Magenta Living is a housing organisation based in the North West of England, being the largest registered housing provider in its local area, Wirral. 

We are a not-for-profit organisation, owning and managing some 13,000 properties with a headcount of over 600 employees. 

We are well known locally as a key and valued employer, demonstrated by our Investors in People Gold standards for both the main award and for ‘We Invest in Wellbeing’ and by retaining our Customer Service Excellence certificate.

Investors in People spoke to Magenta Living about why they entered the awards, what it would mean to win and what the future holds.

Why did you enter The Investors in People Awards 2021?

The reason for entering these awards was driven by our ambition, one of our three values, the other two being accountability and adaptability. These see the organisation striving for, achieving and maintaining excellence.

The timing of the awards was a critical factor, too, as we entered the health and wellbeing award as we were about to embark on our Investors in People re-accreditation assessment, with the goal being to attain Platinum status.

We felt that our strong culture of wellbeing, recognised and reflected in our Corporate Plan, would demonstrate our many successes and tell our story through a range of evidence, unique selling points and people data and metrics.

Are there any goals or challenges you hope an award will help you achieve or solve?

We are delighted at being shortlisted for this award. However, in line with our value of being ambitious, our ultimate goal is to win. 

One of our strategic objectives that support our Corporate Plan is having a vibrant, values-driven culture through our effective people. So, improving health and well-being is a crucial indicator of success. 

We are very impressed with the other organisations that have made the final shortlist and understand we have some challenging, albeit, healthy competition. If we were to win the award, this would strengthen our brand and reputation and indicate a safe, happy, and healthy workplace. 

This would create a massive boost for our existing employees and increase morale and productivity, benefiting our customers. 

Also, it would encourage a diverse range of potential candidates who will want to work for us in the future, which is crucial, based on the current jobs market with some 1.2m vacancies in the UK, and specific skills shortages, making it a win-win situation.

Tell us what distinguishes you from other companies in the category you’re shortlisted in.

From reading their stories, we can demonstrate some unique selling points to distinguish ourselves from other organisations that make us stand out. 

Although many activities and resources are already in place, like other successful organisations, we strive to be bold and innovative. We are not afraid to tackle difficult, often taboo subjects. 

We actively monitor the number of colleagues participating in our events, where appropriate to do so, to ensure we are being inclusive and creating a sense of belonging for all. 

We are progressive and forward-thinking and always learn from the past and focus on the present and future, ensuring we continuously improve in all aspects of health and wellbeing. We believe this puts us in a unique position, resulting in happy colleagues and increasing our overall health and well-being.

What does being shortlisted mean to everyone at your company? (Feel free to include stories of people running around the office, crying or calling their parents).

Our Executive Director of Growth and Resilience, who chairs our Keeping People Safe committee, Paul Anson, summarised the positive impact of being shortlisted for this award in our press release and internal communication: “Magenta Living is delighted to have been shortlisted for the IiP Health and Wellbeing Awards 2021. We have worked tirelessly over recent years, especially through the pandemic, to recognise the wellbeing of our colleagues as a key corporate priority. 

The list of actions and activities undertaken is too long to list, but our work on Mental Health First Aiders, the Keeping People Safe Committee, World Mental Health Day, and the Virtual Christmas Colleague Event all stand out. 

We are, and will remain, committed to this work as we advance because people matter, and supported people make great employees.”

What would it mean to win?

To win the award would be a great honour, and we would be extremely appreciative to all involved and would certainly warmly thank everyone for their commitment and contribution. We feel the award would strengthen our reputation in health and wellbeing and further raise our profile. 

The impact on both our colleagues and customers would be exceptional, increasing morale and loyalty, making Magenta an even greater place to work. 

In addition, we would find a safe and healthy way to celebrate our success. However, on a far more serious note, many of our colleagues have sadly been impacted by suicide over the last year, so if we won, we would like to recognise the award as a step in the direction of increasing awareness and providing support. It would be good to dedicate such an award to people impacted by suicide.

How does being shortlisted benefit your customers?

As an organisation that already prides itself on delivering excellent customer service, being shortlisted for this award increases our strong reputation and reassures customers that they are in safe and healthy hands. 

Our customers, our tenants, can see how we invest in our employees as they provide excellent service, increasing their loyalty and willingness to further engage with us as their landlord.

How would you use being the recipient of this award to influence others?

We would influence others by continuing to be positive in our approach to health and wellbeing. If we won the award, we would be delighted to share our story with others and highlight the real benefits of keenly focussing on health and wellbeing at work.  

We would do this by engagingly and innovatively displaying how we are role models and how we lead by example. This would be backed up by our knowledge, experience and great people. Of course, we wouldn’t be giving all of our secrets away about our plans!

What can we expect to see from your organisation in the next 12 months? (And beyond!)

We will provide a fantastic framework for our health and wellbeing strategy focused on the Investors in People themes of physical, psychological and social well-being. Activities and events are planned for the future twelve-month period, all aligned to local and national awareness campaigns. 

Some brand-new initiatives will be brought to life from their initial ideas to reality, including bereavement support and financial wellness. Employee feedback will remain vital, so we will organise further surveys and questionnaires to check the organisation’s pulse and see how we can be even more proactive in our approach. We will be focusing on encouraging people to take care of their health and well-being and getting involved to inspire others.

What advice would you give to anyone applying for The Investors in People Awards 2022?

Entering the Investors in People Awards 2022 presents a fantastic opportunity to showcase your organisation, tell your story and recognise your employees’ hard work and achievements. 

We highly recommend carefully considering the category/categories, researching previous winners, and investigating best practices. Be clear with your specific reasons for entering and your own goals and objectives so that others can understand your journey and direction of travel. 

Finally, plan and leave yourself enough time to create and submit a fantastic award, and go for it! Good luck!