2008 Midlands Excellence Awards Brochure

The essential guide to this year’s awards ceremony, plus we shine the spotlight on our sponsors who reveal how excellence has helped them improve their performance.

Excellence Awards 2008/09

Entertainment sponsors

Ceremony sponsors

Chocolates for tonight’s event have been provided by CHOCAID.From each bar of Chocaid.com organic Fairtrade chocolate sold a proportion of the sale price is donated to Save the Children. So far Chocaid.com has donated £40,000 to the charity which has gone directly to projects in Northern Ethiopia including helping families set up sustainable businesses.

Chocaid.com products are ideal for corporate incentives and giveaways and are available online at www.chocaid.com

N E T W O R Kgroup holdings plc

group of companies

My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the twelfth Midlands Excellence awards gala dinner and our latest annual celebration of the inspirational successes achieved by excellent organisations. I am thrilled we have more than 1,200 business leaders here at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham and thank you for coming to our event. Tonight we are delighted to welcome James Caan an outstanding business man and achiever as our guest speaker.

I send all congratulations to our finalists and winners that have been thoroughly assessed and judged by Midlands Excellence. All the organisations recognised here tonight are exemplars of excellence in the enablers that create outstanding results and full details of these can be found by visiting our web site www.midlandsexcellence.org.uk. Our awards are highly prized and difficult to achieve due to the scope as well as rigour of the assessments performed by Midlands Excellence.

You will be pleased to know we have a number of medal winners from the recent Olympic Games with us who were either born or now live in the Midlands and these outstanding people will be recognised during the evening.

We are also recognising organisations that have achieved the Investors in Excellence (IiE) standard and this provides a framework for all types of businesses wanting to achieve better results. The IiE standard was created by Midlands Excellence several years ago and is now delivered by us not only across the United Kingdom but also in other countries.

We are enormously grateful for the vital work carried out by our dedicated team of volunteer assessors all of whom have received valuable

training from Midlands Excellence. Many of the assessors are with us this evening and these committed people are at the heart of our success. I send all thanks to the assessors and our distinguished panel of judges, chaired by Dr Roger Cliffe Director of Quality at Vodafone, for giving up their time to run the Midlands Excellence Awards.

In addition I pay tribute to the tremendous efforts made by the hard working staff and trustees of Midlands Excellence and its subsidiary Investors in Excellence who continue to make the important contributions that help our organisation to achieve success. I also send grateful thanks to all our terrific sponsors and supporters for providing the generous help that enables us to carry out our work.

As you know the country is in a recession and the effects of the downturn are being felt by everyone not just in the United Kingdom but also overseas. A strong commitment to achieve excellence is the best possible response in the current difficult economic climate and I urge you all to make it happen by striving to achieve the Investors in Excellence standard.

Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence are entering an exciting new phase that will enable us to provide more support across the region than ever before and I encourage all organisations here this evening to achieve greater prosperity by engaging in our activities. Please do therefore commit to become an Investor in Excellence and enter for a 2009 Midlands Excellence award so that you too can be a winner!

Alan Jones OBEChairman, Midlands Excellence

Chairman’s message

“ All the organisations recognised here tonight are exemplars of excellence.”

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StarterLemon chicken, roasted pine nuts, tabbouleh and red chard salad with sweet chilli sauce

A vegetarian alternative is also available

Main courseRoast sirloin of beef, Meaux mustard mash, roasted vegetables, spinach Yorkshire pudding, Merlot jus

Vegetarian alternative - Braised red capsicum, wild mushroom Parmesan risotto, balsamic baby onions and artichokes

DessertBramley apple tart and custard ice cream, caramel dressing

Coffee

WineSan Rafael Sauvignon Blanc

Hardys Riddle Shiraz Cabernet

Dinner Menu

Midlands Excellence Awards 2008/094

Host Kay Alexander, BBC Midlands

Investors in Excellence recognitions

The finalists of the 2008/09 Midlands Excellence Awards

Address Alan Jones OBE, Chairman Midlands Excellence

Address Ian Nield, Chief Executive Midlands Excellence

Ambassadors of Excellence Awards

Grace Reverend (Squadron Leader) Kevin M Hart RAF

Dinner (see menu opposite)

The Midlands Excellence Special Category Awards Innovation, Lean Efficiency & Sustainability

Loyal Toast Paul Sabapathy CBE, Lord Lieutenant of the County of West Midlands

The Midlands Excellence Award Winners Public sector

Guest speaker James Caan

The Midlands Excellence Award Winners Private sector

Ceremony close

Disco Dragon Leisure

Ceremony programme

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About our awardsOur main awards are highly-prized because we only present them to truly excellent organisations. Winners and finalists are required to prove their all-round performance in nine key areas ranging from customer and people satisfaction to leadership, processes and impact on society.

