Member Article

Burnley Council scores Investors in People Gold

Burnley Council has won a top national honour for the way it develops its staff, securing an Investors in People (IIP) Gold award.

The Council scored 97% in the review last month - an achievement that puts the council in the top 3% of all IIP organisations, including major multi-national businesses, in Britain. It also places Burnley in a group of just four other Councils in the North of England to have achieved this prestigious status.

The major accolade is the result of three years of hard work and continuous improvement since the last IIP assessment. The council has also been given the Health and Wellbeing Good Practice Award from Investors in People which further marks their commitment to its 500-strong staff.

The Gold award represents achievement of world-class best practice. It highlights cutting-edge organisations operating at the very highest levels of people management practice, using Investors in People to drive the organisation forward.

Chief executive Steve Rumbelow said:

“This is a fantastic achievement for the council and a testimony to the hard work of its staff. The Gold award recognises the work we’ve done to develop our staff through training and support. Investing in our staff unlocks their potential and therefore helps to deliver better services to our residents. The fact that Burnley Council is recognised as being among the best in Britain for developing its staff is a reflection of their dedication and pride in their work serving local people.

“The overarching theme of the review was continuous improvement. There are areas we need to improve and we will be working hard to do that, while at the same time maintaining the extremely high standards we’ve achieved.”

Gina Cole, Organisational Development Officer for the Council added:

“At Burnley we really value the ethos of IiP as an organisational development tool. It enables us to plan for, and measure our continuous improvements in people practices. The stretching Gold framework has been both challenging and rewarding and we are delighted with our 97% success; a clear demonstration of our efforts and a reflection of the commitment from all organisational levels.

“We are fortunate enough to have a highly developed internal review team that contribute significantly to our feedback and action planning process. This allows us to regularly benchmark progress in between assessments and offering invaluable feedback to managers keeping them informed, engaged and involved.”

The council is assessed every three years. In 2009 it passed the standard assessment with flying colours and the decision was taken to undergo the higher-level extended framework assessment this time. An internal review team was established to lead the intensive process.

That process included interviews with around 80 staff from across the council and from all levels from directors downwards. It looked at a wide range of issues, including training and skills development, motivation, management, recruitment and decision-making. The assessment found the council met 190 of the 196 indicators.

Their Investors in People Specialist praised the council for its commitment to employee wellbeing and continuous organisational development. They also highlighted coaching in the council as one of the best they had seen in any organisation.

To find out more about Investors in People and how it can mean business for your organisation, click here to visit the idg website, official partner for Investors in People in the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by idg .