Conference shows Grand Union is heading in the right direction

Bedfordshire-based social housing provider, Grand Union Housing Group (GUHG), held its second staff conference on Friday 5 June 2009 at the Sharnbrook hotel, Sharnbrook, in Bedfordshire.

The staff conference is GUHG’s annual opportunity to outline to all staff its achievements over the past year and to inform them of corporate objectives for the year ahead. It is also an opportunity for all staff to meet up in a more relaxed setting and to have some fun. This year the main aim was to improve internal communications and to ensure staff understand the key objectives of GUHG’s new marketing and communications strategy.

The key speaker was writer and BBC broadcaster, Professor Laurie Taylor, a Fellow of the University of London. He summed up his impression of GUHG:

“Speaking at a conference is a bit like arriving at a party where you don’t know any of the guests. You wonder if anyone is going to talk to you and you judge the success of the party by how friendly the guests are. It occurs to me that if Grand Union makes all its tenants feel as at home as it did me today, then it’s surely heading in the right direction.”

The conference opened with an interactive quiz about the Group’s activities over the year, where staff worked in teams to respond to questions, and the agreed responses were sent to the quiz master via an interactive voting pad.

Then followed the first airing of GUHG’s new ‘Making the difference’ DVD which highlights, through a collection of short stories, the ways in which the Group’s tenants and staff have together changed people’s lives and made a tangible difference in their communities.

Afternoon proceedings commenced with a workshop where staff worked in teams to produce posters that each visually represent a key message from GUHG’s marketing and communications strategy. The idea was to improve internal communication, to ensure staff understand the strategy and to have as much fun as possible!

The day closed with an announcement by Group Chief Executive, Alan Humphreys, of the winners of the new ‘what we are proud of’ staff recognition scheme. From 42 nominations, a list of six worthy winners was announced.

Ends

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