Saving lives is a pricey enterprise. Whether or not offering healthcare or housing and help – every little thing requires cash, and a scarcity of cautious administration would see each the help employee and the particular person searching for assist with no strong floor to face on. Because the saying goes, put your personal oxygen masks first!
When Sian Morgan arrived at Hafan Cymru as its Chief Government Workplacer, she discovered a corporation that had forgotten to take care of itself. The corporate was struggling financially and culturally, nearing the purpose of no return. As quickly as Sian took over, she applied sound insurance policies, took suggestions from her workers, and efficiently turned the corporate round inside a yr. At the moment, Hafan Cymru is within the means of rebranding and relaunching its enterprise within the modified reflection of what it has change into.
Sian is an completed govt with a observe file of success in Enterprise Growth and Mission Administration whereas working for quite a lot of Authorities Our bodies and personal sector organizations. She has labored carefully with native and nationwide governments in quite a lot of social and political arenas. Her specialization lies inside individuals and enterprise growth, and he or she has a wonderful understanding of the ‘Studying Tradition’ and the varied methodologies concerned. Sian is keen about organizational growth/development and relationship constructing, having labored for a few years on this subject with varied companies.
Hafan Cymru is a housing affiliation with a charitable goal, offering housing and help to girls, kids, and younger individuals throughout Wales. Primarily working with these escaping home abuse serving to them regain their independence by providing a whole package deal of help provisions and with a variety of wants. These wants can usually be as complicated as bodily, sexual, or psychological abuse, these recovering their psychological well being, ex-offenders, substance misusers, or care leavers.
In an unique interview with Insights Success, Sian Morgan shares the story of saving Hafan Cymru and serving to individuals in want.
Beneath are the highlights of the interview:
Sian, please describe your skilled journey up till now for our readers. What are the challenges that you simply confronted alongside the best way?
Once I joined the enterprise in January 2016, I didn’t anticipate finding a enterprise that was failing because of a scarcity of management, monetary controls, and complacency. It was clear to me that between the fact of {the marketplace} and the enterprise’s capability to behave inside that actuality, one thing fractured till it was almost too late to repair.
It was a tough time, significantly the primary 12 months, as I skilled quite a lot of obstacles and blockages from inside the enterprise. Nevertheless, I did efficiently sort out the money circulate points with the help of the Head of Finance, who, in my view, had not been allowed beforehand to implement much-needed monetary controls in an effort to guarantee there was tight price administration and transparency. Collectively we launched new monetary processes and procedures to tighten up the fee expenditure of the enterprise as we had been bleeding cash!
My subsequent strategy was to overview the organizational construction and scale back the excessive overheads that Head Workplace was carrying. I labored carefully with the Board of Administration to agree on an organizational construction that might guarantee we had the suitable abilities in the suitable place with the suitable processes and procedures. I concerned the commerce union to make sure they understood the drivers for change, notified the Welsh Authorities of the plan that had been developed to assist flip across the monetary scenario and met with our Financial institution to make sure they had been on board as we had been dealing with extreme money circulate points and at actual threat of going out of enterprise.
Fortunately, we now have a enterprise that thinks and behaves commercially; we received new contracts, achieved the buyers in individuals normal, and obtained a glowing report from our exterior auditors and all inside an 18-month interval.
It was a really difficult 18 months but additionally thrilling and extremely fulfilling. It has been extraordinarily rewarding to see a enterprise that was nearly lifeless hold going and one which continues to maneuver in the suitable path, going from power to power.
Inform us about Hafan Cymru, its mission, and the work that you’ve got been doing for the betterment of society by way of your group.
Hafan Cymru was shaped in 1989 as a Registered Social landlord. The enterprise grew out of an initiative of the Ladies’s Help motion in Wales at a time when the refuge was the one type of lodging or help for ladies dwelling with home abuse. The enterprise was and is likely one of the key main suppliers of housing and help companies throughout Wales for Ladies, Males, and kids experiencing violence in opposition to girls and home abuse, and our mission then was to work to stop abuse and homelessness and to advertise the independence of these they supported by way of a variety of individually tailor-made help interventions.
