Aim
Gentoo is a 25-year-old social housing organisation that provides homes to over 60,000 people. In 2024 Gentoo were awarded the highest rating for consumer standards – Grade C1 – indicating that the landlord is highly responsible and compliant with the regulator’s standards.
Alongside its dedication to customers, Gentoo was keen to ensure its goals and commitment to building ‘purposeful partnerships’ was reflected in its relationships with key stakeholders.
Work
Working in partnership with Gentoo’s CEO, Louise Bassett, and Director of Marketing and Communications, Lisa Graveling, it was decided that MMC Research’s proven framework of conducting qualitative stakeholder perception research would be effective.
This included design of a discussion guide to explore perceptions of leadership, values, goals, and the aspirations of stakeholders for Gentoo.
A personal invitation was sent to key stakeholders by Louise Bassett, followed up by MMC’s Qualitative Fieldwork Coordinator
MMC conducted confidential hour-long depth interviews with a mix of stakeholders including local authority contacts, political leaders, skills providers, suppliers and charities.
Output and taking it forward
The output was a themed analysis report commencing with an executive summary, followed by a breakdown of themes, supported by anonymous quotes.
Key to the work was the recommendations section within the report, critical to solidifying strong ‘purposeful partnerships’ built for the future.
What stood out to MMC on this project is how driven the executive board are to continually take the research forward. A workshop was conducted upon delivery for the report and regular catch ups have taken place to further explore elements of the research and introduce new initiatives.
A stakeholder newsletter is still going strong, as a result of stakeholders asking to receive more regular updates, and as Gentoo celebrates its 25 year anniversary, this research continues to be a living document informing how they continue to work with stakeholders every day.