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CHANGING LIVES:FRC Group’s Social Impact Report 2010/11
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Introduction
Methodology
FRC Group: The what and the how
People who matter
An overview of 2010/11
FRC Group Performance
Great for unemployed people
1. Salaried training programmes
2. Work placement programme
3. Working with offenders in prisons
Targets and priorities for 2011/12
Great for people living in poverty
1. Liverpool
2. Oldham
Targets and priorities for 2011/12
2011/2012 The year so far
Auditor’s assurance statement
Appendix
3
4
6
8
10
12
15
16
30
34
36
37
38
48
50
52
54
56
Contents
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INTRODUCTION
Our Impact Reports are a public
statement of how well we are doing
at achieving the social impacts that
we seek to create through our social
businesses. You can read about our
financial performance in our annual
accounts but this report focuses
on whether our social businesses
are hitting the mark in delivering the
positive social change that we want
to create for people living in poverty
and unemployment.
Faced with recession, high
unemployment, reducing household
spending power and the reality of
public sector cuts, has it ever been a
better time for social businesses and
charities to be transparent about the
impacts they create? This report is for
all of the people who matter to FRC
Group and to whom FRC Group
matters. We want you to be able to
clearly see how we are performing
against our aspirations.
How have we done?
This report tells the ‘warts and all’
story of how we have performed
against our mission statement “to
change the lives of people living in
poverty and unemployment”. You
will read about the training we have
provided for unemployed people,
the placement programme we are
developing to offer additional
opportunities and our work with
offenders, as well as the many
ways we support people with little
or no money to access the essential
furniture items they need to set up
a home.
My personal highlight is that this year
we have trained more people than
ever before and in more areas of FRC
Group. Our training programmes
have given opportunities to people
to change their futures and confound
expectations – often their own
and society’s.
Shaun Doran
Chief Executive Officer
Welcome Acknowledgements
Our warmest thanks to the people
who have played a part in producing
this report:
All the people who truly make FRC
Group a great place to work: the staff,
trainees, work placement participants
and volunteers including our Board
of Trustees.
All the people who collect and
analyse the data in the report,
particularly Sam Adams, Carol Cassidy,
Colin Davies, Helen Eversley-Gibson,
Tommy Fisher, Mick Hart, Helen Halpin,
Laura Squires, Sam Stanford and
Collette Williams.
Adrian Henriques of JustAssurance
who audited the report. Adrian’s
statement can be found on pages
54-55.
Amy Stokes and all at Brava Design
who designed the report.
Zoe Richards of Zoe Photography
who took the photographs.
Special thanks go to Verity Timmins,
FRC Group’s Impact Manager
who compiled the data and wrote
our Impact Report in August 2011.
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We met or surpassed the target
We made some progress but
still aim for more. For numerical
targets, this symbol indicates we
achieved at least 90% of the
performance target
We missed the mark and we will
try to improve our performance
METHODOLOGYFRC Group’s Impact Report is the culmination of data gathering that goes on throughout each year.
The timescale of our reports matches
the dates of our financial year, with
this report covering April 2010 to
March 2011. It brings together the
performance information we gather
throughout the year.
We collect qualitative and
quantitative information from all
parts of the organisation and we
engage with the people who matter
to us – our stakeholders. For a list
of the stakeholder consultation
that we carried out this year see
the Appendix, on pages 56-59.
This report has been written to give
a focus on the most significant
impacts that are created. In contrast
with reports from recent years, it is
a shorter document and seeks to
present the key statistics in a more
succinct and clear manner. The focus
of the report is on the social impacts
that FRC Group seeks to create
through its social businesses. On
pages 12 and 13 there is an overview
of FRC Group’s business performance
to provide a context to the impact
performance data.
The focus of the report is on our social
impact creation. We use a range of
quantitative and qualitative data to
describe the activities and impacts of
our work. The elements that we report
in each area are chosen because they
communicate the most important
features of the work. We report data
that shows the number of people that
have benefited from our organisations
work, the ways in which they have
been impacted and information from
stakeholders about their experiences.
In the past we have published the
outcomes of Social Return on
Investment analyses of some areas
of our social impact. Social Return
on Investment (SROI) is a tool that
FRC Group has been working with
since 2005 to give us a greater
understanding of the change created
by our programmes. FRC Group is
unlikely to publish the SROI ratios
from our work in its Impact Reports
in future. We are developing our
use of SROI to use it as part of our
performance management system
within the organisation by setting
‘social impact budget’ figures that
we can measure actual performance
against.
The report is published on FRC
Group’s website www.frcgroup.co.uk
which provides a lot of contextual
information about what we do. It is
also anticipated that this report could
be read alongside the 2009/10 report
if readers require more detailed
information about the activities that
are included in this report. The 2009/10
report is also available on our website.
How this report is produced
To indicate how the performance in this
report compares with our targets and
priorities for the year, these symbols
are used:
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Furniture Resource Centre Bulky Bob’s
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
Furniture Resource Centre delivers
a one-stop furnishing service for
a range of customers that provide
furnished accommodation for
people who are in need of furniture
to make their house into a home.
Our customers include social
housing providers, local authorities,
charities, private care homes and
construction companies. Delivering
to customers all around the UK,
Furniture Resource Centre provides
a seamless project management
service which furnishes homes
from carpets and curtains to
furniture and appliances, even
including cutlery, crockery and
bedding. The products supplied
through Furniture Resource Centre
are brand new, contract standard
items which furnish properties of
all shapes and sizes from individual
tenancies through to communal
living premises such as sheltered
accommodation units.
The businesses within FRC Group
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World is
our Liverpool store selling great
quality ‘pre-loved’ furniture and
appliances. We aim to reuse as
many of the items we collect
through Bulky Bob’s as possible.
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World is not
a typical second-hand shop. It is
a good quality retail environment
where people can get fantastic
value for money.
Bulky Bob’s is a collection, reuse
and recycling service for domestic
bulky household waste. Operating
contracts for local authorities, the
items we collect from householders
are predominantly furniture and
appliances that are no longer
wanted. The Bulky Bob’s model
maximises the volume of items that
are reused and recycled, to prevent
good quality items and useful
materials from going into landfill.
FRC GROUP: THE WHAT AND THE HOWFRC Group is a group of social businesses run by Furniture Resource Centre, a registered charity.
Mission statement
“To run businesses to create
profits and opportunities to improve
the lives of people in poverty and
unemployment.”
This is our starting point which
guides all of our activity and it keeps
us focused on what matters.
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What we do How we do it Our values
Great for people
FRC Group’s primary purpose is to
bring about a positive change to the
lives of people living in material poverty
and unemployment. We want to be
Great for People by creating training
and work placement opportunities for
people from long-term unemployment
and socially excluded groups, and by
getting good quality furniture to people
who need it.
The way FRC Group does business
is also important and we set aims
according to how the Group should
act. There are to be:
Great for the planet
by understanding the ways our
businesses impact on the environment
and managing our impacts to reduce
environmental harm.
A great place to work
by taking what our employees say
about working at FRC Group seriously
and creating an environment in which
people can develop their personal and
professional skills.
Great to do business with
by providing first class service to all
of our customers, asking for feedback
from suppliers and customers and
acting on what they tell us.
