Meet our Award winners: Lisa Wimborne of Jewish Blind & Disabled (Charity Employer of the Year)

We continue our interviews with each of the winners from our Work Avenue Business Awards by, this week, speaking to Lisa Wimborne, Chief Executive of Jewish Blind & Disabled.

Jewish Blind & Disabled was named Charity Employer of the Year at the Awards – winning in our brand-new category which celebrates the role communal charities have in creating employment opportunities and positive work environments.

Below Lisa speaks about JBD’s work, excellent staff retention rate and the support they have received from Work Avenue.

Can you tell us a little bit about Jewish Blind & Disabled and what you do?

Established over 55 years ago, Jewish Blind & Disabled transforms the lives of Jewish adults, aged 18 upwards, who have a physical disability and / or vision impairment through independent living and support.

This is provided through our specially adapted mobility apartments – located in one of our seven unique, supportive developments – in someone’s own home within the wider community, or as part of our growing community-based services.

Demand for our unique offering has significantly increased in recent years and we have ambitious plans to develop our housing and community-based services.

How many staff do you employ and in what different roles?

We employ a total of 60 people, many of them are front line staff.

Other roles include head office staff – covering finance, fundraising and marketing, HR, property, tenancy support and community engagement – maintenance operatives, minibus drivers, cleaners and our house managers, who provide 24/7 support to the tenants in each of our buildings.

How does Jewish Blind & Disabled support the professional development of its employees and why do you feel this is so important?

Our staff are our greatest asset. Training and other investment in their personal development generally ensures we retain them for longer as they have a greater sense of loyalty and feel valued.

Where possible we seek to train and promote from within the charity. We have several house managers who started their JBD employment as cleaners. They demonstrated they had the empathy, integrity and care that we look for in a house manager. The job itself we can teach them, but you can’t learn empathy… it comes from within.

What is the secret to your excellent staff retention rate of more than 95%?

We are a values-based organisation. We recruit to our values and have a clear framework of expected behaviours linked to those values.

When you work in an environment where everyone is signed up to the same standards it helps to create a connected, ambitious and dedicated workforce.

Also – as an independent charity that provides a flexible person-centred approach to the support we provide – it is very easy to see the impact of our work. Our tenants and clients we support in the wider community are often so grateful.

We have a team of empathetic managers who know when staff need support, and we do all we can to provide that whether a workplace challenge or a personal or family issue.

How did you feel when winning the Work Avenue Business Award?

We were delighted to win. This is the first award we have even entered for many years, probably since before Covid. We know we are a great team, but we are so focused on service delivery we had forgotten to seek recognition on a wider level.

Having had the award-winning feeling and the uplift everyone felt we will now find the time to enter more awards as we know the benefits a win brings to every member of the team and our charity too.

Why do you think Work Avenue is so important to the Jewish community?

Work Avenue have a unique offering within the community. The free support and advice available for not only job seekers, but also those starting and growing businesses, is a valuable service that has helped so many.

What support have you, as a large organisation, received from Work Avenue?

We always advertise our roles through Work Avenue on their Jobs Board, as well as via their Facebook and WhatsApp groups for jobseekers.

We have also used the service Work Avenue offers where freelancers, who are training with them, can be hired for ad-hoc paid work. We found it to be very professional and cost effective.

What would be your one tip for any other employers reading this?

If you want to increase your staff retention and satisfaction, then recruit people who have strong values and work ethic. They are more likely to respect each other, your clients or customers and help you build a better business.