Over time, the enterprise has wanted to develop and increase from its authentic intent in an effort to reply to the modifications in laws and repair wants. This has seen the enterprise develop when it comes to workers and contracts and the structure altering to allow help companies to be delivered to males dealing with home abuse.
The present situation is giving rise to rising social challenges; what strategy is Hafan Cymru adopting to cope with them?
The enterprise has had to reply to the wants of our consumer group and now has over 60 contracts throughout Wales, offering much-needed help companies to males in addition to girls and kids, and younger individuals. We offer refuge, dispersed refuge, secure homes, and momentary supported lodging for individuals in want. We additionally supply floating help to individuals and meet them in their very own houses or in a handy location; we work with males coping with the sensation of isolation and facilitate them coming collectively, so that they obtain shoulder-to-shoulder help from different males.
We now have the one government-funded mission in Wales that raises consciousness of wholesome relationships in faculties for kids between the ages of three and 16. Additionally, we provide employability coaching to help people who find themselves eager to change into financially unbiased and search for work. Our business supply gives coaching on the traits of home abuse for the private and non-private sector in an effort to help them in supporting their very own workers and assist them acknowledge when their individuals want help. Sadly, there was a spike in home abuse because of individuals being locked down throughout the pandemic.
The enterprise has additionally diversified and expanded our talent set, and we now ship employability help to assist individuals put together themselves for the world of labor – this additionally helps our purchasers who’re prepared to maneuver on in life and stay independently, and we now have been constructing a variety of abilities in different areas equivalent to psychological well being and specialist home abuse help.
Are you able to inform us about your management fashion and the strategies you embrace to resolve unexpected challenges on the office?
Once I first joined, I visited all our places throughout Wales, listened to our groups, after which discovered fast wins following my visits which demonstrated I had taken their ideas and views on board. Constructing an setting of belief was key, demonstrating that I not solely listened however was capable of take ahead motion. I inspired reflection on the best way we did issues and located methods of bettering and sharing greatest practices throughout groups, empowering employees to take ahead concepts and take a look at new methods of doing issues. I take heed to purchasers/colleagues to allow selections to be taken on a ‘right-first-time’ strategy. Understanding the expertise within the enterprise was additionally key, and the way we captured information switch to allow us to construct for the longer term.
What do you assume is the largest affect that you’ve got made in your profession? What extra do you need to do sooner or later?
Turning a failing enterprise round and one which makes a distinction in individuals’s lives.
How are you utilizing technological options to boost Hafan Cymru’s companies and operations?
We use expertise to allow us to work smarter and scale back journey whereas all the time making certain we preserve face-to-face human contact when wanted.
Being an skilled enterprise chief, what are your objectives for the longer term, and the place do you see your self in the long term?
I need to see the enterprise proceed to develop and become an employer of alternative. To realize this, we nonetheless have some work to undertake on embedding our tradition and making certain the voice of our workers and consumer group is heard in addition to listened to.
What would you wish to advise the aspirants who’re pondering of venturing into social work?
Working within the help sector is a vocation, and it’s worthwhile to need to make a distinction, because the work may be very difficult however so rewarding.
How do you envision Hafan Cymru ultimately, and the way do you intend to boost its operations and companies regarding its future objectives?
Current years have seen many modifications at Hafan Cymru, and evolutions, revisions, and new companies have reshaped our group dramatically – we’re removed from the place we first started, and our DNA as a enterprise has modified considerably. The best way we inform our story is now not match for goal and doesn’t precisely mirror the brand new DNA of the group we now have change into.
As well as, we had no ‘model voice,’ which tended to trigger numerous confusion internally and externally, resulting in inconsistency in messaging and making us exhausting to acknowledge. Our Funders have advised us that they really feel our model is holding us again and fails to mirror the progressive, skilled group we now have change into right this moment. At present, we’re within the means of rebranding the enterprise and relaunching who we’re.
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