The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on many people and organisations, and this has meant charities have sometimes had to make very difficult decisions.
Despite this, civil society has, where possible, been extraordinarily innovative and resilient in its response. New ways of working are springing up as charities learn lessons from the pandemic. Indeed, many organisations now offer their staff more flexibility around where they work – some choosing to work remotely, some in an office, and others taking a hybrid approach.
Ultimately, the pandemic has meant charities must make decisions on new ideas, and in some cases, decide whether or not they should share office space. Sense and Family Rights Group have spoken to Civil Society News and shared their reasons for adopting this way of working, as have Shelter and Become. The charities have emphasised the many benefits which come with this collaborative approach, such as sharing learning and reducing rent commitments.
Sense: ‘We’re proud to share our office space’
Richard Kramer, chief executive at Sense, noted adaptability, innovation, and collaboration were central to the resilience of UK charities in the face of the pandemic.
He explained: “We were guided by this as we planned our return to our main London office, committed to working differently to support staff and ultimately reach more families and people with complex disabilities.”
The Sense chief executive believes an “office environment helps shape organisational culture, supports staff wellbeing and creates lots of opportunities for collaboration”.
He said: “It was clear that staff enjoyed the benefits of working from home during the pandemic, but also yearned for the social interaction of face to face meetings in the office.”
Therefore, the charity made the decision to introduce a flexible work model that supports a blend of home and in-office work.
Sense also decided that ahead of the reopening of its main office, “we would redesign it, making it more accessible for our disabled colleagues and introducing new collaborative workspaces”.
Kramer said: “The result is a more dynamic and modern working environment for staff, which is hopefully a more inspiring place to work.”
He added: “Key to the redesign was being able to, for the first time, share our office with another charity.”
The chief executive said the decision has a number of perks, including the opportunity to collaborate, and also financial benefits.
He said: “We’re proud to share our office space Family Rights Group, as part of our wider ambition for greater collaboration and joint working within the sector.
“Aside from working alongside colleagues who do fantastic work and the opportunities it will present, this move also, crucially, makes financial sense, as we seek to keep our costs down and ensure our funds go towards delivering support.”
Family Rights Group: ‘We needed affordable premises that lent themselves to hybrid working’
Cathy Ashley, chief executive of Family Rights Group, explained the charity is a national but relatively small charity that works with families involved with children’s social care services.
She said: “At the start of the pandemic all our staff transitioned to working from home, and in summer 2021 we gave up our London-based office because it wasn’t conducive to safe working practices during the pandemic.”
Ashley explained Family Rights Group saved the money on rental expenditure but “knew that longer term, organisationally and for the wellbeing of our staff, we needed affordable premises that lent themselves to hybrid working”.
Family Rights Group started looking in early 2022, and Ashley said “the partnership with Sense was a perfect solution”.
“We were incredibly lucky because Sense was refurbishing their London building and had just the right amount of space to rent out to meet our needs.
“They have been incredibly generous in their approach, it is an accessible building and we were able to influence their adaptations, to ensure the space met our requirements including building a bespoke confidential room for our advice service,” the chief executive explained.
Ashley said the charity sees lots of benefits to being hosted by a larger charity with a different focus but similar ethos.
She explained: “We’re keen to learn from and work with Sense, particularly in addressing barriers facing parents, carers and children with complex disabilities.
“We think there’s multiple opportunities to explore, including running joint lunchtime learning sessions, and buddying up between staff in similar roles from the different organisations, and obviously we’re pleased our rental costs are going to a great cause.”
Become: 'There’s serious value in bigger charities supporting smaller ones'
Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, a national charity for children in care and young care leavers, also notes that post-pandemic many charities are using offices differently and need different solutions.
She said: “Leaving our rented office space last year enabled us to invest in our people and services – and so to do more for children and young people. We have staff all over the UK and remote working is strongly embedded, our people don't want to be in an office five days a week, but we still needed a space to connect and collaborate in a flexible way.”
Given that, the chief executive said Become are now very thankful to be able to use Shelter’s office for monthly all-staff Together Days, which has helped teams to bond and work together offline.
She added that for team members based in or near London, Shelter’s office at Old Street is available for hot desking.
Sacks-Jones concluded: “There’s serious value in bigger charities supporting smaller ones, and the opportunity with Shelter made perfect sense as our purposes and values align so closely. Shelter fights for all those whose lives are blighted by the loss of their home, and around quarter of homeless people are care-experienced. To be under the same roof, with opportunity for collaboration, advice, and inspiration, truly benefits us all.”
Shelter: 'We are exploring the option of sharing our Old Street office space'
Shelter are currently trialling this with two organisations, Become and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
Tim Gutteridge, director of strategy enablement at Shelter, said: “Shelter has adopted more flexible, hybrid working arrangements as a result of the pandemic, so not all of our people are in the office five days a week anymore. Our Old Street office is now set up as a really collaborative space where people can come to work together on projects and as teams, and also hot desk as and when they need to.
“As part of our new and more flexible ways of working, we are exploring the option of sharing our Old Street office space where capacity allows with smaller charities who are aligned to our charitable aims. This is allowing us to maximise the space we have available at no extra cost to Shelter, and help other organisations in their fight for social justice. We are currently trialling this with two organisations, Become and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, and so far it seems to be working well for everyone.”
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