Wirral Council awarded Investors in People status

A presentation will take place later this month to mark a significant milestone in how Wirral Council communicates with and consults its staff. For the first time, the whole authority has been recognised as an Investor in People (IIP).

On March 26, Wirral’s Mayor, Cllr Peter Johnson, will officially present the IIP certificate to Phil Russell, one of the 127 members of staff who were interviewed by the assessors. 

Phil, who works as a project Support Officer for the One Stop Shops said: “I attended the interview with a colleague and we both found it to be a rewarding experience. Responding to the questions allowed us to ‘step back’ from our day to day roles and consider how we as individual employees communicate with our organisation.

“We probably take for granted many of the processes that are in place to allow communication and provide support and it was an opportunity to assess both the Council’s ability to exchange information and it’s willingness to encourage staff to develop and learn new skills.”

In the assessment, the Council was found to be performing well in many areas including;

·        The Council’s Induction process for new members of staff was found to be effective and consistently applied both at a corporate and departmental level

·        There is significant evidence to confirm that Council staff are not only encouraged to improve their own performance but also that of others

·        Council staff confirmed that they have opportunities to access a wide variety of learning and development opportunities

·        Employees feel valued and that their contributions are recognised

·        Employees feel that a positive and open relationship exists between individuals, various teams and Chief Officers

The report concludes that “the Council is clearly committed to the development of its people to improve performance” and that the Lead Assessor, who conducted many of the previous departmental assessments, “is impressed by the Organisation’s continued commitment to build on current good practice and further strengthen and improve its approach to people management and development.”

Wirral Council’s Chief Executive, Steve Maddox commented: “Although individual services within the Council have previously gained the Award, this is the first time that the whole Council has been awarded the Standard.

“I am hugely proud of this magnificent achievement. Our staff are the Council’s most important asset. This shows their commitment to continuously improving services for the people of Wirral.”

Ends

Press release issued: March 19 2007