Social Value – What We Do And What We Leave Behind

Accounting for the social value delivered through major property services contracts has an ever-higher profile. But while putting a value on activity and output helps to make comparisons between different organisations, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s the legacy that matters most.

If, years later, a community group can look at a facility and say, ‘Osborne helped us build that,’ or if people with successful careers and small businesses can say ‘Osborne helped me take my first step,’ we know we’ve created enduring value.

For every property services partnership, the legacy we aim to leave includes:

• A more prosperous local community with greater opportunities to access skilled, well-paid employment.
• More resilient local SME businesses with better processes and financial stability.
• Greater diversity and access to opportunities for all.

To build a positive legacy Osborne aims to encourage people from all backgrounds into the sector through engagement with schools and colleges. We also help them take their first career steps through work placements and apprenticeships.

Osborne also makes it a priority to recruit for new vacancies from the local community – at entry up to mid-management level.

Collaboration

Social value should be a collaborative process. We know that we can deliver more in partnership with third sector organisations than working by ourselves. These organisations are rooted in the community and are well placed to help us direct our engagement to where it will have the greatest and longest-lasting impact.

Across all of our partnerships we’ve improved community facilities and supported regeneration projects in collaboration with third sector organisations. This is achieved partly through added value delivery and partly through the paid time off we give to all staff to engage with community projects.

In one six month period we completed 153 community initiatives across the South East. During this time our staff donated nearly 300 hours of their time, improving 17 local facilities and benefitting thousands of local people. Osborne and our partners also donated £11,869 worth of materials.

All of these activities help to build a positive legacy that will outlive the current contracts. As a family-owned business, our legacy has always mattered.

For more information about Osborne’s approach to delivering lasting social value contact Jo Fletcher ([email protected]).