Every entrant has to compile a detailed submission providing evidence of their activities and results against a blueprint for excellence - the framework of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. All submissions are rigorously assessed by independent teams that have been specially trained by Midlands Excellence. Our assessors are usually managers from a variety of organisations across the region.

Each of our assessment teams uses the Excellence Model framework to highlight strengths, identify opportunities for improvement and decide a score. The results of the assessors’ work, which includes a site visit, is provided in a comprehensive feedback report. This ensures that every organisation benefits from entering, not just the finalists and winners chosen by our awards jury.

The main categories are for...Large companies with 251 or more employeesMedium-sized companies with 51-250 employeesSmall companies with up to 50 employeesPublic and voluntary sector organisations with 251 or more employeesPublic and voluntary sector organisations with up to 250 employeesOperational units of larger companies

Our new special category awards...Introduced in 2008, there has been a fantastic response to these new awards which recognise excellence in the specific areas of innovation, sustainability and lean efficiency.

Designed to be easy to enter, submissions are no more than five sides of A4 and structured around the Excellence principles of a sound approach, good use of resources, appropriate assessment and review and positive results. Shortlisted organisations make an additional presentation to a panel of experts and all entrants receive feedback to help them improve.

For further information on entering next year’s main awards or special category awards please complete the form at the back of this brochure.

Our finalists

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Advantage West Midlands

Birmingham City Council Legal & Democratic Services

Dyke Yaxley

Manufacturing Advisory Service - West Midlands

pi financial ltd

Protocol Consultancy Services

Siemens Metering Services

Staffordshire Police - Trent Valley Division

The Hanley Economic Building Society

Trent & Dove Housing

Special category awards finalists

Innovation:

• Alumet Systems (UK)

• Birmingham City Council

• Pertemps People Development Group

• RBS Insurance

• Stormsaver

Sustainability:

• 3663 First for Foodservice Birmingham Depot

• Concentric Haldex

• G4S GCHQ

• JS Seddon

• Lincolnshire NHS Shared Services

• Service Birmingham

Lean Efficiency:

• Cressall Resistors

• Doncasters Aerospace

• Instarmac

• RE Cooke

• The Community Housing Group

Congratulations to all those whose excellence is recognised here tonight. Good luck and good fortune for the future.James Caan, Guest Speaker

Unprecedented timesThis is a comment used increasingly to describe the challenging economic conditions we all face today. How are you responding?

Are you approaching the future with great optimism, cautious hope or absolute dread? Is your organisation in tip-top condition to meet its challenges and seize present & future opportunities? How do you know? Who can you trust to support you through these challenging times?

A message from the Chief Executive

Ian Nield

These issues are at the heart of Excellence and underpin our activities which help organisations identify opportunities, deliver sustainable improvement and recognise success. We very much want to be your trusted improvement partner.

Passionate about improvement, we are now better placed than ever before to support you, having established Investors in Excellence Limited as a trading subsidiary of the Midlands Excellence charity. In 2008 we engaged with over 750 organisations across more than 30 sectors.

In response to customer feedback, 2009 sees further enhancements to our support provision.

• Our IiE on line tool to drive improved performance, which is launched this evening

• A focus on efficiency and waste reduction which has already seen significant short term return on investment for participating organisations

• Practical knowledge sharing through our expanded workshops, networks and web content

• Certification of individuals involved in improvement activity

• An assessment and certification service for organisations seeking to achieve the Training Quality Standard

(Further details of all these developments can be found on subsequent pages.)

Recognising success will remain a priority for us and our annual awards ceremony will be central to this. It is a great privilege to be able to recognise so many fantastic individuals and organisations this evening and this would not have been possible without the tremendous professionalism, passion and dedication of:

• the inspirational Midlands Excellence team and our hugely supportive board

• the army of volunteer assessors and their sponsoring organisations

• all award entrants and organisations that are involved in the Investors in Excellence programme

• the event sponsors and the key sponsors of Midlands Excellence

Finally, sincere thanks to each and every one of you for attending this event and for tangibly demonstrating your commitment to excellence and support for each other which will help us all maximise future opportunities.

“ Our activities help organisations identify opportunities, deliver sustainable improvement and recognise success. We very much want to be your trusted improvement partner.”

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About assessor trainingEach year we offer individuals the opportunity to complete our training and go on to assess an organisation taking part in the Midlands Excellence Awards or Investors in Excellence programmes.

Assessors come from all types of organisations. No previous knowledge is required – just an interest in improvement.

Our training is highly regarded and an ideal means of establishing the skills to drive excellence within your own organisation. Every assessment includes a site visit that brings the submission to life.

Recognition by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) also makes the training a great way of achieving Continuous Professional Development. All individuals who complete the programme receive an ILM certificate.

Please contact us for further details or complete and return the tear-out fax back information form at the back of this brochure.

Becoming a Midlands Excellence assessor is a superb way to develop leadership and management skills – and gain valuable insights into how excellent organisations operate.

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Jo Postle 3663 First for Foodservice - Birmingham Depot

Kim Morris 3663 First for Foodservice - Birmingham Depot

Dennis Keegan 3663 First for Foodservice - Birmingham Depot

Eric Witham AcclaroLogic

Bashir Ahmed Advantage West Midlands

Phillip Cornwall Applied Logic

Andrea Cross Babcock Defence Services

Erin Simpson Birmingham City Council - Legal & Democratic

Shakil Ahmed Birmingham City Council

Paul Tarrant Bombardier Transportation Services

Carol Probyn Carol Probyn Consultancy Services

Alan Shaw Carshaw Management & Quality Services

David Cattermoul Chartered Institue of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA)

Kate Holloway The Community Housing Group

Colin Smith Coventry City Council - Workforce Development

Ross Firth Defence Estates

Emily Baker Derwent Living

Denise McCormack DMC Consultants

Andy Bard E.ON UK

Rachel Price ESOS

Emma Chapman ESOS

Nick Parr Finning (UK)

Anna Jennison-Phillips Gloucestershire Constabulary

Steve Gillett Gloucestershire Constabulary

Louise Gill Gloucestershire Constabulary

John Clay-Davies Gloucestershire Constabulary

Leighanne James Gloucestershire Highways

Bryan Mann GSL UK

Jo Charnock Investors in Excellence

Fiona Hawkins Kineton High School

Joy Bayliss Learning & Skills Council - Birmingham & Solihull

Larry Pugh LGP Consultancy

Tony Duckett Longden

Gordon Gray MBDA UK

Jill Thorpe Metric Products

Leary Williams Morgan Est Plc

Gail Hall Morgan Est Plc

Casey Fleming Morgan Est Plc

Mark Frost Morgan Est Plc

Christine Pearson North Warwickshire & Hinckley College

Mark McCappin Optima Infrastructure Management

Melvin Atkins Optima Infrastructure Management

Philip Brown Pattonair

Sue Tipton Protocol Consultancy Services

Rebecca Marshall Rabjohns

Brian Ham Renasence Business Support

Sharon Rowe Rentokil Initial Integrated Services

Mari Wojtylo Royal Bank of Scotland - Document Solutions

Ash Wiltshire Royal Bank of Scotland - Document Solutions

Matthew Hardy Royal Bank of Scotland - Document Solutions

Kevin Richards Royal Bank of Scotland - Insurance Claims

Sue Tilley Service Birmingham

Bob Carter Service Birmingham

Susan Hattersley Siemens Metering Services

Nick Howe Staffordshire Police - Chase Division

Carol Smythe Staffordshire Police - Headquarters

Alison Trenery Staffordshire Probation Service

John Beckwith Staffordshire Probation Service

David Scrimshire TEC Concepts

David Bull TEC Concepts

Christine Anson Truflo Marine

Faye Davis Walker Thompson

Victoria Cook Warwick District Council

Russell Hargreaves Wentworth Consulting Group

Nicky Hope West Bromwich Building Society

Kath Arthur West Bromwich Building Society

Bob Hughes WH Smith & Sons (Tools)