Our culture is crucial to delivering
positive social change and doing
business in the way we intend. FRC
Group’s values – Bravery, Creativity,
Passion and Professionalism – are our
beliefs in action. They are visible in the
behaviour of our people and how we
act as a business. We use our values
to attract, recruit and reward staff.
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PEOPLE WHO MATTEROur stakeholders are all the people who matter to FRC Group and the people that FRC Group matters to.
Our most important stakeholders are
those whose relationship with FRC
Group is linked to making a positive
change in the lives of people living in
poverty and unemployment. Our work
with these stakeholders brings about
the social impacts that link to our
mission statement.
Great for people
• Trainees – previously unemployed
people on our training programmes
• Work placement participants –
unemployed people with little or
no work experience, people with
disabilities or ex-offenders seeking
meaningful community activity
• Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
customers receiving discounts
– people in receipt of benefits,
pensioners, students, people
referred from other support
agencies
• People referred to Bulky Bob’s
Furniture World Liverpool and
Bulky Bob’s Oldham for free of
charge furniture in crisis situations
The impact we create
• Social support agencies – the
organisations that refer people
to take part in work placements
or shop at Bulky Bob’s or access
crisis furniture support
• The prisons we partner with
to provide training workshops
for offenders serving custodial
sentences
• The people who benefit from the
work of the furniture reuse charities
we work with – Bulky Bob’s has
relationships with other furniture
and appliance reusers to ensure
that as many of the reusable items
as possible are made available to
people who need them.
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We also have stakeholder groups that are more aligned with how we do business:
How we do business
Great for the planet
• People living locally to where FRC
Group operations are working –
general public affected by local
environmental impact from our
vehicles and building and our
operations and from our reuse
and recycling activities
• The global community and future
generations – we are all affected
by the global environmental impacts
of our business
A great place to work
• Staff – permanent employees
of FRC Group
• Trainees – people employed
on fixed term training contracts
• Work placement participants
– people working with us on
short-term unpaid work placements
• Volunteers – people working
in FRC Group on a long-term
voluntary basis
• Trustees – our Board members who
provide governance as volunteers
Great to do business with
• Furniture Resource Centre
customers who buy furniture
and related items from us
• The tenants who use the furniture
that is delivered by Furniture
Resource Centre
• Bulky Bob’s customers – the
local authorities that contract with
us to provide collection, reuse
and recycling services for furniture
and white goods
• The householders who receive
the Bulky Bob’s collection service
• Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
customers – all the people
who shop in Bulky Bob’s
Furniture World
• Bulky Bob’s Oldham furniture
customers – all the people
who buy ‘pre-loved’ furniture
from Bulky Bob’s
• Our suppliers – the companies who
supply us with goods and services
• The other furniture reuse charities
that Bulky Bob’s works with by
supplying them with reusable items
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AN OVERVIEW OF 2010/11
FRC Group is working to an
ambitious five-year growth plan that
will see the scale of social impacts
we create increase as a result of
growth of the social businesses we
run. For both Furniture Resource
Centre and Bulky Bob’s there are
exciting opportunities to increase
the operations we run, and 2010/11
is best characterised as a year
of investing resources to create
that growth.
This year we appointed a Sales
Director for Furniture Resource
Centre – a new senior post to
develop a larger sales team with
a more systematic approach to
increasing the customer base for
Furniture Resource Centre. The
new post was supported by
Impetus Trust as part of our
ongoing relationship with the
venture philanthropists. Impetus
Trust associates, OC&C Strategy
consultants, supported Furniture
Resource Centre this year with
invaluable analysis of the market
and growth potential for Furniture
Resource Centre. As well as
increasing the size of the team in
this year, we also introduced a new
customer relationship management
system to provide the best information
about opportunities and progress.
This year Furniture Resource Centre
made 4,983 deliveries of furniture
to customers that provide furnished
tenancies and communal living settings
(2010 5,409).
Investing for the future
Number of furniture deliveries to customers that provide furnished tenancies and shared living accommodation
09/10 5,409
10/11 4,983
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In Bulky Bob’s we employed an
Interim Manager, funded by the WRAP
ReAlliance programme, to increase the
amount of reuse and recycling that can
be achieved through our Bulky Bob’s
operations. The project successes
included increasing the range of
materials that are recycled, improving
the efficiency of the reuse and
recycling processes and managing
the installation of a new piece of
equipment to help manage the
residual waste. We installed a waste
compactor to make storage and
transport of waste more efficient and
reduce the fuel consumption related
to moving waste to the waste
transfer station.
Bulky Bob’s has continued to
increase the percentage of the waste
stream that it collects that is diverted
from landfill by our reuse and recycling
activities. Bulky Bob’s has delivered
a pattern of continuous improvement
by refining the processes it uses and
by innovating to find new ways of
working with the materials within the
waste stream. Bulky Bob’s operations
diverted 2,475 tonnes of furniture and
appliances from landfill through its
reuse and recycling activities.
Revive, our outlet for ‘pre-loved’
furniture, relocated to a bigger and
better store and was rebranded as
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World. This
has allowed us to invest in the look
of the store and to increase the range
of items that we sell. There is more
information about these changes on
page 38.
At FRC Group’s Liverpool head office,
we invested in a solar panel electricity
system which will produce positive
environmental and financial returns for
us for the next 25 years. Our “Powering
a sustainable future” project received
funding support from Low Carbon
Buildings Programme, Community
Sustainable Energy Programme,
Liverpool City Council and NWDA
Foundation as well as investment from
FRC Group. The 112 panel system
was installed in January 2011 and
we anticipate it will reduce our grid
electricity consumption by 24% in the
first full year of operation, reducing our
carbon emissions by almost 9 tonnes.
This year we were very proud to be
recognised as leaders in two of the
arenas FRC Group works in. In May,
Helen Halpin, Bulky Bob’s Regional
Operations Manager, was named the
MAN Everywoman in Logistics Woman
of the Year. This prestigious award
recognised her commitment and
expertise in leading the Bulky Bob’s
teams. Maxine Benson, Director of
Everywoman said “Helen is a huge
inspiration to other women wanting
to work or further their careers in the
industry.”
In June 2010, the first SE100, an index
of the leading social enterprises in the
UK was published. The index, created
by Society Media and supported by
RBS highlighted the top performers in
three categories – Growth, Impact and
Trailblazer. FRC Group was proud to be
named the first Impact Champion for
its work in creating and reporting social
impact. The judging panel said “The
team at FRC is using social reporting
with a commitment, confidence and
expertise that is an example to all on
how this should be”.
