Case Study: Aster Group - Hybrid working engagement, education and strategy

The challenge.

Leading housing organisation Aster Group merged with London based Central & Cecil Housing Trust (C&C) in early 2022. Many C&C colleagues felt unsettled by the merger and wanted to have their say about workspaces and future ways of working.

What we did.

We delivered a workplace engagement and strategy project to understand how C&C colleagues were working and how they would work in the future. This required an emphasis on consolidating ways of working across the Aster Group while respecting historic and local workstyles and preferences. We carried out senior leadership workshops, key stakeholder focus groups, an all-employee pulse survey, and interviews with key representatives.

We worked with their L&D team to ensure effective change management that aligned with Aster’s values and culture.. We carried out educational sessions to inform teams about hybrid working. We put together a report of findings and recommendations to inform the type and size of workspaces needed to support C&C colleagues. This included behavioural guidance on how to deepen the understanding about Aster’s ways of working and support change management requirements.

“We have worked with Deborah since 2018, latterly including her time at Workwell.  Deborah brings well-rounded insights associated with the changing world of work which have really helped us navigate this journey on a few occasions.  Initially she helped support us move towards a more agile working model, supporting colleagues to shift from having their own desks and embrace greater flexibility. Then she supported us through the creation of principles which would underpin our working culture and the way we would access a network of workspaces to get the best out of our day. Finally the most recent piece of work has supported the integration of another housing association into Aster Group.  Deborah challenges in the right way, calling out potential issues and really helps bring the wider world of work into the decision-making process.  It is always a real pleasure to work with Deborah and Workwell and we look forward to working together in the future.”

Rhiannah Townley, Head of Workspace & Facilities Management, Aster Group