Gemma Mundy Worcester Community Housing

Kelly Hibbert Worcester Community Housing

Beverley Woodhead The Wrekin Housing Trust

Morag Bailey The Wrekin Housing Trust

Sandra Johnson XL-Coaching

Celia Huxtable

Paul Goodstadt

Janet Bogyor

Jose Bruce

Midlands Excellence Assessors 2008

Training Quality StandardThe Training Quality Standard is designed to recognise and celebrate the best organisations delivering training and development solutions to employers.

Based on its assessment expertise, Midlands Excellence’s subsidiary Investors in Excellence has been granted a national licence by the Learning and Skills Council to assess and certificate organisations against the Standard.

The Standard offers a quality mark that can be recognised by employers as a sign that a provider will offer them training and development solutions that positively impact on their business needs. Employers with internal training departments can also seek to achieve the Standard.

For providers of training and development solutions to employers, the Standard is more than a one-off hurdle - it also offers a means of inspiring continuous quality improvement.

The Training Quality Standard provides an assessment framework which sets out a series of criteria and indicators for assessing organisations’ quality and capability. These are set out in two parts:

• Part A looks at an organisation’s customer service process to explore how well it understands and responds to employers’ needs. All organisations seeking certification must be assessed against Part A.

• Part B looks at any specialist sector areas an organisation might seek to develop expert products and services for to explore how well it understands and responds to the specific market area.

At this evening’s ceremony we are pleased to recognise two high-profile employers to have been recently certificated – Rolls-Royce UK Apprentice Training and Premier League Learning. We also congratulate one of our finalists, Protocol Consultancy Services, on its recent success in achieving the Standard.

For further information please go to the main Training Quality Standard website at www.trainingqualitystandard.co.uk.

Investors in Excellence has its own site at www.tqsassessment.com You can also email us at [email protected] or call 01675 460997

Introducing the...

The Investors in Excellence Standard

The Investors in Excellence (IiE) Standard is a UK programme designed to guide any organisation to new heights of performance and help it meet the expectations of its customers and stakeholders.

IiE enables organisations to see the bigger picture as all key performance areas - including the way people and customers are managed - are linked together in a standard of all-round excellence.

Hundreds of organisations are taking part, ranging from leading blue-chip businesses to small companies and public sector organisations. Working towards the IiE Standard enables organisations to identify opportunities to improve and then prioritise a plan to deliver these in a structured, co-ordinated and cost-effective way. The programme also provides a valuable external perspective on how your organisation is performing.

Other benefits include:

• With its broad scope, IiE complements and adds value to other programmes such as Investors in People, Charter Mark and the ISO standards, including 9001 and 14001

• It’s non prescriptive, enabling any organisation or division to progress in a way that suits it

• An improved understanding of your organisation and how to best achieve the results that matter

• The availability of wide-ranging support from Investors in Excellence, our partners and other organisations on their excellence journey and help to benchmark effectively

Now available on-linePerformance improvement is now at your fingertips thanks to our pioneering IiE on-line tool which is launched today.

The invaluable resource helps organisations co-ordinate and drive their improvement activity to become recognised as an Investor in Excellence.

The user-friendly tool offers help, guidance and insights into good practice at every step and enables users to monitor progress on their improvement journey. Organisations have their own secure section which can be accessed 24/7 by users from anywhere in the world.

Begin your journey to excellence by emailing [email protected] or complete and return the faxback form at the back of this brochure.

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Our networks have improvement coveredMidlands Excellence runs highly successful networks to spread awareness of a wide range of hot topics relating to performance improvement.

Anyone can join the FREE networks which hold a series of best practice events in both the West and East Midlands. These usually last for two hours and take place in venues across the region, often at the premises of leading businesses. Our West Midlands Excellence Network is generously supported by Advantage West Midlands.

Hot topicsRecent event topics have included winning bids, the art of selling, increasing efficiency and stress-free productivity.

Expert presentersExperts in their fields, the presenters are often from Midlands organisations with a success story to share.

