Anne Turner – Group Finance and Resources Director
I’m Anne Turner – Group Finance and Resources Director at Orbit and I’m going to give you a brief insight into how Orbit has changed and developed over the last 5 years and what our current focus is. I hope you find this information useful and would be pleased to receive any comments you may have.
I joined Orbit in February 2005 as Finance Director but as the Group has grown, so too has my remit which now encompasses Finance, Information Technology and our Customer Service Centre based in Coventry. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that Orbit has set for me over the last 5 years – these have ranged from helping Orbit achieve charitable status, major refinancing of our loan portfolio to reduce loan costs, working with new partners to successfully join the group, taking responsibility for the delivery of new and upgraded IT systems and ensuring financial viability during a severe credit crunch (in which Orbit continued to develop new homes for the increasing numbers of people in real housing need).
Delivering these projects has not only resulted in reductions in ongoing costs whilst improving services to our customers each year: it has also helped me develop personally as a leader and taught me many new skills. I have also been fortunate to work with an executive team who have a strong ambition and are clearly committed to Building Brighter Futures. Over the last few years particularly, we have recognised the importance of putting our customers at the heart of what we do and ensuring that our staff have the right skills, experience and attitude to deliver great services. We have agreed core values which will underpin all the work we do (Honesty, Respect, Partnership, Innovation and Excellence) and have focussed significant amounts of time on training staff and investing in services to better meet our customers’ needs.
So what are we looking at now? As a Group we have recently been firming up our budgets from April 2010 and reviewing our 5 year business plans. Last week we met with our Group Board and discussed at length our aspirations and priorities in light of the current financial climate. We confirmed our commitment to continue to invest in our current homes and services as well as delivering significant numbers of new homes which provide choices and chances for future customers.
But how will we do this in future? We live in changing and challenging times and we recognise that there will be considerable cuts in public spending, and/or sizeable tax increases shortly. This will have a huge impact on the economy and also our current or future customer base. Unemployment is rising, the cost of the welfare state increases, and in turn the need for social housing will increase dramatically. The demands upon us in social housing are high and are likely to increase significantly in the coming years. But from a financial perspective, interest rates are likely to rise, rental income could see limited growth, government grants to enable us to build will reduce substantially and banks are less keen to lend. We will need a strong focus on efficiency and in particular value for money and getting the best for our money through sound procurement of goods and services.
All of this means that the sector is facing some difficult issues over the coming year. And as Group Finance Director there will be plenty of new challenges for me to get my teeth into! But Orbit are well placed to not only survive this array of issues but to come out stronger and in a better position to provide for the needs of the people and communities we serve. We have a financially sound base and a customer focussed workforce. We have a strong reputation with our partners, our funders and our regulator. We have the means to deliver and a real desire to make a difference to peoples’ lives.
So yes, I have seen many changes over the last 5 years in Orbit – but I’m looking forward to the challenge of the next 5 years and to making even more of a difference as we really ‘go into Orbit…….’
