Community Project Award Nominee 2008

1. Community Project Award Nominee 2008 In 2006 a working group of our tenant representatives set out to develop a new tenant involvement agreement. They saw that in 2006 only 0.5% of our tenants were actively participating in our tenant involvement structures and that the existing groups were largely made up of elderly and white tenants who had often been involved for many years. Our existing tenant representatives told us that they wanted new people to get involved. If you would like to discuss this project or how Synergy can help your organisation please call Siva Singh on 07983 720 258

2. Community Project Award Nominee 2008 The Solution To develop a successful recruitment solution for organisations needing to recruit large numbers of semi-skilled staff in to difficult-to-fill positions. The roles varied from customer service to personal care positions across housing, social care and a number of other sectors. The approach To identify, attract and recruit tenants with suitable transferable skills. This was undertaken via a communications strategy involving advertising, press releases, mail drops and open days in local community facilities. At all stages information was made available to tenants to help them understand the recruitment process and the roles they were going to be involved in. Finally tenants attended assessment days for final selection. Equal opportunities information was carefully monitored and a full report provided The result The scheme has provided an excellent opportunity for tenants to be involved in improving housing services. For the individuals involved it has enhanced their own career prospects and developed their awareness of the work undertaken by Birmingham City council. Twenty-five year old Zafran Hanif joined Ladywood constituency tenant group to try to make a difference to his community, Also to get to know the area better and improve his skills. Zafran said: “When I attended the launch I was impressed with how many young people there were and the number of people from ethnic minorities. I think it’s important that we make the most of opportunities to get our voices heard and get involved with thecommunity.” Zafran Hanif – Member of the LCT team. If you would like to discuss this project or how Synergy can help your organisation please call Siva Singh on 07983 720 258