Great venuesPrevious venues have including RAF Cosford, HMP Hewell Grange, DHL Aviation Hub and the Birmingham depot of 3663 First for Foodservice.

This year will see the networks develop to become Communities of Practice with a growing on-line forum for sharing ideas and best practice.

To check the latest events and developments please go to www.midlandsexcellence.org.uk. You can also be added to our mailing list by emailing your details to [email protected]

14 Midlands Excellence Awards 2008/09

Did you know that Midlands Excellence also offers a range of practical and proven solutions to enable organisations to improve performance, work smarter, reduce errors, cut waste and save money?

As well as offering established approaches such as Lean, Six Sigma and Business Excellence, our support can also help organisations map processes, implement change or set up a Balanced Scorecard.

By focusing on key areas, our delivery experts enable organisations to identify opportunities that will have maximum impact and lead to bottom line returns.

Midlands Excellence’s not-for-profit subsidiary Investors in Excellence has supported a wide range of organisations, providing an average return on investment of more than 10:1. Recent successes have been in logistics, housing, manufacturing and professional services where we’ve worked with many well-known UK and regional businesses.

We’ve helped organisations to save hundreds of thousands of pounds by tackling process waste and to become leaner and more customer-focused in the way they operate. Other benefits from our programmes have included increased service levels, improved communication and greater involvement of senior management.

The underpinning aim of our Lean and efficiency programmes is to equip organisations with the knowledge and skills to continue to use the tools and techniques without external support.

CertificationFor individuals involved in improvement activity we provide a range of training and certification including Six Sigma green belt and black belt certification.

For further information on any of our performance solutions please email [email protected] or complete and return the form at the back of this brochure.

“ Investors in Excellence has supported a wide range of organisations, providing an average return on investment of more than 10:1.”

Performance solutions that make a difference!

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www.advantagewm.co.uk

Tell us about your organisationAdvantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency (RDA) for the West Midlands. We are one of nine RDAs in England that were established by Government in 1999 to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development and regeneration. The main aim of RDAs is to work with partners to improve competitiveness in their regions and reduce the imbalance that exists within and between regions.

Advantage West Midlands’ key task is to provide leadership for the development and delivery of ‘Connecting to Success’, the West Midlands Economic Strategy, which provides the framework for our region’s economic growth.

Why is excellence important to your organisation? How have you engaged with Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence?Our Vision is ‘To be recognised as excellent in all we do’, and we are using the Excellence Model as the tool to help us achieve this. It helps us to identify opportunities to make further improvements in our performance, and then prioritise and deliver them in a structured way. We are committed to entering the Midlands Excellence Awards every year, as the feedback we receive helps us measure the extent of our ongoing improvement. It also helps us identify areas where further improvements can be made.

We were delighted to achieve the Investors in Excellence Standard in 2007 at the first attempt. We are also proud sponsors of the Midlands Excellence Awards as this is consistent with our aim to help businesses improve their performance.

We would strongly recommend using the Model, and the support available from Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence, to any organisation seeking to improve its performance.

What benefits have you seen?Our use of the Model has helped us to make measurable improvements in our performance, which have been reflected in our results. For example, we have streamlined our project processes, which led to a reduction in the time taken to appraise project funding applications, and developed an on-line project tracking system so our partners can track progress of their funding applications. We have also made improvements to the way we communicate with our stakeholders and partners and keep them informed about our work. These and other improvements we have made have resulted in a significant increase in the level of positive feedback in our annual stakeholder and partner survey over the last three years. However we are not complacent and know that there is scope to make further improvements in our performance.

Advantage West Midlandsby Mick Laverty, Chief Executive

Sponsor profile:

www.bieinterim.co.uk

Tell us about your organisation Founded in 1996, BIE is the UK’s number one provider of senior-level interim managers. Our expertise is our in-depth knowledge of, and access to, an available pool of proven senior-level interim managers. BIE’s extensive cross-industry and across all functions experience has enabled it to successfully deliver thousands of assignments across the UK and international markets.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?BIE is a pioneer of Interim Management in the UK and views improving standards in the industry as key in enhancing the professional standing and acceptance of the sector. Excellence to BIE means a thorough understanding of our clients’ requirements and knowing our pool of interim managers well enough to enable high-quality assignments.