Number of tonnes of furniture and appliancesdiverted from landfill
2,475tonnes
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Year
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
Income
£7,490,451
£5,045,661
£4,758,731
£4,085,568
£3,449,274
£3,324,402
£3,623,922
£4,358,064
£5,177,396
£5,030,577
% income from grants
10.0%
4.0%
7.0%
7.0%
4.6%
4.2%
5.0%
4.4%
3.8%
7.7%
% income from sales
90.0%
96.0%
93.0%
93.0%
95.4%
95.8%
95.0%
95.6%
96.2%
92.3%
Unrestricted funds profit/(loss)*
£431,299
£28,265
(£11,124)
(£149,267)
(£205,024)
(£320,599)
(£159,881)
(£49,604)
£81,927
£73,902
Permanent Staff
Data not
available
78
94
81
71
69
68
62
66
57
Carbon footprint (CO2
equivalent emissions in tonnes)** Data not
available
Data not
available
280
319
307
298
300
322
344
307
* The unrestricted funds figure is used as it shows the year to year trends in operational performance
** Figures for previous years have been recalculated using the most up to date conversion data relating
to that year in accordance with the Defra guidelines
FRC GROUP PERFORMANCE
How we do social business
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Financial performance
After returning to making a profit in
2009/10, this year FRC Group has
again finished the year in profit. We
budgeted to make a small loss this
year but actually ended the year
returning a profit. For many years
we have monitored the proportion
of our annual turnover which comes
from grants rather than from our sales
income. This year the increased
percentage of income from grants
relates to a large grant funded capital
project – the installation of the solar
panel electricity system at FRC Group’s
head office – and the receipt of a
grant from Impetus Trust to support
the recruitment of Furniture Resource
Centre’s Sales Director.
Carbon footprint
FRC Group runs an environmental
management system to control its
environmental impacts. The most
significant issues defined in the
system are carbon footprint, waste
and recycling and the impacts
of Furniture Resource Centre’s
supply chain.
Our carbon footprint is calculated
based on the energy use from our
buildings (gas and electricity) and the
fuels used in our fleet of vehicles. We
use the standard carbon conversion
factors published by Defra in their
Environmental Reporting Guidelines.
There is a direct relationship between
the scale of commercial activities and
the carbon emissions that are created
as a result. This year our carbon
footprint reduced by 10% while our
sales were 3% lower than in 2009/10.
The solar panel renewable energy
system was only operational for
February and March 2011 so the
impact of this on our carbon footprint
for the reporting year is minimal. If we
had not had the solar panel system
installed we would have had a slightly
larger footprint of 308 tonnes.
Permanent staff members
FRC Group’s permanent staffing levels
have remained consistent in recent
years. In 2010/11, 14 people joined
FRC Group as permanent staff
members and 12 people left. This
compares with 11 starters and 7
leavers in 2009/10 and 6 starters and
7 leavers in 2008/09.
Exit interviews were carried out with
7 of the 12 leavers. These structured
conversations were held between
the leaver and someone other than
their direct manager. 2 of the 7
leavers interviewed gave their reason
for leaving as because they were
“Unhappy here”, with the others
leaving for better jobs, because they
wanted a change or for other reasons
such as relocation or retraining. All of
the interviewed leavers commented
on the great team of people at FRC
Group or on their personal satisfaction
in working for a company with social
objectives as well as commercial ones.
Health & safety
FRC Group’s Health & Safety
performance is important to all the
people who work in the organisation,
our customers and our suppliers. This
year we had a total of 63 accidents,
9 of which were RIDDOR reportable.
This compares with 55 accidents, 7
of which were RIDDOR reportable in
2009/10.
“This year our carbon footprint reduced by 10% while our sales were 3% lower than in 2009/10.”
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GREAT FOR UNEMPLOYED PEOPLEFRC Group seeks to change the lives of unemployed people by creating opportunities within our business activities. This chapter considers the ways we have given opportunities to unemployed people and what the outcomes have been:
Salaried training programmes
Work placement programme
Working with offenders in prisons
1
2
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SALARIED TRAINING PROGRAMMES
Since the mid-1990s FRC Group has
run salaried training programmes
that provide unemployed people with
the experience, qualifications, skills
and confidence necessary to make
a positive transition into mainstream
employment. Our main programme is
Driving Change, our logistics training
programme which prepares previously
long-term unemployed people for a
career as a professional driver. Since
the creation of the Future Jobs Fund
in 2009, FRC Group has expanded its
training provision to include additional
programmes in Warehouse training,
Retail training and Administration
training.
In 2010/11, FRC Group’s training
programmes were funded through
our contract with Department for Work
and Pensions under the Future Jobs
Fund. This source of funding will end
during 2011/12 and at that point we
will continue to deliver our Driving
Change programme which is FRC
Group’s flagship training programme.
The experience and learning from the
other training programmes that we
have run will not be lost and these
additional programmes may be run
again in the future when there is a
business requirement for growth
in staff numbers or where external
funding sources are available to
support the additional resources
required.
Training programmes are made up of
core elements that are common to all
our programmes and specialist training
relating to the different disciplines.
A step to future employment
1
AdministrationTraining
RetailTraining
Driving ChangeTraining
WarehouseTraining
Real on-the-job training: With real responsibilities
Transferable skills: First aid, health and safety, manual handling, environmental awareness, job search skills, equal opportunities, numeracy and literacy
Support: Dedicated support from People & Learning Team as well as Line Manager and on-the-job Mentors
Personal skills development: Communication, confidence, team working
FRC Group Training Programmes
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1. Driving Change training:
12 month programme working in Bulky Bob’s Liverpool, Warrington or Oldham
• Driver training: LGV Class II Theory test, LGV Class II Practical test, hazard
perception test, Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence, tachograph
training. These qualifications enable trainees to drive vehicles up to a
maximum weight of 12 tonnes.
• Loader training: Car theory test, car practical test.
• Choice of specialist training: Forklift truck licence - counterbalance and
reach, ADR licence (transporting hazardous goods), HIAB (loader crane).
2. Warehouse training:
6 month programme working in Bulky Bob’s Liverpool,
Oldham or Furniture Resource Centre
• Forklift Truck Licence - counterbalance and reach
3. Administration training:
6 month programme working in Furniture Resource Centre,
FRC Group People & Learning Team or Bulky Bob’s
• Information Technology certificate
4. Retail training:
6 month programme working in Revive Liverpool
• Retail Principles certificate
• Customer Care certificate
“This year we have trained more people than ever before and in more areas of FRC Group.”
Shaun Doran,
Chief Executive, FRC Group
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Number of people who took part in the training programmes
5409/10 6610/114508/09
Training programmes: impact in numbers
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Number of training programmes across the FRC Group
09/10
09/10
08/09
08/09
10/11
10/11
93 11Number of trainees who completed the programme
83%
81%
93%
83%
81%
93%
83%
81%
93%
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Training programmes: impact in numbers
33
Number of training positions available in 10/11
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Hours of training delivered = 1359
Overall percentage of all trainees who went into jobs, further education or training at the end of the programme
52%
4.2
4.5
4.2
09/10
08/09
10/11
Average number of qualifications
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Number of trainees who left this year
Number of people who went into a job
46
24
Training programmes: impact in numbers
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Driving Change trainees are 6 times more likely to find employment after completing the Driving Change programme than they were when they joined the programme.
