Dumfries and Galloway social landlord Loreburn Housing Association has been named Best Charity Employer at a major national recruitment awards for the second year in a row.

The s1jobs Recruitment Awards, which have been running for the past seven years, were presented by comedian and presenter Russell Kane at an event in Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza on April 19. The awards reward businesses and organisations who deliver a great candidate experience as well as an innovative approach to recruitment.

Loreburn Housing Association, which manages around 2,500 homes across Dumfries and Galloway and is building new homes every year, beat off stiff competition from fellow charity finalists Enable Scotland, The Butterfly Trust and Simon Community Scotland, which received a commendation, to take home the prize.

According to the judges, Loreburn’s victory was down to “placing employees at the heart of their business”.

Since her appointment three years ago, chief executive Lorraine Usher has brought in a major transformational change programme to Loreburn, which has seen it go from an organisation coming out of a period of regulation to one that has gained triple Investors in People Gold status and a cluster of award nominations. Lorraine Usher was also named as a finalist in the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Housing Heroes Awards 2017 in the Inspirational Leader category.

Some of the benefits Loreburn offers its employees include flexible working hours, career breaks and the opportunity to work from home when required. Its comprehensive staff health and wellbeing strategy includes private healthcare, fitness trackers for all employees, a lunchtime walking group, an after-work running club and occupational health support.

Chief executive Lorraine Usher said: “We are all delighted with this tremendous achievement. I know Loreburn is a great workplace, but to have that recognised nationally for the second time is a real bonus. I’d like to thank my entire team for helping us win this award, and the management committee for their continued support towards achieving our ambition to become the best performing housing association in Scotland.

“As part of our drive to deliver an amazing customer experience, we invest in staff development programmes with a special focus on management and future leaders. The results of that, along with the positive can-do culture within the organisation, make it a fantastic place to work.

“The wellbeing of our staff will always be a core objective for Loreburn. In 2017, our staff survey showed an 89% satisfaction rating with us as an employer. While this was a great result, we are hoping to use the feedback we received from our staff about how we can be an even better employer to aim for an even higher satisfaction rating in 2018.”

Read our Q&A with Lorraine Usher which formed part of our International Women’s Day feature.