Staff focus through a different lens as new human
rights training tool kit is launched
Friendship Care and Housing working in partnership with
brap have developed an innovative human rights
training tool-kit designed specifically for social housing
staff. The tool-kit explores new approaches to learning
and development to provide a deeper understanding of cultural needs
and issues and where service delivery connects with the customer
and focuses directly on the rights of the individual first and
foremost.
Friendship’s staff work with customers from
wide and diverse cultural backgrounds. Drawing from their
grass-roots knowledge and experience they are obviously best placed
to understand the practical, real life situations and so develop a
better understanding of views on equality, diversity and human
rights issues in the world of social housing.
A cross section of staff from administration,
housing and estate management, performance analysis, training,
development and members of Friendship’s board were invited to
discuss a broad range of questions related to Friendships current
practice on equality and diversity, engagement with customers and
human rights issues faced by vulnerable groups.
The information collected was reviewed and has
set the framework to develop the training tool-kit.
Friendship’s front line staff and managers
will be the first to benefit from the training sessions which, are
being piloted in February. The training will then be
rolled out to other member companies within Longhurst Group and
offered to other social housing landlords.
Sophie Hall, service improvement manager at
Friendship said “We were delighted when brap
invited us to work in partnership with them to develop and launch
this innovative and exciting project. To genuinely improve
service delivery, social landlords need to understand exactly who
their customers are and recognise that everyone is different.
We have to keep abreast of changing patterns and trends in the
regions and neighbourhoods we operate and have a deeper
appreciation not only of cultural differences but generational gaps
to, this is the only way positive change will come
about.”
Jonathan Driffill, Friendship’s managing director and
brap’s appointed chair said “Friendship links with
the spirit of brap. This is a period of
great change for communities and organisations and ever since I
became involved with brap I've been impressed with
its approach, innovative and cutting edge solutions to tackling
inequality. brap has been at the forefront
of applying human rights principles to make service delivery better
and I’m looking forward to helping them stay ahead of the
game."
Asif Afridi, brap’s Deputy CEO said “what was
so great about doing this toolkit was working with people at the
frontline of housing provision and seeing how quickly they saw how
human rights could help them deliver better, more responsive
services. Human rights are going to be a big thing in the coming
years, so we’re glad to see that there are forward thinking
organisations out there prepared to test out cutting edge
equalities practice. We look forward to working with Friendship
more in the future.”