Motivations of Staff and Trustees
In the interviews with senior staff and trustees, we found personal motivations that contributed to the resilience of the almshouse community. These can be summarised as: personal values; a people-centred perspective relating to residents and staff; and a commitment to improvement.
One interviewee provided a lovely, succinct summary of their personal values as being: “openness, honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion, empathy” [Governance 22] and we could see these values in many of the interviews. Another talked about “celebration of life” [Governance 13] and wanting to “live your life to the full” [Governance 21], a really positive perspective of particular importance in an almshouse setting with older residents. Since the role of trustee is a voluntary one, people’s motivations for becoming a trustee are particularly interesting. Several interviewees explained that they lived locally, were invested in the community, and wanted to give their time and/or skills to the benefit of others. Some enjoyed using their skills or knowledge in a new context. Many relished the challenge of doing something very different from their ‘day job’ and learning in areas such as architectural design and development. A personal passion around housing and health was a strong motivation for some. These personal motivations are likely to be fundamental in creating a thriving community.
A common theme across many interviews was a people-centred worldview, which can be contrasted with a focus on managing the property rather than on residents’ needs. In some cases, the focus on people was inspired by or aligned with the founder or origins of the charity. It was a perspective that attracted trustees and staff. People who came to work with the charities wanted an organisation that had not lost people contact, where trustees were “so caring of their residents” [Governance 10], and that valued friendships – between management and trustees, and between management and residents.
Where evident, this person-centred view led to motivations to create a context to ensure respect and autonomy for residents, to put support in place as needed to enable residents to live their lives as they wanted for as long as possible, to choose people most in need of housing and build services around them as necessary, and to tailor services to individuals. Amongst the ways in which these motivations were realised were a housekeeping service through which, for an agreed charge, residents could ask for a range of help from some ironing, to a regular bed strip and laundry, to a deep clean; and resident involvement as part of staff recruitment. More generally, a drive to integrate housing and care could mean that people don’t have to move but can be supported to continue living in the same place.
Many interviewees talked about needing to listen carefully, to understand residents’ concerns and to be open about changes happening. To enable this, they organised varied opportunities for communication including regular engagement sessions, scrutiny panels and/or resident representatives. A number valued getting out and around the sites “to meet the real people” [Governance 15] and hear their voice. One indicator of a focus on people was the concern aired by some senior staff and trustees around visiting residents in their homes, recognising that people’s homes were sacrosanct and that, as representatives of the charity who could make impactful decisions about the homes, it was very important to consider their approach in order to be respectful of the residents’ feelings.
A people-centred worldview encompassed staff. Many senior staff and trustees spoke of their motivation to ensure a culture of mutual respect amongst all members of the almshouse community. Board members sought to support the management team and the management team aimed to provide encouragement, appreciation and positive feedback to operational staff. They were motivated to look after staff and to build relationships through informal chats.
The senior staff and trustees we interviewed showed a common drive to look for improvements. Some mentioned having worked to break down paternalism, to ensure residents had more control and independence, to modernise processes, to encourage staff to think and act in new ways. Overall, the aim was to build “a vibrant, empowered, self-managed, busy, micro community, that also is interested in the wider neighbourhood” [Governance 27]. There was commitment to good governance, including an emphasis on the need for increasing professionalisation of trustees and charity boards. There was motivation to adapt better to change and to put in place improvements for the long-term.
The motivations of the staff we interviewed followed a similar pattern to those of the trustees and senior staff. They showed strong personal values which were centred on people:
“One of the things that’s really important to me is around promoting independence and leading a fulfilling life and having as much choice as is feasibly possible”
[Staff 1].
They described how they really enjoyed helping people. They found meaning in what they did – several talked about doing a worthwhile job and most emphasised how making a difference was what motivated them. The interviewed staff felt that they were part of a team with shared values, seeing their colleagues as genuinely caring about residents. They also felt that they identified with the charities’ values and mission. They expressed very positive emotions, talking about their passion, their pride and even honour in their work and their charity:
“The people who live here, the people who work here feel honoured to be part of such an amazing Trust”
[Staff 1].
Working with people was what they enjoyed and several spoke about wanting more time with residents. They showed a very positive approach and were excited about the possibilities for further improvements for residents.
In addition to their motivations, the capabilities of trustees and staff matter. Several of our research partners talked about the increasing professionalisation of boards of trustees. There were many examples of trustees bringing relevant skills and experience, in areas such as housing, finance and regulatory compliance, and often continuing to work at senior levels outside the charity bringing up-to-date knowledge to the board. This applied also for some senior staff, especially CEOs. The theme Long-term and Continuity Planning talks more about succession planning and recruitment. Staff too were generally recruited partly on the basis of relevant experience. To help the transition into working with or for the charity, some partners had induction processes in place, to introduce new staff and/or trustees to the residents, properties and ways of working. We heard relatively little in the interviews about staff training and development – this may be because it was not a topic covered directly in the interview questions. Planning the continuing development of staff at all levels, through formal or on-the-job training, is important for staff retention and to continue to build skills which in turn aids resilience.
