Man at the top

With his impressive CV great things were expected from Steve Boyd when he took over as managing director of ALMO Tristar Homes and judging by its progress so far, he has delivered

Boyd began his 30-year career in housing in Newcastle quickly working his way across the North including Northumberland, Durham, Stockton and Cumbria.

Aged 28 while working for Stockton Council, he became the youngest chief housing officer in the country, later becoming director of housing and environmental health in Carlisle and then chief executive at Nomad Housing Association.

In 1990 Boyd took on the role of the Chartered Institute of Housing branch chairman, joining the board of the National Institute of Housing. Committed to regeneration and improving educational achievement, he became a Governor of North Tyneside College and board member of North Tyneside city challenge in the late 1990s before taking up his current position in 2006.

Tristar Homes Limited was established in 2002 after Stockton Borough Council decided to create an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) following consultation into the future of housing management and the maintenance of council housing stock.

Tristar was inspected by the Audit Commission in October 2006 gaining a 2-star with “good prospects for improvement” rating and this year was thrilled to receive a Customer Service Excellence award, implemented as part of the Government’s drive to improve customer service in the public sector.

“We have all worked really hard to achieve this recognition for Tristar Homes. Providing our customers with excellent customer service is something we always strive to achieve on, so to be officially recognised for such a high level of service and commitment is fantastic,” said Boyd.

Career development for employees is also of the utmost importance to maintain growth and job satisfaction throughout the company and Tristar’s core objectives are to deliver excellent customer service, improving year on year and to provide cleaner, greener and safer properties for customers.

Boyd says: “Employees are always encouraged to progress in their careers and we help as much as we can in partnership with Trade Union Council (TUC). In September we had Steven Hughes MEP visit us to see just how much we had helped people get new skills and how they have developed within the company.”

Employees are actively involved in determining the company’s priorities and standards, and improving service delivery through employee and customer groups. Tristar also works closely with the local authority, police force and fire brigade to minimise anti-social behaviour, managing and creating sustainable communities where people want to live.

Tristar has spent over £163million on bringing its housing stock up to the Decent Homes Standard and is set to hit its target during the next six months - a year ahead of the national deadline.

Boyd said: “Feedback from our customers has been that the Decent Homes Standard is still not enough so together with the council, we are currently going through a stock options appraisal to find the best solution to improve these areas to a higher standard and where we can, build new homes. We endeavour to always listen to our customers’ needs and work towards improving standards of our homes, service and the environment within the estates.”

The Decent Homes Standard has also enabled Tristar to offer a range of apprenticeships including office-based apprenticeships as well as involving partners and service providers to offer work opportunities for trainees.

“We also have ‘Unistar’; where we have partnered with Union Learning and TUC to offer all staff the opportunities to get qualifications or train in their chosen field including IT courses and trade skills,” says Boyd. “If you invest in your staff, you get the same investment returned. We want to be an employer of choice and even encourage young people to take an interest in a job in housing via articles and adverts in schools and career magazines.”

Working in partnership with external companies, such as Dunelm Property Services, and Frank Haslam Milan, is important to Tristar, which is currently working on a major project to modernise its multi-storey flats throughout the borough.

Giving back to the community is important to this ALMO and it regularly holds ‘make a difference’ days in association with Stockton Borough Council, where both staff and residents volunteer their time and resources to carry out schemes such as clean ups, painting and planting flowers and shrubs to help improve customers’ environments.

With regular tenant board member meetings, customer liaison groups, weekly staff meetings, and a range of weekly and monthly publications circulated both internally and externally, Tristar Homes is striving to achieve excellent communication and service to customers and staff, welcoming constructive feedback and suggestions to benefit all customers and employees.