What do you do to improve performance? BIE aims to always exceed expectations. We measure our performance through an industry-leading level of repeat business. We also constantly review our talent pool of interim managers to enable frequent benchmarking of standards.

What benefits have you seen?BIE enjoys a significant level of repeat business and recommendations. Initially a client might use a few suppliers. Once BIE has delivered it is very common that clients then continue to work exclusively with us.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?Maintaining and enhancing of the BIE team following the retirement of the founder, Martin Wood, and the establishment of a well-structured and market-leading management team. 2009 will be a year of change and transition and we shall continue to promote the benefits of Interim Management in this market.

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BIE Interim Executiveby Nick Diprose, Managing Director

Sponsor profile:

Tell us about your organisation Business Link in the West Midlands provides a single access point for high quality and impartial business, skills and manufacturing support.

The organisation specialises in providing advice and guidance to anyone who is thinking of starting a business and established companies looking to tackle problems and make the most of opportunities.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?Excellence is at the heart of everything Business Link does, from understanding and responding to the needs of clients, to working with partners in tackling economic challenges, such as the credit crunch.

It is on course to become the best business support organisation in the UK and a commitment to excellence will be essential in reducing the productivity gap and creating a thriving entrepreneurial base for the West Midlands.

What do you do to improve performance? How have you engaged with Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence?Business Link is committed to the EFQM Model and is working under the frameworks of Investors in Excellence to continuously improve staff and organisational performance.

In addition to this, Business Link has implemented a number of new internal operating processes this year and introduced a new ‘excellence’ standard for all of its expert advisers.

What benefits have you seen? By combining the EFQM with other processes, such as ISO 9001 and internal continuous improvement systems, Business Link has been able to offer accessible, high quality business support and ensure strong levels of customer satisfaction.

It has also given the organisation the ability to quickly tailor its approach and respond effectively to the changing needs of the business community.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?

• Business Link in the West Midlands surpassed the targets set by Advantage West Midlands, assisting 67,000 companies and individuals in 2007/08.

• The organisation was the first in the UK to set up a dedicated credit crunch hotline and a 90-strong series of regional advice workshops.

• In 2009, Business Link is committed to achieving the Investors in Excellence Standard and providing business support that has a positive bottom line impact on companies in the West Midlands.

www.businesslinkwm.co.uk

Business Link West Midlandsby Alison J. White, Chief Executive Officer

Sponsor profile:

Tell us about your organisation Integrated fm is one of the UK’s leading providers of software and other optimised solutions for facilities and estates managers. The company’s success is the result of a focus on understanding and addressing customers’ needs and delivering business-focused, tailored solutions that add real value to the customer organisation.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?Excellence and the values it engenders are at the core of our business, informing all of our processes as well as the company culture and operating philosophy. The focus on measurement and understanding helps us to achieve continuous improvement in all areas of the business.

What do you do to improve performance? How have you engaged with Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence?In understanding our business processes better we are able to fine-tune them to achieve ongoing improvements. This has been facilitated by our active involvement with the organisation. We are an Investor in Excellence and my role as an Ambassador

for Excellence and my recent appointment on the Board of Directors at IiE has helped us to share our experiences and to learn from the experiences of others.

What benefits have you seen?Benefits have been evident in all areas of the business, from overall performance through to the ways we support and encourage our staff. A commitment to Excellence has also helped to increase efficiency and leverage the core skills inherent within the company.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?2008 has been characterised by the development of innovative new products that address real needs within our customer base. Looking ahead, these products will enable us to help customers drive cost out of their own businesses during a period of challenging economic conditions.

www.integratedfm.com

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Integrated fmby Steve Dingley, Managing Director

Sponsor profile:

Why excellence is important to usExcellence is a key business driver and it is recognised that in a competitive world, where price is increasingly a factor, the customer will spend where service provided is accurate and value for money.

Our engagement with Midlands Excellence and Investors in ExcellenceESOS carries the organistion’s flag by adopting a steady approach to our engagement with excellence, perfecting one department’s involvement before moving onto the next. By the end of 2009 it is anticipated that all departments will have achieved Investors in Excellence recognition and be planning for an awards submission.

