The Group’s purpose is to raise living standards for people, families and communities, keeping them safe and making the possibilities of tomorrow a reality today. Our business strategy encourages continuous improvement and sustainability in our chosen markets whilst embracing our passion for innovation and environmental, social and governance excellence.
Our key stakeholders are:
Our people – are offered a package of benefits for the roles they undertake. They see Kinovo as a place to grow and develop their career with.
- Increased Holiday Entitlement
- Share Incentive Plan
- Formal Appraisals
- Pay Reviews
- Career development pathways
Our clients – See us as a reliable partner, delivering a quality service along with value for money.
Our communities – we recruit staff members and source products and services locally, which helps us reinvest in local communities.
Our environment – provides everything we need and we must protect it, especially as natural resources have no voice.
Our suppliers – provide the materials and support needed by our workforce to deliver the services required by our clients. They must be seen as a partner and provider of innovative solutions and be valued accordingly.
Our shareholders – provide Kinovo with much-needed funding and investment to support the many valuable and ambitious initiatives within this document. They deserve a fair return for capital committed and to be a key part of our team.
Above all, Kinovo is a people-focused business, and our leadership team is committed to putting our stakeholders at the very core of how we operate. As a specialist property services group, we are only as good as our ability to meet the needs of our clients; that is what drives everything we do in terms of commitment to, and investment in, our own people.
A large part of the Group’s activities is centred upon what needs to be an open and respectful dialogue with employees, clients and other stakeholders. Therefore, sound ethical values and behaviours are crucial to the ability of the Group to successfully achieve its corporate objectives.
Transparency and accountability ensure that all the goals detailed in this Report are achieved as quickly and as safely as possible. Therein lies the power of positive and focused governance.
Leadership
Our Board comprises three non-executive directors and two Executive Directors, while our senior leadership team is designed to allow Kinovo’s three subsidiaries to work independently, while sharing centralised back office and team support, fostering collaboration through the bid process and a consistent high level of customer service delivery. All staff have clear lines of communication from the top down and bottom up as part of the Group’s governance and risk management structures.
ESG Committee
Our ESG Committee is comprised of our Non-Executive Chair, Sangita Shah as the ESG Chair, Lee Venables (Chief Operating Officer) and Kim Wright (non-Exec). The Committee meets twice yearly and has set KPIs to meet ESG goals around emissions, Social Value created and waste recycled. The ESG Committee reports to the Board, and this direct line of governance has informed the Group’s strategy around the three ‘R’s of Regulation, Regeneration and Renewables. In the next year, further KPIs will be determined, along with an increasing focus on engaging with our supply chain where the majority of our emissions are situated.
Our environmental aims are communicated to our employees regularly, and, in addition, our Environmental Policy ensures that all employees are trained and given appropriate guidance in its implementation. The Policy recognises that “our activities and environmental aspects have an effect and impact on the local, regional and global environment”, and the Directors and Management are committed to continuous improvements in environmental performance and the prevention of pollution, this is reinforced by our accreditation to ISO 14001:2015.
Business Ethics
We hold ourselves and our employees to the highest legal and ethical standards. We have policies on Customer Care, Anti- Bribery and Corruption, Whistleblowing and GDPR, all of which are approved at Board and then embedded in the culture of our Group. As the first of our strategic pillars – ‘R’ – Regulation – makes clear – our business involves both safety and regulatory compliance as an essential part of our business. In our work, our regulatory engineers carry out all the necessary compliance tests that are required by law to ensure that properties are kept safe and secure, including electric, gas, access control systems, ventilation systems, fire systems and water hygiene.
A full list of our policies and accreditations can be found on the following pages, but key among these are our Whistleblowing Policy, which details the arrangements for employees and contractors to confidentially raise any concerns about possible wrongdoings regarding financial reporting or other matter and our Anti-Bribery, Collusion and Corruption Policy. The Group is committed to the highest level of integrity and accountability and the Audit and Risk Committee is tasked with reviewing the Group’s procedures for detecting fraud and the Group’s systems and controls for the prevention of bribery.
Modern Slavery Policy
We are committed to driving out any acts or potential acts of modern-day slavery and human trafficking from within our own business and from within our supply chain, including sub-contractors, and partners. We will ensure transparency within the Group, our subsidiaries and our suppliers of goods and services. As part of our due diligence processes, the supplier approval process incorporates a review of the controls undertaken by the supplier before the supplier is added to our Preferred Supplier List (PSL). The Group and its subsidiaries will not support or deal with any business knowingly involved in slavery or human trafficking, and the Group’s directors and senior management take responsibility for implementing our Modern Slavery Policy and its objectives and will ensure adequate resources including training and investment are in place to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place. Our policy takes account of, and supports, the policies, procedures and requirements documented in Kinovo’s Integrated Management System which is compliant with the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
We place ESG considerations at the heart of our strategy and this year, for the first time, we have incorporated key sustainability risks that are linked to our environmental, social and wellbeing goals under the umbrella of strategic risks. Our Audit and Risk Committee has delegated responsibility for the oversight of the Group’s risk management and internal controls and procedures and for determining the adequacy and efficiency of internal control and risk management systems. In the highly regulated sector in which we work, we are proud of the accreditations which provide not only our licence to work but also the high standards we uphold.
Cyber security and GDPR
We are reliant on our IT infrastructure to be able to conduct our work. IT provides the platform for our contract management and business support activities and we are reliant on these systems to improve our operational efficiency and they provide the foundation for our administrative functions and financial reporting. The Group operates a centralised IT infrastructure and uses technology to communicate with residents and clients. Residents are demanding increasingly sophisticated and personalised communication channels to engage with their landlord and their repairs service provider to track and manage repair histories and to manage reactive repairs. Resident engagement and empowerment remains a high priority, as the sector strives to embrace digital inclusion, and so ensuring these systems are secure, current and available is a high priority for the Group.
As such we maintain robust IT security systems and policies to mitigate against systems failure and potential cyber-attacks. We have a Data Protection Policy, GDPR Data Protection Act Policy and an IT Security Policy and provide our employees with relevant training depending on role. We have Cyber Essentials Certification and have conducted IT upgrades this year to improve the customer journey including upgrading Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices for security and Cyber Essentials. We have daily IT systems and security checks and full security audits conducted annually and use open platforms such as MS Teams to ensure a high level of availability and accessibility including on-site PDAs.
We gained PAS 2030 accreditation to support clients executing fabric-first and energy efficiency projects, and we have installed a new telephone and reporting software that includes web chat to improve engagement with our residents and to improve efficiency.