Habinteg Housing Association is a specialist, values-driven social housing provider with over 50 years’ experience delivering accessible homes and inclusive communities. As a small but impactful organisation, Habinteg champions inclusion by designing, building and managing homes that meet the needs of disabled and non-disabled people alike, enabling independence, choice and community participation. Their mission is rooted in transforming lives through accessible housing and influencing wider practice and policy to create neighbourhoods that truly welcome everyone.
Read below how Golden Marzipan supported Habinteg on their journey to develop their digital maturity and change management capabilities.
The challenge
Habinteg has a small Technology and Data (IT) team with limited capacity who was struggling to keep up with business demands and expectations. Previous leadership and consultancy reviews had set ambitious change programmes but lacked practical grounding. The business partnering relationship was weak and this had led to “initiative overload”.
A change of approach was needed and the catalyst for this occurred when a new CEO was appointed. He recognised that Data, Digital and Technology are all critical enablers for the business and that a reset of the relationship between the IT function and the rest of the organisation was needed. He also knew that they would need to build the foundations first to help them balance big ambitions with realistic delivery.
There was a need for confidence and assurance at both Executive and Board level, and the CEO recognised the scale of the challenge for the Technology and Data team. He knew they would need a critical friend and mentor to help them transform, and approached Golden Marzipan to help him as they have specific experience in this area with the first-hand Housing experience of their consultants.
Martin Warhurst, Habinteg’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “We needed to reset some key relationships internally. Sometimes, bringing in an external person can help to mend and cement some of these relationships. Andrew stepped into this role perfectly for us. He quickly and effectively built a rapport with the Board and other key stakeholders within Habinteg. He has also been instrumental in assisting us to set up a new Change Management Board so that we can make sense of the many competing business priorities that were stifling meaningful progress in the past.”
Golden Marzipan’s approach
Golden Marzipan provided a blended approach between consulting, assurance, coaching and critical friend services. We helped Habinteg in several areas over many months and our support included:
- Engagement: bringing together key stakeholders – Executive, Board, and IT – to build shared understanding.
- Change management: recalibrating ambition into manageable stages while keeping sight of long-term vision.
- Programme funnel: introducing a structured method to prioritise and manage change across not just IT but the wider organisation too.
- Coaching: supporting and mentoring the Head of Technology and Data and her wider team to grow confidence and capability.
- Critical friend: providing fractional support to the IT team over a prolonged period as and when needed.
- Strategy: Co-developing a new Data, Digital & Technology Strategy with the Head of Technology and Data and in conjunction with Board and leadership.
- Programme assurance: Helping the Executive to digest and understand recent consulting reviews and make large-scale transformation decisions.
Outcomes for Habinteg
Through the Project Funnel methodology we introduced, Habinteg now has an aligned change programme, despite competing demands. It is managed by a new Change Management Board (CMB) which provides executive oversight of its priorities and more confidence in its delivery of change. Although the CMB was initially created to help manage technology and data projects, it now has oversight of all business projects, not just those of a digital nature. This has helped build closer relationships between IT and the rest of the business.
The IT team and digital leadership have strengthened their skills and capabilities as well as gaining confidence in delivering change and partnering with the business. They have a new Data, Digital & Technology strategy to guide their change roadmap and have action plans to deliver improvements over the next three years. The Board has assurance that regulatory priorities are being met alongside strategic ambitions.
Habinteg has undertaken a structured review of its core applications and has developed a roadmap and business case to consolidate its number of systems into a modern futureproof architecture. It has addressed several foundational issues and is now well-placed to deliver major transformation successfully.
Michelle Miller, Habinteg Head of Technology and Data, says: “Andrew has helped us identify and focus on the key priorities for Habinteg. Together, we have developed a new Data, Digital and Technology Strategy that sets out a clear roadmap to deliver improvements over the next three years that are supported by the wider organisation, and reflect the needs of tenants and colleagues. Golden Marzipan has been instrumental in cementing relationships and developing the structure to deliver change successfully at Habinteg. I am looking forward to continuing to work with Andrew in his Programme Assurance role supporting the successful delivery of the Applications Transformation Programme.”
Learnings and conclusions
For smaller, specialist providers, the challenge isn’t lack of ambition, but the capacity to deliver. Small IT teams are very hard-working but regularly get overloaded with multiple initiatives coming from many different sources. Having a robust approach to change management that funnels all requests based on business priorities is essential. Success comes from right-sizing programmes, aligning stakeholders, and building internal capability.
Coaching and confidence-building can be as valuable as formal training. Having a mentor and critical friend by your side to support you can help you move forward quicker with your ambitions. They will help guide you through difficult decisions and help you gain confidence in engaging with Executives and Board members. They will provide balance when needed and be an extra pair of leadership hands to help you move your strategy forward at pace when operational duties are filling up your day.
Habinteg’s story shows how even small providers can lay strong data, digital and technology foundations whilst still achieving long-term ambitions. Through a structured approach to change management, they can manage project overload and deliver major transformational change successfully. Having a critical friend and mentor such as Golden Marzipan will help you make ambition achievable, build confidence, and deliver change successfully.
“I have loved helping Habinteg leadership develop their Change Management capabilities as well as working with them to co-develop a new Data, Digital and Technology strategy. They are now better placed to execute change on a large scale, and I look forward to supporting their ambitious systems transformation project in an advisory and assurance capacity.”
Facing similar challenges? We’d love to help you create the same clarity and momentum.
