"Invest in securing and keeping the best talent"
Our people are at the heart of everything we achieve, and this year we continued to invest in them, recognising that a skilled and engaged team is fundamental to delivering our ambitions.
A key focus has been making sure our structure, capacity and capability keep pace with our evolving goals as the scale and complexity of our work continues to grow.
A significant development was the completion of a new staff structure review, focused on critical areas of the business and shaped by changed and emerging pressures. This included investing in capacity to meet enhanced property compliance demands, alongside scaling up senior leadership from the 2026/27 year to drive investment and improvements in service outcomes for residents. New roles included a Deputy Chief Executive and two Assistant Directors, strengthening leadership capacity and supporting greater resilience across the organisation.
Alongside structural change, we focused clearly on improving the everyday experience of working here. Enhancements to our Staff Handbook and improved people and culture support through our external people and culture advisors, have helped ensure staff have access to consistent, accurate guidance, support and policies.
Staff engagement remained high throughout the year, supported by initiatives such as our new staff summer awayday, which helped reinforce our culture and discourage silo working. We also reviewed our pay and benefits package to make sure it stays appropriate and competitive.
Staff engagement remained high throughout the year, supported by initiatives such as our new staff summer awayday, which helped reinforce our culture and discourage silo working. We also reviewed our pay and benefits package to make sure it stays appropriate and competitive, reflecting our determination to retain skilled people while aligning reward with organisational priorities.
We continued to strengthen our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, completing phase one and beginning phase two of the recommendations made by our external consultants, the Unmistakables. This reflects our wider commitment to building an inclusive and supportive workplace across both our staff and Board teams.
Investment in development was supported by the launch of a new internal training framework, with relevant organisation-wide modules assigned on a regular basis. This provides a structured approach to learning and helps keep staff equipped with the knowledge they need to meet both operational and regulatory requirements.
Taken together, this reflects a coordinated approach to securing and keeping talent. By strengthening leadership, improving support structures and maintaining engagement and investment, we continue to build a capable and resilient team aligned to our long-term direction.
This is reflected in positive staff feedback, with 96% of colleagues saying they would recommend English Rural as a good place to work.
Equality, diversity and inclusion continued to move forward this year, guided by our dedicated internal EDI working group. Building on the recommendations set out by our external consultants, the Unmistakables, the group has helped turn advice into action, keeping inclusion firmly on our agenda across both staff and Board.
We completed phase one of the Unmistakables' recommendations, strengthening our practices and deepening our understanding of what an inclusive organisation looks like in practice. This has given us a strong foundation to build on.
We have now begun phase two, which focuses on embedding equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the entire resident journey with English Rural, from first contact through to the everyday experience of living in one of our homes. This matters because better understanding residents’ different needs helps us design services that are fairer, more accessible and more responsive. For English Rural, it also supports better decision-making, stronger trust and a clearer link between our values and the way residents experience our services day to day.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is not a project with an end date, it is part of who we are. Having delivered the first phase of our work, we are now focused on weaving inclusion through every stage of the resident journey, so that fairness and respect shape everything we do, for our team and the communities we serve.
“To provide and manage affordable housing for local communities in rural villages across England, and to champion the cause of affordable rural housing.”
Throughout the Business Strategy period we will grow by building more well-designed and environmentally responsible homes that help communities and the lives of those who live in them thrive. We will invest in improving the quality of homes that we already own, listening to residents and enhancing the level of services provided to them. English Rural will look to support the development of others and, where opportunities emerge, grow through mutually beneficial partnerships with other smaller rural housing associations.
The organisation recognises the value of its culture, brand and reputation and will ensure this remains a priority as it evolves.
Our purpose and vision are firmly grounded in our five core values, collaboratively shaped and endorsed by our entire team >>
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Organisational structure expanded to create capacity for greater oversight at senior leadership level, including the creation of a new Deputy Chief Executive role.
High levels of staff engagement sustained, supported by initiatives such as the new staff summer awayday.
Staff pay and benefits package reviewed and enhanced to remain appropriate and competitive.
New internal training framework implemented, with organisation-wide modules assigned regularly.
Strengthened our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, completing phase one and beginning phase two of the recommendations made by our external consultants, the Unmistakables
Members of the English Rural Finance Team
>> Aligning organisational structure and leadership capacity with strategic growth is essential to maintaining capability and resilience.
>> Investing in employee experience through strong people and culture support, clear policies and engagement initiatives helps sustain a motivated and proactive team.
>> Ongoing investment in staff development and inclusion supports a more capable, adaptable and high-performing organisation.
