Value for money
Our value for money strategy
One Manchester is a provider of housing and community services. We currently own and manage more than 12,000 homes in Manchester. However, our responsibilities go much further than providing homes. We look at the issues that go beyond housing and especially those that are specific to each of our communities. We help people manage their money, find work, set up businesses and stay healthy and well. In directing our attention to the needs of individual people – the very reason we exist – we aim to create places that will thrive and prosper.
Value for Money (VfM) sits at the heart of everything we do – striving to offer excellent value for money in the services we offer to our residents and customers. Our approach is outlined in our Value for Money Strategy and is driven by our Board who direct VfM through their business planning process. Board reviews and scrutinises the annual budget throughout the year and assesses the quality of service and the performance against that budget.
This is supported by a robust business plan that our Board has stress tested to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the business and is robust enough to take into account any emerging issues. One Manchester’s Board always makes business decisions with VfM in mind alongside the strategic aims of the organisation.
How your rent is spent
Your rent pays for more than just your home – it goes towards essential services like repairs, maintenance, and safety checks, as well as long-term investment in your homes, neighbourhoods, people and communities.
How we make sure you get value for money
Making sure our customers get value for money is at the core of everything we do. Your feedback helps us understand what you need and expect from us, and this guides how we get the very best from our resources to benefit our customers and communities. We work hard to use our resources efficiently, reduce unnecessary costs, and improve the services you receive.
As part of our Customer Voice Strategy, we're working closely with our customers to create services that truly meet your needs. Right now, we're focusing on improving our repairs service. These changes will help make the service more efficient, saving time and money, whilst making sure you continue to receive the best service possible from us.
How every £1 of rent is spent
The chart shows what every £1 of your rent is spent on. To give you the best value for your money, we focus on spending your rent as efficiently as possible, prioritising what matters most to you.
You can read more about the progress we’ve made against our priorities and how we’ve been working with you to make our services better in our latest annual report.
Value for money
Objective one: Create and embed a culture of VfM
We’re building a strong VfM culture by focusing on:
- Accountability in how we use One Manchester resources
- Continuous improvement in our services and processes
How we’ll do this We’re increasing the focus on VfM through the use of consistent and regular messaging at all levels of the organisation. Through regular communication, from leadership meetings to team discussions, we're reinforcing the importance of using resources efficiently. We’re also implementing a “check, plan, do” approach to stay agile and responsive, ensuring everyone understands their role in delivering value for money.
Objective two: Maximise returns from commercial activity
To make the most of our commercial activities, we’re focusing on:
- Running our operations efficiently and improving margins
- Building long-term partnerships that benefit our communities and customers
How we’ll do this
We aim to get the best value from our non-social housing activities while maintaining high service standards. By partnering with like-minded organisations and aligning with our Growth and External Funding strategies, we’re able to build more homes and deliver projects that fill service gaps, create new opportunities for our customers.
Our approach to procurement and contract management focuses on building strong, collaborative relationships with our supply chain helping us deliver both immediate and long-term benefits.
Objective three: Create transparency around value for money
To create transparency around VfM, we’re focusing on two key areas:
- Clearly reporting performance to customers, colleagues and stakeholders
- Tracking progress with meaningful KPIs
How we’ll do this
Each year, we publish VfM metrics in our financial statements, showing how we’re performing and where we can improve. Our leadership team reviews efficiency targets monthly, and managers and colleagues are be kept informed so everyone can see the impact of their work and feel proud of the difference they’re making.
