Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Manningham Council investing in its people

Manningham Council recently achieved certification to the Investors in People (IiP) standard. This means Council is taking its commitment of achieving maximum performance at every level of the organisation beyond its ongoing commitment to provide quality services that respond to its customers' needs.

Investors in People is a human resource framework which ties staff training and development activities directly to business objectives, ensuring that Council's resources are put to the most effective use.

The IiP standard was developed in the United Kingdom. Today more than 36 per cent of the country's workforce are employed by organisations that have IiP programs in place.

IiP is also an important feature of the British Government's Best Value model and compulsory for Local Government organisations across Britain.

Mayor Lionel Allemand said Manningham Council is the first Council in Australia to be certified by independent company NCS International.

"IiP standard certification was based on four key principles.

"First, we demonstrated a commitment to investing in people to achieve business goals," Councillor Allemand said.

"We needed to determine how to develop the skills of individuals to achieve these goals and we acted to develop and use necessary skills in a well defined and continuing program.

"Finally, our progress towards these goals was evaluated, as was the value we gained from the program and we were able to assess our future needs."

These principles now provide an important focus for Council's overall business planning and human resources management frameworks.

Councillor Allemand said the IiP program will bring considerable benefits to Council through, higher productivity and profitability, thereby reducing costs and wastage.

"The program will also assist to improve motivation and increase staff morale," the Mayor said. "We expect to improve staff retention rates and absenteeism as well as improve customer focus.

"Importantly, IiP will provide the opportunity to review current policies and practices against a recognised benchmark and it will give us a structured way to improve the effectiveness of training and development activities."

For further information contact Alicia Grogan-Jones, Corporate Development Manager, telephone (03) 9840 9333.

The following articles are also included in this edition or go BACK to the main page: