Greasy pole

Some 18 months ago, Genesis Housing Group commissioned research to verify anecdotal evidence that there were recruitment difficulties within the social housing sector. The subsequent report, To Have and To Hold, enabled an informed about the attractiveness of social housing as a career choice.

However, although progress has been made on the "to have" side, the "to hold" was not satisfactorily researched. Getting people into the sector is one thing; retaining them is another matter. It is with this in mind that Anglia Housing Group and Northern Counties Housing Association – supported by the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Housing Federation and Housing Corporation – have commissioned Mori to try to find out what the major factors are.

The highest turnover in organisations is the 37% of people that join and leave within 18 months. Check the figures for your organisation and ask yourself why they are what they are. Job-hopping, where individuals stay two or three years with one employer, is not unusual in social housing.

Initial research suggests that relationships and good management are key factors in whether an individual decides to stay with an organisation or not. Also, expectations have changed; people, and particularly younger people, are far more individualistic than they have been in the past. Recent government statistics show that people aged between 16 and 24 leave jobs more frequently than previous generations; mainly because they are still searching for the job that best suits them, but also because they have fewer financial commitments.

Many organisations use a "one size fits all" approach to staffing issues, which may well exacerbate problems rather than relieve them. Most of us think only in the context of our employer and not the sector as a whole.

Between May and June, Mori will approach a number of registered social landlords across the country, large and small, specialist and general needs, black and minority ethnic or mainstream, collecting data for its survey. Human resources directors, or their equivalents, will be asked for best practice and will be asked to talk to employees, leavers and new entrants. Confidentiality is guaranteed – and is, indeed, essential if the project is to produce meaningful data and practical solutions.

The results of the project will be showcased in a number of seminars and conferences in the late summer, a copy of the formal report will be sent to all RSLs and case studies will be included in the CIH's best practice guide for recruitment and retention to be published later in the year.