23rd April 2007

Quantify illumines Cara Irish Housing Association's room for improvement

Cara, the national Irish provider of social housing and the one of five Irish housing associations in England, has received some highly valuable information about its performance - from its own employees.

Cara's 2007 Employee Satisfaction Survey - completed in February - was managed, for the first time, by organisational research specialist Quantify. Now that the results have been analysed, Cara has discovered some highly enlightening as well as encouraging results.

Cara's head of human resources, Patrick Walsh, said: "This survey was more comprehensive than any we have conducted before. It has exposed some communications issues that we will be addressing but, generally, we were pleased with the results of the survey."

Quantify's principal consultant, David Lusty, commented: "In almost every Employee Satisfaction Survey we conduct, employees are asking for more and better communication.

"The harder organisations appear to work at providing better communications, the more employees demand - so it seems you can almost never do enough to keep internal communications operating efficiently and effectively.

"Nonetheless, we're delighted to have been able to throw some light on important issues that will enable Cara to not only improve its performance as an employer but also offer its customers and clients a more effective, efficient and customer-friendly service."

Cara, founded 23 years ago and whose name means 'friend' in Irish, operates at a national level and contributes to the wider housing movement by supporting research, campaigning and policy development to ensure that ethnic minority issues remain high on the housing agenda.

Its core activity is to provide affordable housing and support primarily for Irish people. It manages nearly 400 homes in nine London boroughs as well as in Luton, Birmingham, Leicester and Coventry.

"Compared with the size of our 'average' client, Cara is a relatively small employer but, from the results of the Employee Satisfaction Survey, it would appear to be a well-run organisation and a good employer," said Quantify's Lusty.

End

Notes for Editors

About Cara

Cara is the national Irish provider of social housing and one of five Irish housing associations in England. Its core activity is to provide affordable housing and support primarily for Irish people. It manages nearly 400 homes in nine London boroughs as well as in Luton, Birmingham, Leicester and Coventry.

'Cara' means 'friend' in Irish. The Association was established in 1984 by the Irish community in London. Today it operates at a national level and contributes to the wider housing movement by supporting research, campaigning and policy development thus ensuring that ethnic minority issues remain high on the housing agenda.

About Quantify! Ltd

Operating an organisation successfully requires accurate, current and comprehensive management information on all the things that influence the success of the organisation - including how it feels to do business with it or be employed in it.

Quantify discovers this information through employee and customer satisfaction research, web-based or on paper, either in a standard or custom built format. Its services include:

• Employee satisfaction surveys

• Customer satisfaction surveys

• 360 degree feedback

• Internal customer satisfaction surveys

• Course assessments

• Leaver survey

• Quantify projects are designed and reported to provide clients with useful, accessible management information which can drive improvement, rather than just being 'nice to know'.

Quantify's founder and principal consultant, David Lusty MCIPD MMS(Dip) MIMC CMC, worked in local authorities for 11 years, in management services and latterly in personnel management. He joined Avis Rent a Car Ltd in 1978, and stayed 12 years, 10 as head of the UK personnel department. He was Director of Personnel and Management Services when he left Avis in 1990 and founded Quantify.

Governed by the codes of professional conduct of the Institute of Management Consultancy and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Quantify operates to the highest ethical and professional standards.

Further information from:

David Lusty, Quantify! Ltd: 020 8876 8680 / 07956 518070
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR: 01727 860405 / 07850 508209