or confined to an HR department, but has set itself the task of being the number one player in everything it does. Recognising that great staff are at the heart of high-performing organisations, it devised its people agenda and people strategy around this principle, to ensure AmicusHorizon has a STAR framework (star quality, top employer, achieving great performance and has a reputation as a great company).
The team has focused on learning and development to spearhead the strategy to achieve the goal, inspiring staff to break through inch-thick planks of wood, dance to Blame it on the Boogie in public, adopt a positive first response to every public call and change their ways of working, from good to 'stonkingly great'. The organisation prides itself on going beyond traditional training methods to devise experiences to bond staff and pull teams together.
But there is a serious side too and the company has also come up with specialist training in the fields of women's refuges, vulnerable young adults, homelessness, vulnerable families, care and support and counselling, giving employees tools to deal with the difficult situations their jobs could bring them into.
The HR team is commercially focused, helping win new business, focusing on its role in the tendering process and aligning resources to ensure budgetary compliance and maximum flexibility.
The metrics speak for themselves, with 97% of managers rating the HR service as 'good' or 'excellent'.
Our esteemed panel of judges, representing some of the largest and most successful HR teams in the UK, thought the entry was superb, with some even admitting their organisations had a lot to learn from this. One judge said: "This HR team is fantastic - this is top drawer HR."
Finalist
• One Vision Housing
