Central Bedfordshire Council
Best innovation in smart working
Information
Our proactive, ‘grow our own’ approach provides in-house dedicated resource, training and support for trainees and existing staff. It allows quicker career progression alongside comprehensive training. The benefits of this have been reduced recruitment costs and a move away from the need to use temporary staff. When caseloads nationally are high, alongside resource issues within planning; our approach has kept them at a manageable level, helping with staff morale, wellbeing and retention. We have demonstrably improved performance in all areas and the multi-disciplinary approach of the academy with technical specialist trainees has contributed significantly to the improvements in performance.
Category
Best innovation in smart working
About Category
This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council- owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself.
Entries should focus on demonstrating how other councils could learn from, replicate or adapt the innovation for their own area and include the voice of staff within the submission.
This award is intended to highlight those councils daring to do things differently in the quest to deliver modern, efficient and responsive public services. This could include maximising the opportunities of new technology or redesigning services in partnership with users or adopting an asset based approach. However, introducing new ways of working into teams can be challenging and requires careful management.
This award seeks to recognise teams within councils that have successfully adopted new ways of working that have delivered significant benefits to service users and the workforce alike. It is open to teams within councils and partner organisations who have led innovation in smart working either across the whole organisation or in a specific service area.
Judges will be looking for evidence of increased efficiency, improved outcomes and a happy workforce. Entries should include details of:
Rationale for introducing the new ways of working
Objectives at the outset and whether they have been met or exceeded
Any obstacles to introduction and how they were overcome
Benefits of the new approach to staff, service users and the council
How the service was redesigned and what the outcomes were