09/10 10/11
Percentage of “Driving Change” completers who went into a job at the end of the programme
77%67%
23 of the 24 people who got jobs had completed their training programme
96% of those who went into jobs had completed the programme
Number of qualificationsgained
=
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Percentage of all completers who went into jobs, further education or training at the end of the programme
Training programmes: impact in numbers
71%67%
61%
08/09 09/10 10/11
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Number of people unemployed nationally against the percentage of trainees going into jobs, further training or education
Number of people unemployednationally (millions)
% of trainees going intojobs, further training or education
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
2008 2009 20100%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2011
This year we have trained more
people than ever before and in
a wider range of programmes. In
a very difficult employment market
we have supported 24 previously
unemployed people into jobs at the
end of their training programme. In
the most recent two years, a higher
percentage of people have gone into
a positive experience at the end of
the programme. This year, all of our
positive leavers went into a job rather
than into training or education.
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When trainees complete or leave
the programme, we carry out an exit
interview and then try to keep in touch
with them for the next 18-months to
find out how they are progressing.
For many years we have found it a
challenge to maintain contact with all
of our past trainees and it is inevitable
that some of them will not wish to
keep in touch when they move on
to the next stage of their lives.
The main approach has been to
send out paper surveys and offer
an incentive for their return, with
varying levels of success. A common
feature is that often our past trainees
move house or change their mobile
telephone number within the 18-month
period and we lose contact with them.
A new way of keeping in touch that
we will trial in 2011/12 is to see if
the continuity and ease of response
provided by social networking sites
such as Facebook could offer a better
solution.
During the training programme, all
trainees have a personal one-to-one
review every 6 weeks with the training
programme coordinator to discuss their
progress and any issues or queries
that may arise. These quotes are from
trainees who were on the programmes
this year:
About the programme:
“I have not had a job where so much
training is on offer which can only
benefit my future” Bulky Bob’s
Warehouse trainee
“It gets me out of the house and off
the streets it is a good company to
work for” Driving Change trainee
“Found it hard getting up early in the
morning and when you get home not
having much time left to do much”
Administration trainee
“Gaining my car license will open up
more opportunities for getting a job”
Driving Change trainee
“I found it quite challenging learning
new procedures in my admin role”
Administration trainee
“Good place to work and good
training” Driving Change trainee
In their own words
About their financial situation:
“I can clear my outstanding debts”
FRC Warehouse trainee
“I have been able to buy a car”
Driving Change trainee
“I am able to pay my way at home
now” Administration trainee (living
with parents)
“I am better off financially since I
started the job which has enabled me
to do home improvements and have
a holiday” Driving Change trainee
“I am better off financially since starting
my job which has enabled me to save
money” Driving Change trainee
About their personal development:
“I have learnt that I can gain
qualifications and pass exams I didn’t
have the confidence to believe in
myself before” Driving Change trainee
“It was hard at the start after
being unemployed for so long”
Administration trainee
“I now have the attitude to go out
and work” Driving Change trainee
“Can do anything if I set my mind to it”
Bulky Bob’s Warehouse trainee
“My home life is happier”
Administration trainee
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The top three things they got out of our training programmes are:
1. Qualifications including driving licences and fork lift truck licence
2. Increased experience
3. Better relationships with peers
This year we asked 30 past trainees for feedback and 8 of them completed
the surveys we sent to them:
Found employment within three months of leaving FRC Group
Said they work better in a team and can communicate better
since being on our training programmes
Said their quality of life is better, they are more motivated
and they have higher self-esteem
63%
88%
75%
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In the spotlight
Alan – Driving Change Programme
Alan completed the Driving Change
programme in October 2010. He
was an enthusiastic and highly
motivated trainee with a great
attendance record. As part of the
Driving Change programme he
passed the Large Goods Vehicle
Class 2 licence. Alan had such
a passion and commitment to a
career as a professional driver that
he decided to put himself through
the Class 1 licence, which allows
him to drive the largest vehicles.
He used some of his holiday
entitlement and paid for his Class
1 lessons and test. He passed first
time and started using his skills in a
temporary driving job for a company
called B&M Stores. They were
so impressed with his attitude
to work that he has now secured
a permanent job driving their Class
1 wagons all over the North West
delivering goods to their stores.
The facts and figures give an overall picture of how the trainees have done but people’s own
stories of their experience really brings to life the opportunity that our programmes can present.
Christine – Administration Trainee
Christine started in September
2010 on a 6-month administration
training programme working in FRC
Group’s Furniture Resource Centre
business. She made a great start,
throwing herself in to the training
and was our “Top Trainee” in her
first month on the programme.
Christine worked really hard and
showed great professionalism, and
when a permanent vacancy arose in
the Furniture Resource Centre Sales
Administration Team, she applied.
The competition was very tough
with 10 candidates interviewed for
2 vacancies. Christine gave an
excellent interview and secured
one of the positions, starting as
a permanent member of staff in
January 2011.
Liam – Administration Trainee February 2010 to October 2010
“Before I came to Bulky Bob’s I had
no confidence and no money and
just spent my days in bed. Working
at Bulky Bob’s has opened my
mind to a career in admin and it has
changed my confidence so much
that I am a different person now.
During my time at Bulky Bob’s I
was able to go on holiday for the
first time because I saved-up my
wages. I did my driving lessons
and driving test and passed first
time, and as I am registered
Disabled – I have a car. My life has
continued to change as I am now
working for 6 months at Oldham
Council’s Waste Management
Team in Moorhey Street with the
same Council contacts that I was
speaking with whilst at Bulky Bob’s.
Bulky Bob’s (is a) brilliant scheme,
and the company gave me the
ability to live life.”
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WORK PLACEMENT PROGRAMME An introduction to work
Structured training programmes
are not the only way that FRC
Group seeks to bring about positive
change in the lives of people living
in poverty and unemployment. For
a variety of reasons, a full-time
training programme is not always
the best entry for some unemployed
people back in to the world of work.
Some people are not ready for that
stage yet, perhaps because they
are coming from a background of
homelessness, substance abuse
or are coming from the criminal justice
system. For others, paid employment
is not the aim, but instead they wish to
participate in meaningful mainstream
activities – this is particularly true of
adults who are receiving social care
and support who wish to spend their
time in purposeful alternatives to the
traditional ‘day care centre model’.
Work Placements offer a chance
to gain some practical experience,
learn about workplace behaviour, try
out skills and work as part of a team.
These opportunities have been
developed gradually since 2006/07
when 8 people undertook placements
compared to the 51 people who took
part in a work placement at FRC
Group in 2010/11.
2Key stats
5409/10
5110/11
Number of people on work placements
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Number of hours of experience gained
7,000 hours09/10
3,904 hours10/11
Placements were offered in 5 areas of FRC Group
Social impact of placement opportunities
During this year, we did not have
systems in place to collect suitable
impact measurement information in a
consistent manner from the placement
participants or from the agencies that
referred them to work with us. This
gap in our information is addressed
in the planning for a more structured
placement programme that will be
launched in 2011/12.
