Culture Re-Energising Programme

Thirteen is a North East-based housing association, operating from North Tyneside into Yorkshire, with the majority of its properties in the Tees Valley.

With 1,500 colleagues with more than 72,000 customers living in 35,000 owned and managed homes. Thirteen doesn't just provide a place to live, it offers a helping hand to people that need it through a range of support schemes and services.

The organisation began business almost ten years ago after bringing together four housing associations and a care organisation. It consolidated into one organisation in 2017 and has since grown through acquisition, new support services contracts and careful management of finances.

Thirteen has a clear ambition to put customers at the heart of everything it does, offering safe, quality homes in great neighbourhoods and support services for people that need them. Throughout the challenges of recent years, Thirteen has continued to invest in developing sustainable, diverse communities, supporting customers and staff during a period of profound change.

The leadership team is seeking the support of an experienced, agile culture consultancy (or a joint bid from relevant consultancies) which can partner with them to develop an even greater place to work, which will re-energise colleagues to deliver exceptional places to live for the people in the communities they support. Thirteen is seeking a strategic partner who can work alongside its team to refresh the mission/purpose, vision and values of Thirteen, and to help shape a future focused cultural ambition that aligns with that vision. A critical element of the culture re-energising programme is to have a programme of work, underpinned by positive psychology, which engages colleagues and other stakeholders in a way that inspires openness and trust.

The leadership team recognises that having a well-paced programme which provides colleagues with time and space to really connect with the change is most likely to deliver long term, sustainable success. There is therefore a preference for a phased programme which quickly establishes the foundations for a future culture and which provides the basis for subsequent development. The aim is to identify the right partner(s) to support Thirteen throughout this journey.

The effectiveness of the programme will be measured by collating input from internal sources in Thirteen as well as external stakeholders.