Lib Dem Council Wins Top Award for Investing in People (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Lib Dem Council Wins Top Award for Investing in People

February 17, 2004 12:00 AM

Islington's Liberal Democrat council has won a top award for investing in its staff to improve its business goals. 'Investors in People' is a national standard that sets out a level of good practice for people training and development. Islington Council has been recognised for its corporate-wide approach to staff development. It is rare for councils to win this award across the whole council rather than for individual services or departments. The assessors noted that much had happened since their previous visit and were impressed by the amount of work that had taken place to address the previously identified areas for improvement. Assessors found that more staff felt valued, more had been appraised and found it meaningful and people felt more listened to. Councillor George Allan (Liberal Democrat), Executive Member for Customer Focus, said: "The drive by the Liberal Democrats to improve Islington Council's services and overall performance cannot happen without our staff. That's why the Council has attached such importance to investing in our most valuable resource - our employees. "Getting 'Investors in People' across the council is recognition for the active support for staff development at Islington and for the Council's commitment to its workforce." Facts The 'Investors in People' standard was developed in 1990 by the National Training Task Force in partnership with leading national businesses, personnel, professional and employee organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD). Assessors made the following findings when they inspected Islington's staff development: - a genuine commitment by the Council to learning and development, backed up by the money to support it. - a strong improvement culture at individual team and corporate levels with the Audit Commission's 'Corporate Performance Assessment' acting as a key driver. - recognition of staff contributions and introduction of staff benefits. - a high staff understanding of the council's priorities and how they contribute to delivering them. - many excellent examples of management and leadership, from the top down. &nbsp