We do have some feedback
information from participants and
referral partners:
“I have started a placement at
Bulky Bob’s about 4 weeks ago, I
have been taught how to do manual
handling lifting and moving goods and
electrical items, I have been working
with a team on recycling. I have been
learning about logistics and mapping
procedures. I am never late because
it is important to the team that I can
be relied on to be here on time and to
do my share of the work. I enjoy being
here at Bulky Bob’s because the
people I work with are helpful and
funny and good to work with, I am
treated like a grown up and expected
to do the work of a grown up. I have
learned how to help other people who
visit the centre, by showing them
round the warehouse and viewing
the furniture available. I have more
confidence now and what I have learnt
at Bulky Bob’s will definitely help me
find full time work.” KR, Placement at
Bulky Bob’s Oldham
“The quality of the placement is always
measured by the feedback and the
attendance of the learner - if a learner
doesn’t like a placement, they don’t
turn up. Simple! But, at Bulky Bobs I
can honestly say that I am yet to hear
anything other than glowing feedback
from the learners” Joshua Mangas,
Placement Officer, North Lancs
Training Group Ltd
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This year the placement offer
was reviewed and a more
structured programme was
developed to be put into
practice in 2011/12. The review
considered why, how and where
we should create placement
opportunities that offered
people a meaningful experience
without relying on voluntary
labour or compromising the
training programme and
employment opportunities that
we can also offer. We reviewed
our capacity and expertise in
working with people from a
range of different backgrounds
to ensure that we focus our
placement programme on
people we are best placed
to support.
Our Placement Programme manifesto
A structured approach for the future
This piece of work culminated in a set of recommendations that were approved
by FRC Group’s Board about how we would develop a structured placement
programme in the future. The key features of the Work Placement Programme
will be:
• A programme designed around the impacts that will be experienced by the
work placement participants, focusing on personal development as well as
preparation for employment in the future.
• A defined set of work placement opportunities with clear task descriptions.
• Placement tasks to be identified using set criteria to ensure that tasks provide
meaningful experience and skills but do use unpaid labour to carry out core
tasks that are essential to running the business.
• Reviewing referral partners to ensure work placement participants come
from the excluded groups that we are experienced in working with:
Long term unemployed people aged 18+
People with physical disabilities
People with learning disabilities
People with mild mental health issues
Ex-offenders
People serving a prison sentence
Participants will have support for personal development delivered
by a dedicated Placement Coordinator to be recruited into the People
& Learning Team
• Systematic collection of quantitative and qualitative data that will
demonstrate the impacts created by the placement programme.
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The primary consideration for
the development of FRC Group’s
Placement Programme is to find
the right balance between providing
meaningful opportunities that will
enhance the skills, confidence and
employability of the participants with
FRC Group’s commitment that we
will not exploit the free labour provided
by the participants.
From an ethical perspective FRC
Group is not comfortable to run its
business activities on voluntary labour.
We have identified work placement
opportunities where the tasks that
are carried out are things that are not
part of our core business operations.
However, we believe that there is
a strong link between the potential
success of work placement
participants in finding employment
and the type of experience they
gain during their placement. The
constant tension in our Placement
Programme will be in providing the
most meaningful experiences to the
participants without taking advantage
of their voluntary labour.
2011/12 will be a year of significant
development for the Work Placement
programme and in next year’s report
we will be able to give more and better
quality information about the impacts
that are created through the Work
Placements.
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WORKING WITH OFFENDERS IN PRISONS An opportunity to gain skills and qualifications
Prison workshops offer offenders
an opportunity to gain skills and
qualifications and provide a worthwhile
activity for people serving custodial
sentences. In 2009, FRC Group and
HMP Liverpool worked together to
set up the “Bulky Bob’s Upholstery
Workshop” in the prison, offering
prisoners an opportunity to gain skills
and experience in upholstery and
refurbishing products that would
not immediately meet the required
standard for Bulky Bob’s to sell them
on to low-income shoppers.
Prison workshops
3
5210/11
Number of prisoners who worked in the upholstery workshop between April 2010 and February 2011
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The majority of opportunities are for people to gain upholstery skills.
One or two places at a time are for general housekeeping in the workshop.
Our work with Liverpool Prison
resulted in a number of other prisons
contacting us to discuss potential
opportunities to work with their
prison workshops. These early stage
conversations are on-going with a
small number of prisons. Work with
HMP Styal women’s prison in
Manchester, has progressed very
well and a joint workshop will be
opening there in early 2011/12.
Partnering with the existing industrial
cleaning training course and the
painting and decorating training
course, a new space has been
identified in which the women can
not only gain accredited qualifications
in these disciplines but do this by
working on products that have been
collected by Bulky Bob’s across the
North West. The industrial cleaning
of soft furnishings and the repainting
of wooden items will greatly improve
the quality of the items Bulky Bob’s
can sell to low-income shoppers.
Working on real items and facing
different challenges with each piece
also provides a different dimension
to the training that is provided.
We are hopeful that we can also
develop opportunities to work with
the prisoners once their sentence
has finished and they return to the
community. This could be by offering
work experience placements to assist
with building skills and experience in
a more mainstream work environment
and also by working with the prisoners
to support them to develop
self-employment opportunities using
the skills they have gained in the
prison workshops.
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TARGETS AND PRIORITIES FOR 2011/12
15 training positions across FRC Group
65% of all leavers to go into a job or further training or education
30 people trained overall
75% of all those who complete the training programmes to go into a job or further training or education
60 people to undertake work placements
Increase the number of prison workshop places available
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GREAT FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTYFRC Group started life in 1988 as a local charity focusing on getting furniture to low-income families in Liverpool, families in need of the basic furniture items to improve the quality of their lives. Today our focus is the same but our social businesses do this on a larger scale and over a larger area. This chapter reports on how we are getting furniture to people in Liverpool and Oldham through our Bulky Bob’s operations and the levels of social impact that we are creating.
Liverpool
Oldham
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LIVERPOOLFrom Revive to Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
In last year’s report we identified the
link between our Bulky Bob’s service
in Liverpool and the Revive store.
These two operations are part of the
same chain of social value creation
with Revive selling and donating to
low-income families the ‘pre-loved’
furniture that is collected and
refurbished through Bulky Bob’s.
In 2010/11 we solidified this link by
relocating and rebranding the Revive
store as “Bulky Bob’s Furniture World”.
The site on which Revive stood
was scheduled for redevelopment
and relocating the store was an
appropriate time to rebrand it in
line with Bulky Bob’s. Our previous
approach had been to keep the
collection activity separate from
the sale and delivery of ‘pre-loved’
furniture by using two different
brand names – Bulky Bob’s for the
collections from householders and
Revive for the sale of furniture. When
the relocation created an opportunity
to review the name of the store, we
consulted with our customers about
changing the name and found that
it was not something that our
customers were concerned about,
particularly once we had reassured
them that the deliveries of furniture
bought in the store would not be done
in a vehicle marked Bulky Bob’s.
The Revive store had been located in
a bargain shopping area of Liverpool,
close to a number of discount furniture
retailers and with convenient public
transport access. We managed the
relocation to retain these advantages
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
The impacts we seek to create are that
our customers can furnish their home
quickly and get good value for money
by buying low-cost but high quality
‘pre-loved’ furniture rather than buying
expensive poor quality pieces from the
high street or going into debt through
expensive credit sources.
We want to provide a shopping
experience that de-stigmatises the
idea of ‘second-hand’ furniture by
giving great customer service in a
well-appointed and attractive retail
setting, in contrast to the typical
charity shop experience which
reduces people’s self-esteem.
by finding a suitable unit on the same
street. The new unit also has the
additional benefits of more window
display area and a more convenient,
slightly larger layout.
