First Choice Homes Oldham ranked one of the best companies around

First Choice Homes Oldham. Picture courtesy of Google Street View

Housing association First Choice Homes Oldham has been given the accolade of being ranked 55th in the Top 100 Sunday Times Best Not for Profit Company to Work for in the UK.

This is up ten places from its position last year and shows the company continues to improve how it looks after employees.

First Choice Homes Oldham Chief Executive Vinny Roche said: “We’re delighted with this result and it highlights we’re not standing still, but always looking for ways to improve what we do.

"It shows we see working conditions as paramount to improving lives, creating thriving communities and being an excellent landlord.

"We recognise that if people feel valued and fulfilled they will be committed to doing their job well and helping others.

“We have core values all employees work by: we listen, we act, we learn, we keep it simple, we own, we care. We want to make a real impact on people’s lives in Oldham and our services ensure local people are given opportunities to work, volunteer and train with the organisation.”

Employees were asked to take part in a survey in autumn 2017 to assess how they felt about working for the organisation.

The key findings were: 85-per-cent of staff agreed that people in their team went out of their way to help them. Nearly two thirds (62-per-cent) of staff felt they were happy with the pay and benefits in their jobs, including work-life balance and recognition for good work.

Nearly all staff (93-per-cent) agreed they were encouraged to give something back to the community through charitable work.

The organisation also scores well for equality with 40 per cent of senior managers being women. 

The survey showed there are some areas where there is room for improvement such as opportunities for personal development and well-being. Action plans are being worked up to see how these can be better supported.