Corporate Plan 2025 – 2030 – have your say
This consultation
Connexus would like customer views on a revised Corporate Plan, due to launch in 2025 and run until 2030. We would like feedback on the proposed vision, themes, commitments and outcomes to help us make sure the plan works for everyone. You can provide feedback by answering the questions below, and by providing any other information you think would help Connexus in the development of this plan.
Background
The last 12 months has seen lots of changes at Connexus, with new leadership and a change in emphasis to be more community focused, working collaboratively alongside partners and key stakeholders, including our customers.
The country has seen a change in leadership too, with a new Labour government in power for the first time in 14 years, with a plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the lifetime of this parliament. In the housing sector, regulation has seen big changes too, with the introduction of new powers for the Housing Ombudsman, and sweeping new laws being readied to improve safety in homes.
To make sure that Connexus is able to adapt effectively to these changes and other challenges, the board and executive team at Connexus believe the existing plan needs to be revised.
Proposal
The new Corporate Plan, which would run from 2025 until 2030, proposes carryover themes from the old plan of good quality, safe, affordable homes, improving our services and investing in communities, but with an added drive to be more efficient and outward facing, as well as becoming a leading voice for rural affordable housing. We also want to create a more aspirational and ambitious outlook for Connexus, with a new vision to reflect a new direction.
We propose that the revised Corporate Plan is centred around a new vision and four commitments as follows:
New vision
Our proposed new vision would be ‘homes you can build a life in’ and would replace our existing vision of ‘good quality affordable homes for all.’
Commitments
Committing to more and better affordable homes
What does this mean?
We will build and maintain safe, good quality, affordable homes that our customers can build a life in.
What specifically does Connexus plan to do as part of the commitment?
- Puts safety first – address the state of the homes and buildings our customers live in
- Balancing investment between old and new homes
- Focus not just on additional homes, though we still aim for around 200 a year
- Place based strategy - commit to a proportion of new homes ‘replaced in place’ - recognising this may cost more and impact the overall number of new homes
- Develop flexible financial tools to review where we are at any given time – so we can decide to invest more occasionally if it’s possible
- Review our portfolio of homes and other assets (like buildings) and step back if costs are too high, or keep them if there is a community need
Driving efficiency and improving services for customers
What does this mean?
We will provide amongst the best customer experience, delivering efficient and effective services for our customers.
What specifically does Connexus plan to do as part of the commitment?
- Get the basics right every time
- Get it right first time, every time
- Offer convenient evening and weekend appointments
- Reshape our customer engagement
- Learn from complaints and feedback
- Drive efficiencies annually to reinvest and maintain business sustainability
- Manage contracts, colleagues and stakeholders better
- Make it easier to do business with us
- Aim for top quartile customer satisfaction and experience
- Check back annually on whether we can, or should, remain independent – or whether there are opportunities to partner with other organisations which would bring benefits to customers and Connexus.
Investing in communities, opportunities and skills
What does this mean?
We will invest in communities through the provision of homes, services and jobs delivering this in an environment that makes a social difference to our communities, values contribution, hard work and effort, and provides opportunities for all to progress a career and learn skills.
What specifically does Connexus plan to do as part of the commitment?
- Homes being more than just the bricks and mortar - make our homes somewhere people are proud to live
- Recognise we have a place in the community
- Invest in housing as a core of the community
- Recognise when we need to step away from certain homes or services if they are not suitable or viable for Connexus to deliver
- Support the most vulnerable in society to have the foundation to live well
- Support young vulnerable people to access more than a roof over their head
- Support older people to remain independent longer
- Be a good local employer, by being a good employer
Being a leading voice in rural affordable housing
What does this mean?
We will become a leading voice for rural affordable housing, campaigning for investment to maintain sustainable communities.
What specifically does Connexus plan to do as part of the commitment?
- Raise our profile, shout about who we are
- Raise our voice for the overlooked problems of rural life
- Rebuild our reputation with customers and stakeholders
- Play our part in the Rural Housing Alliance, Rural Services Network and NHF Rural Network
- Lead from the front in the stakes for our future
Delivering outcomes from our commitments
Delivering on each of these commitments would help us achieve the following outputs and outcomes at the end of the plan.
- Satisfied customers by getting it right first time, and our tenant satisfaction measures and customer satisfaction will have improved
- Created a customer journey which is easy, regardless of how you contact us, online, in person or on the phone
- Improved our repairs service, so you can choose when we call, daytime, evening and at the weekend
- Delivered another 1000 new homes by 2030, and significantly improved the quality and energy efficiency of our existing homes
- Delivered year-on-year efficiencies and recycled these savings into better customer service
- Improved our colleague engagement, and colleagues will recommend us as a great place to work