To relaunch the store we held a
community health and well being
themed event, offering people an
opportunity to come in and look at
the new store and to get involved in
activities such as massage, beauty
treatments, health MOT checks, advice
services and to see performances
such as Liverpool’s Town Cryer and
a performance from an older people’s
dance group. The day was well
attended and we spoke with the
visitors to gather their comments:
“…nice, more spacious…”
“…good, good bargains…”
“Very good, you can see what
you’re buying”
“Everything’s displayed better”
“Seems to be less space
– no downstairs”
“Prefer the old shop, not sure why,
maybe just don’t like change”
Creating social impact
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Creating social impact
Selling 'pre-loved' furniture at affordable prices: Bulky Bob’s Furniture World prices items to make them affordable to the shoppers we want to attract. While other charities may sell furniture to raise funds for their cause, our purpose is to make furniture available cheaply to people on limited incomes.
Selling low cost 'pre-loved' furniture to low income households at 10% discount: The majority of our sales are to people who receive a 10% discount off our standard prices. These are people who are in receipt of benefits, older people and students.
Working with referral agencies to give 20% discount and free delivery to customers in more need: A small number of customers come to us through referrals from social support organisations. These customers receive a free delivery as well as 20% discount.
Help-Shop giving access to advice and guidance services: Using a small meeting room, off the shop floor, Bulky Bob’s Furniture World has partnered with advice and guidance organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau, to offer space for them to hold drop in advice sessions for our customers, particularly around welfare rights issues, debt, employment and housing.
Crisis response for people in urgent need of basic items and no means to pay for them: People living in Liverpool City Council area who are in the most urgent need of basic furniture items and have no means of buying them are supported by our crisis intervention. Trusted referral agencies identify people who have no access to finance to buy the basic items they need. These customers are given a voucher to bring to the store listing the items they are able to get for free. Typical situations that would make someone eligible for a voucher include: a family fleeing domestic violence, a family living in unsuitable conditions for their children and a person or family who are offered an independent tenancy due to living in a hostel.
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Number of pre-loved furniture items sent to Bulky Bob’s Furniture World to be sold
7,26109/10
6,62510/11
Impact in numbers
Value to crisis customers of items donated
10/11 at full sales value09/10
£11,000 £15,329 £18,395
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Number of sales made to Bulky Bob’s Furniture World customers
3,152 09/10
3,125 10/11
164 hours of drop-in advice available through the Bulky Bob’s Furniture World Help Shop
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Number of agencies referring people in crisis situations
09/10
10/11
33agencies
232 people in crisis situations
10agencies
117 people in crisis situations
Impact in numbers
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Percentage of customers from low-income and non low-income families and the discounts they receive
70% of customers are from low-income households and receive 10% discount
All customers
3% of customers are referred by social support agencies and receive 20% discount and a free delivery
7% of customers are crisis referrals and receive 100% discount on basic items and a free delivery
20% of customers are from non low-incomehouseholds receiving no discount
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The focus this year was to consult
with the network of trusted referral
agencies who make referrals for
people in need of our crisis furniture
voucher. We carried out this
consultation in three ways:
1. A focus group was held with
representatives of 5 agencies
2. Surveys were completed by 16
representatives from 8 agencies
3. 9 of the recipients of support
completed a survey
From the survey with referral agencies,
we learned about the perception of the
furniture that is donated.
What our stakeholders tell us
What do you think of the furniturethat your clients receive?
Excellent
Good
OK
Poor
10/11
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“It has made our client’s life
more bearable in the first stages
of their support”
“Some of my clients have felt a
little upset... when they have gone
to pick their furniture... down to the
staff comments when showing them
what they can and can’t have... I
addressed the situation and the
misunderstanding was resolved”
“Knowing they have a sofa to sit on
or table to eat a meal on, it gives
them a degree of normality”
“This service is great without this
could you imagine the impact it
would have on some one who is
told to move into a property right
away with nothing”
“Approximately a year ago the
furniture was of a much better
standard and a great help”
“For some families they (crisis
vouchers) are the only thing that
enables them to move out of
the hostel”
“Freecycle can be good but there are
problems getting a van and driver”
“... (people) can focus on other things
because they’re not worried about
where the furniture is coming from”
“All our clients reiterate the same
experience they have had from staff
which is a positive one, friendly,
helpful and resourceful”
“Although the furniture is sometimes
a bit dirty I feel the service is
generally amazing and provides a life
line to many families that I work with.”
“I feel that the response time
from referral to receipt of voucher
is exceptional”
The feedback about the service from the focus group and the agency surveys was about the quality of
items and about the difference it makes to the people they work with and to them as support agencies:
“All feedback from our clients has
been positive”
“Makes my job easier to assist
our clients in reassuring them that
they will have a positive start in their
new home”
“A massive difference! Basically
without the vouchers they would have
no settee to sit on or a bed to lay in”
“My clients are on low income and
would not be able to afford the
furniture without going in to debt”
“Mattresses were sub-standard and
had to be replaced”
“It is an invaluable service that has
been helpful for me and especially
the young people I work with”
“They are able to settle into their
home in a better environment rather
than just bedding down in sleeping
bags and using the floor as furniture”
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We asked referral agencies to help us
with feedback from clients and trialled
a short survey to be completed after
they had received the furniture. The
response rate was very low – only
9 were returned. A paper survey,
completed after the event and relying
on a third party agency to get it done
all contributed but we didn’t want to
put the customers under pressure by
doing the survey in the store at the
point of sale.
What our stakeholders tell us
Crisis customer feedback
Excellent
What do you think of the furniture your clients receive?
What sort of servicedid you receive fromthe shop staff?
What sort of servicedid you receive fromthe delivery drivers?
0
2
4
6
8
10
1
3
5
7
9
Good
OK
Poor
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The furniture recipients also
gave some information about the
difference that having furniture
had made to their lives:
“I have a nice house: sleep in a bed”
“I have a house with furniture in
it for the first time in years”
“It made me a proper home”
“I had nothing when I moved from
NASS (National Asylum Seeker
Service) accommodation into a
private tenancy... I was very sad...
as it was bare but it made me feel
better when I got the furniture”
“It made a great difference to me
and my family we could eat family
meals together”
“I would have been lost without this
service as I would have had nothing
to sit on or even sleep on”
“This made my life a lot easier as
I have been through a lot with the
upset in my life and I am only 17”
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OLDHAM
In Oldham, Bulky Bob’s provides
‘pre-loved’ furniture directly to the
public by selling or donating it from
the Bulky Bob’s depot. The volume
of collections are fewer than in
Liverpool and so the number of
items made available is smaller too.
Customers can come and buy
furniture from the warehouse and
either collect the items themselves
or arrange a delivery from Bulky
Bob’s. Bulky Bob’s Oldham does not
categorise its customers in the same
way that Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
in Liverpool does. The circumstances
of how we sell and who we sell to are
quite different and we believe that all
of our customers in Oldham would
be classed as being low-income
shoppers.
Bulky Bob’s in Oldham
Some customers who are referred
through local organisations receive
additional support by having furniture
items donated to them. Either the
customer or the referral agency will
pay the delivery costs associated
with the donation.
