News
Scottish Award for Business Excellence Winners 2009-2010
Despite these austere times 25 Scottish organisations and several individuals were recognised for their achievement in pursuit of business excellence by Quality Scotland at their 17th Annual Scottish Awards for Business Excellence held at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow on 22 June 2010.
This year’s Scottish Award for Business Excellence went to West Lothian Council. With over 8000 staff West Lothian Council over the last 5 years has embedded the principles of EFQM in all its services including education, social work, housing, economic development and transport. There is an ethos throughout the council of serving the customer and a commitment to continually innovate to drive up customer service.
A number of special awards were also presented for Outstanding Customer Service sponsored by WOW!; Corporate Citizen Awards for Sustainability and Innovation sponsored by SBC (Scottish Business in the Community) and a People Development Award sponsored by Investors in People.
In addition special category awards for Ambassador for Excellence were given to, Angela Howarth of Edinburgh City Council and Rebecca Kelly of West Lothian Council, in recognition of their instrumental roles in implementing the Public Sector Improvement Framework (PSIF) and championing EFQM and Business Excellence within their own organisation and to others.
Winner of the Leadership Award was Peter Lederer OBE, CBE, Chairman of VisitScotland, President of the Institute of Hospitality and notably director of Gleneagles Hotel since 1987. Peter is a highly respected leader in the tourism and hospitality industry and committed to the pursuit of excellence in everything he does. Since joining Gleneagles, he has developed the hotel resort into one of the premier hotels in the world. Gleneagles is recognised as a leader in the hospitality industry in terms of service, training, marketing and innovation.
Peter Lederer OBE, CBE stated; "I was honoured and delighted to receive the 2010 Leadership Award. Quality Scotland has been close to my heart since the very first meeting all those years ago which make the award extra special."
Sir Andrew Cubie, CBE, FRSE and Chairman of Quality Scotland presided over the awards and acknowledged, “This year public, private and voluntary sectors alike have all had to tighten their belts and be more focussed with less resources. As we met the Chancellor was making his Emergency Budget statement heralding even greater challenge ahead for all of us. For many the Business Excellence model has provided a much needed framework for assessing and improving performance. In this severe economic climate Quality Scotland’s mission “to make excellence a national characteristic of Scotland” is even more pertinent since it is only through self-assessment, prioritisation and a commitment to improve continuously that organisations will become more resourceful and self reliant. In this context effective collaborations becomes even more valuable.”
For any media enquiries, please contact Anne Sutherland on 0131 556 2333. Please note that photographs are now available. For more information on who won awards, please click here.
Self-Assessment Online Learning
Quality Scotland will be launching an online version of its self-assessment course on 22nd June. This applies innovative methods of learning to the
subject of organisational self-assessment, as carried out against the framework of the 2010 EFQM Excellence Model. The online environment is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, at work or at home. The course supports both personal and collaborative methods of learning, allowing participants to share their ideas, to ask questions, and to build networks. As the resources are delivered entirely online, learners can work through the material at their own pace, and to a schedule which suits their working routine.
New! Click here to see the course for yourself by visiting our online learning demonstration site.
To find out more, or to express an interest in enrolling on the course, contact Rob Pickering on 0131 5562333, email: rob.pickering@qualityscotland.co.uk
East Dunbartonshire CVS Mentioned in the Scottish Parliament
East Dunbartonshire CVS were recently commended by the Parliament for their achievement of the European Framework for Quality Management Award for Committed to Excellence. EDCVS would like to thank David Whitton MSP for his support in this.
*S3M-6110 S David Whitton: East Dunbartonshire Council for voluntary Service – That the Parliament congratulates East Dunbartonshire Council for voluntary service for being the first in Scotland to gain Committed to Excellence Award through the European Framework for Quality Management CVS Pathway / SVA programme and commends all those involved in reaching such a unique such a unique milestone for the voluntary sector.
(For more information on this article please visit http://www.eastdunbartonshirecvs.org.uk/)
Chief Executive is set to retire after 45 years service
West Lothian Council's Chief Executive Alex Linkston (60) is set to retire later in the year after an astonishing 45 years committed service to the public sector and more than 20 years as Chief Executive.
Mr Linkston, who started working for West Lothian County Council when he was just 15 years old, is the longest serving Chief Executive of a local authority in Scotland.
Having only worked in public service in West Lothian Mr Linkston was the youngest council Chief Executive when he was appointed in January 1990.
Acknowledged as a leading light in public sector reform Mr Linkston has significant achievements under his belt. The most recent was the official opening of the West Lothian Civic Centre in 2009. The biggest public sector partnership of its kind in the UK.
The council was also awarded the accolade of UK Council of the Year in 2006 and became the first unitary local authority in the UK to be awarded a Charter Mark for the whole organisation in 2007. This was followed up in 2009 with a prestigious five star level (gold) in EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management). This achievement is awarded to organisations that can demonstrate high-performance and a commitment to providing excellent services.
Mr Linkston was awarded a CBE in the New Years Honours List in December 2007 and Quality Scotland's Leadership Award in the same year. This year he received the Princes' Trust accolade 'Volunteer of the Year'.
Mr Linkston said: "In September, I will have served the council for 45 years. After much deliberation, I have decided that this would be an appropriate time to retire as Chief Executive. This will be reported to a meeting of the Full Council on 27 April 2010.
"While I realise that this council, along with all other public sector bodies, will be in for a rough ride over the next few years. We have developed a very sound transformational strategy, which wil