This year there was a change of
personnel in the two key roles at Bulky
Bob’s Oldham and this affected the
consistency of data capturing systems.
We have robust information for the
latter seven months of the year but
have decided not to report information
from the first part of the year as the
data is not reliable.
A positive development this year
was that Oldham Council agreed
to let Bulky Bob’s make collections
from inside properties towards the
end of the year. We expect that this
development will improve the number
of items that are suitable for reuse by
allowing more pieces of furniture to
be protected from weather damage
that occurs when uncovered items
are left in gardens and alleys prior
to collection.
Bulky Bob’s main outlet for
‘pre-loved’ furniture in Oldham is
to sell and donate it to customers
straight from the warehouse at the
depot. The Oldham service is not as
large as the Liverpool operation and
less reusable furniture is available.
So far it has not been appropriate to
have a town centre store in the same
way that we do in Liverpool.
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Bulky Bob’s On The Road
To extend the reach we have into
the community, Bulky Bob’s held
a “Bulky Bob’s On The Road” sale.
These community events are held
in different areas of the town to
enable customers to have access
to great ‘pre-loved’ furniture.
Following the successful sale we
did in the Glodwick area of Oldham
last year, we ran another event in
the Derker area at the East Oldham
Methodist Church.
Approximately 40 people visited
the On The Road sale, 12 of them
bought a total of 43 items of
‘pre-loved’ furniture.
Partnering to increase reuse
In May Bulky Bob’s Oldham
established a partnership with Viridor
to collect reusable bulky items that
are dropped off by residents at the
Household Waste Recycling Centre
in Arkwright Street, Oldham. Bulky
Bob’s and Viridor worked together
to raise awareness with residents that
reusable furniture brought to the site
would be made available to people
in the community. The project was
originally a 6-month pilot and has now
been extended, providing access to
more furniture of a higher standard.
198September-March
Number of customers
Number of furniture items from September - March
605
GR
EA
T F
OR
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IVIN
G IN
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50
TARGETS AND PRIORITIES FOR 2011/12
3,300 customer sales in Bulky Bob’s Furniture World Liverpool
76% of these customer sales to be to people on low-incomes who receive 10% discount on standard prices
4% of these customer sales to be to people on low-incomes who receive 20% discount on standard prices
6% of these customer sales to be to people in crisis need who receive free of charge furniture items
360 customers to buy or receive furniture from Bulky Bob’s Oldham
GR
EA
T FO
R P
EO
PLE
LIVIN
G IN
PO
VE
RT
Y
51
2011
/201
2 T
HE
YE
AR
SO
FA
R
52
FRC Group’s commercial activities
through Bulky Bob’s and Furniture
Resource Centre are performing
well and meeting the targets in our
business plan which will see our social
impact creation reach a greater scale
as a result of the growth of our social
businesses.
Bulky Bob’s continues to perform to
a very high standard on its contracts
with Liverpool City Council, Oldham
Metropolitan Borough Council
and Warrington Council. Work is
progressing well towards an additional
Bulky Bob’s operation which should
be up and running in early 2012/13.
Bulky Bob’s has introduced a
new service to run alongside its
core business of collecting, reusing
and recycling bulky household waste
through local authority contracts.
An additional service is being
developed to reuse and recycle
waste for a wider range of customers.
We have established a pilot working
in partnership with Halton Council
to manage all of the bulky household
waste that is collected by their
in-house waste teams. Bulky Bob’s
had previously held a contract with
Halton to collect, reuse and recycle
bulky household waste from 2003
to 2006 but when Halton council
introduced an expensive charge for
residents, the number of collections
dropped to a level that was no longer
viable. We have retained excellent
relationships with Halton and this
new development will provide a
high level of reuse and recycling
for the small amounts of bulky waste
they now collect.
Furniture Resource Centre continues
to provide a great service to our
customers and the improvements
in the operational capacity and
systems that have been made in
recent years have been successfully
embedded to create an even better
operation. Furniture Resource Centre
has also invested in the sales
resources as part of our business
plan for growth. The infrastructure
of the sales team has been improved
with the introduction of a new
Customer Relationship Management
system and two additional Area Sales
Manager positions have been created.
An exciting development has been
to implement a new IT system across
FRC Group which brings both business
and environmental benefits. The
existing IT infrastructure at FRC Group
has been replaced by a ‘Cloud’ system,
bringing system efficiencies, superior
business continuity support and energy
use savings that come from a large
scale system. The system went live in
the summer of 2011 and in our 2011/12
report we will have more information
about the outcomes.
Our social businesses are the
‘means’ to FRC Group’s primary ‘end’
– making positive change happen in
the lives of people living in poverty
and unemployment. This year we are
focusing on developing a key area
of our impact agenda – our Work
Placement Programme. On pages
The year so far
32-33 of this report we outlined our
plans for this programme. To deliver
our commitment to a high quality
structured placement programme,
a new post “Placement Coordinator”
has been created in the People &
Learning Team. We have successfully
recruited a very experienced person
to develop and run the programme.
2011/2012
2011/2012 TH
E Y
EA
R S
O FA
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53
Being great for unemployed people
• 15 previously unemployed people
are on our “Driving Change”
programmes
• Work Placement Programme
Coordinator in post
• 11 people have been on work
placements so far
• Having completed our own Future
Jobs Fund work, FRC Group was
able to step in and support 4 people
whose Future Jobs Fund places
with other employers had failed.
We provided training places in the
Bulky Bob’s warehouse to enable
these people to complete their six
month programmes.
• A second workshop has been
opened creating more meaningful
training for offenders – this
workshop is at HMP Styal,
a women’s prison
Being great for people living
in poverty
• 1,410 people have bought great
quality ‘pre-loved’ furniture in
Oldham and Liverpool
• 197 people in crisis situations have
been provided with basic essential
furniture items free of charge
• The range and quality of furniture
available through Bulky Bob’s
Furniture World has been increased
and improved by the products
coming through the prison
workshops at HMP Liverpool
and HMP Styal
AU
DIT
OR
’S A
SS
UR
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TE
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54
Scope & objectives
FRC Group1 commissioned
justassurance2 to undertake
independent assurance of its
2010/11 Social Report (‘the Report’).
justassurance was paid £5,000 for
this work. justassurance has no other
relationships with FRC Group that
might compromise its independence.
The assurance process was conducted
in accordance with AA1000AS (2008).
We were engaged to provide Type 2
moderate3 assurance, covering:
• evaluation of adherence to the
AA1000APS (2008) principles
of inclusivity, materiality and
responsiveness (the Principles)
• the reliability of key performance
claims
We used the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI) Quality of Information Principles
as Criteria for evaluating performance
information.
Responsibilities of the directors of
FRC Group and of justassurance
The directors of FRC Group have sole
responsibility for the preparation of the
Report. Our statement represents our
independent opinion and is intended
to inform all FRC Group’s
stakeholders including management.
We adopt a balanced approach
towards all FRC Group stakeholders.
We were not involved in the
preparation of any part of the Report.
We have no other contract with FRC
Group and this is the eighth year that
we have provided assurance.
The work was performed by Adrian
Henriques4.
1 ‘FRC Group’ here refers to Furniture Resources Ltd.
2 ‘justassurance’ here refers to Just Assurance Network Ltd, trading as justassurance. Two
Tomorrows Group Limited provides assurance services to justassurance. Two Tomorrows
is a licensed AA1000AS assurance provider and oversees justassurance’s assurance work
using AA1000AS (2008).
3 There are two levels of assurance: High - where sufficient evidence has been obtained to
support a statement that the risk of our conclusion being in error is ‘very low but not zero’;
Moderate - where sufficient evidence has been obtained to support a statement that the risk
of our conclusion being in error is reduced, but not reduced to ‘very low’.
4 Further information about competencies can be found at www.twotomorrows.com
Our work was designed to gather
evidence with the objective of
providing assurance as defined in
AA1000AS (2008).
To prepare this statement, we reviewed
the scope of the Report, visited the
Atlantic Way site in Liverpool, assessed
areas of risk, interviewed management
and scrutinised underlying data and
documents, checked claims within the
Report, considered the efficacy of the
management systems and reviewed
the consistency of the Report with
supporting information. We provided
some feedback to FRC Group on
aspects of drafts of the Report and
where necessary, changes were made.
We are satisfied that we have been
allowed unhindered access to the
financial accounts, documentation and
reports covering FRC Group’s activities
and stakeholder engagements and to
its managers and staff.
Basis of our opinion
AUDITOR’S ASSURANCE STATEMENTFRC Group, 2011
AU
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OR
’S A
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55
The Report’s core focus is on areas
where FRC Group believes it can
‘create social value’: trainees and
placements, prisoners and those
in housing-related crisis.
On the basis of the work we
have done, we believe the Report
adequately represents FRC Group’s
stakeholder relationships, impacts
on its stakeholders and responses
to their concerns.
Without affecting our assurance
opinion we also provide the following
observations.
Inclusivity concerns the participation
of stakeholders in developing and
achieving an accountable and
strategic response to sustainability:
While the Report has identified and
consulted with FRC Group’s principal,
and more vulnerable, stakeholders
relating to its core focus, the level
of stakeholder engagement relevant
to other normal business activities
remains relatively low. There are also
plans for innovative approaches to
consulting ex-trainees in the future.
Material issues are those which are
necessary for stakeholders to make
informed judgments concerning FRC
Group and its impacts:
This year’s Report again deals in detail
with those stakeholders which are most
vulnerable and also central to FRC
Group’s mission. Other material issues,
including the environment, staff, and
the furniture business generally, receive
less attention. An area of impact and
risk on which the Report is silent is the
supply chain.
While no other significant issues are
omitted, the balance of the Report
would benefit from greater emphasis
on performance data from non-core
areas, and particularly from the
furniture business which comprises
a significant part of FRC Group’s
activities.
Findings & opinion Observations
In future the Report would also
benefit from an explicit statement of
FRC Group’s strategy for addressing
sustainability.
Responsiveness concerns the extent
to which an organisation responds to
stakeholder issues:
The overall number of trainees, for the
year of the Report, was greater than
for any previous year at FRC Group.
However given the economic climate,
it is perhaps not surprising that the
proportion securing jobs after training
was slightly lower than the previous
year.
Reasonable targets have been set
for the core areas of focus, although
targets for performance outside the
core area have not been stated.
Nevertheless actual performance in
a number of non-core areas, including
diversion from landfill and the social
and environmental impacts of furniture
sourcing, remains very good.
Just Assurance Network Ltd
London, September 2011
Adrian Henriques, Auditor,
justassurance, London;
September 2011
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56
Our stakeholders and how we consulted with them in 2010/11
APPENDIX Stakeholder engagement
Cre
atin
g s
oci
al im
pac
tH
ow
we
do
bus
ines
s
Gre
at f
or
peo
ple
Gre
at f
or
the
pla
net
Number of stakeholders consulted 66
9
8
No formal feedback collected
6
9
16 people from 8 agencies
5 people from 5 agencies
No formal feedback was
collected from the recipients
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
Total number
66
66
Confidential
51
c.3,000
231
Unknown
198
Unknown
52
Unknown
c.6.7 billion
Trainees: Previously unemployed people
Ex-trainees: People who have been on the
training programmes in the past
Work placement participants: Young people,
ex-offenders, homeless people, people with a history
of substance abuse, people with disabilities
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World customers receiving discounts: People in receipt of benefits, pensioners,
students, people referred from other support agencies
People in crisis: who receive essential furniture items
Staff from support agencies: referring people for crisis support
People referred to Bulky Bob’s Oldham: for free of
charge furniture in crisis situations
People who benefit from the work of the furniture reuse charities we work with
Prisoners: working in the Bulky Bob’s prison workshops
People living locally to where FRC Group operations are working: General public affected by local environmental
impact from our vehicles and building and our operations
and from our reuse and recycling activities
The global community and future generations: we are
all affected by the global environmental impacts of our
business
AP
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57
Number of stakeholders consulted 66
9
8
No formal feedback collected
6
9
16 people from 8 agencies
5 people from 5 agencies
No formal feedback was
collected from the recipients
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
How All have regular reviews (approximately every 6-8 weeks) and leavers have
leaving / exit interviews
Took part in a focus group as part of our social return on investment research
Took part in a survey by telephone or post
Comments were recorded at the Bulky Bob’s Furniture World launch day
Post-delivery satisfaction survey
Post-delivery satisfaction survey
Took part in a focus group
AP
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Our stakeholders and how we consulted with them in 2010/11
Ho
w w
e d
o b
usin
ess
Ho
w w
e d
o b
usin
ess
A g
reat
pla
ce t
o w
ork
Gre
at t
o d
o b
usin
ess
wit
h
Number of stakeholders consulted 57
1
6
Confidential
Formal feedback not collected
3
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
Informal feedback is gathered
in one-to-one meetings with
key suppliers
No formal feedback collected
Total number
57
1
6
Confidential
Total number
of tenants not
collated
3
84,000
c.3,000
198
Total number
of suppliers
not collated
Confidential
Staff: Permanent employees of FRC Group
Volunteers: People working in FRC Group on a long-term
voluntary basis
Trustees: Our Board members who provide governance
as volunteers
Furniture Resource Centre customers: the social housing
providers who buy furniture and related items from us
The tenants who receive and use the furniture supplied by Furniture Resource Centre Bulky Bob’s customers: the local authorities that contract
with us to provide collection, reuse and recycling services
for furniture and white goods
The householders who receive the collection service from Bulky Bob’s Bulky Bob’s Furniture World customers: all the
people who shop in Bulky Bob’s Furniture World
Bulky Bob’s Oldham furniture customers: all the
people who buy ‘pre-loved’ furniture from Bulky Bob’s
Our suppliers: the companies who supply us with
goods and services
Furniture reuse charities we work with to supply reusable items
AP
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59
Number of stakeholders consulted 57
1
6
Confidential
Formal feedback not collected
3
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
No formal feedback collected
Informal feedback is gathered
in one-to-one meetings with
key suppliers
No formal feedback collected
How Feedback gathered through staff performance appraisal “Look Both Ways”
which all staff completed
Included in the “Look Both Ways” process
Informal feedback collected throughout the year
Telephone surveys
Regular contract meetings
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