The benefits of this engagementThere is a heightened awareness throughout the organisations about how excellence in

all aspects of our work and relationships enhances the services we provide which, in turn, increases the bottom line. Our branding – ‘Outsourcing a fresh approach’ is based on the Excellence Model.

Highlights of 2008 and looking into 2009Our Investor in Excellence Award has directly affected our customer base during 2008 as we have experienced a 60 per cent increase in customers whilst retaining our existing base. Our inter-departmental relationships have improved too and we look to build on this during 2009 by rolling out our experiences to all departments.

Pertemps specialise in complete recruitment solutions for a broad client base covering many industries including corporate, manufacturing and logistics. We are specialists in providing both temporary, permanent and contract resource in a variety of skill sets. Network Group Holdings Plc demerged from the Pertemps Group in 2004 and is a specialist niche recruitment and outsourcing operation. ESOS is an outsourcing company within the Network Group which provides all front and back office services for both Network and Pertemps as well as many other UK based organisations.

N E T W O R Kgroup holdings plc

group of companies

www.esos.co.ukwww.pertemps.co.uk

Pertempsby Tim Watts – CEO Network Group and founder of the Pertemps group of companies.

Sponsor profile:

www.pwc.co.uk

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Tell us about your organisationPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP aims to be recognised as the UK’s leading professional services firm; bringing real value to our clients, investing in our people and supporting our local communities. With more than 16,000 staff in offices around the UK we are able to draw on the knowledge and skills of our people and of colleagues in our global network of firms. Our Midlands practice is extremely diverse and has over 2,000 staff in offices in the West, East and South of the region (covering areas as wide as Stoke to Luton and Worcester to Lincoln). This provides a broad business perspective and enables us to work with clients of all sizes and from both the public and private sector.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?Delivering excellence, through the quality of our people, the work we deliver and the experience we offer to clients, is a key priority for our business. Our ambition is to be the iconic professional services firm. In striving to achieve this we are focused on doing the right thing for our clients, our people and our communities.

What do you do to improve performance?Our firm is a dynamic organisation, a fact reflected in our willingness to invest for the long term, particularly in people. Bright, committed people remain the lifeblood of our business. Consequently, we are determined

to continue to provide them with outstanding career opportunities that allow each person to fulfil their potential.

What benefits have you seen?We have worked with Midlands Excellence for a number of years, each year we donate over 2,000 hours of graduate time to placements sourced by Midlands Excellence with SMEs and public sector organisations working on a wide range of projects. The graduates benefit from very different experiences which shape their knowledge and skills.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?While 2008 has brought a more challenging economic climate, our business is robust and we are proud of a number of achievements. Being voted the UK’s top graduate employer for a fifth year, welcoming over 2,500 new staff across our UK offices and completing our second year of carbon neutrality are just three examples.

Looking ahead, the focus is certainly on excellent client service and growth, so that PwC is well positioned for the upturn. We are maintaining the levels of investment in our business and remain committed to standing shoulder to shoulder with our clients through these uncertain times.

PricewaterhouseCoopersby Andy Lyon, Partner, Assurance

Sponsor profile:

www.rmgroup.co.uk

Tell us about your organisationWe are one of the leading independent vehicle servicing and repair specialists in the Midlands, covering all makes and sizes of cars, vans and trucks.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?Excellence is the basis of what we do, and underpins all of our services - from safety Kitemarked accident repairs to transport rental and delivery solutions for all sizes of company.

What do you do to improve performance? How have you engaged with Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence?Continuous review of processes and customer requirements are undertaken to ensure the products we provide are what are needed by our clients. We have embraced excellence programmes and are an Investor in Excellence.

What benefits have you seen?Improved relationships with both customers and suppliers are visible across all of our services and are consistently provided across our five sites in the Midlands. This protection of our business leads to enhanced people satisfaction with our staff.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?Beginning of our accident repair ‘lean excellence’ programme and gaining a Kitemark for repair at all sites. Our goal is to grow efficiently and prudently in the coming year.

Richmond Motors Groupby Ray Bradnock, Managing Director

Sponsor profile:

www.3663.co.uk

Tell us about your organisation3663 are the UK’s leading foodservice distributor, delivering quality ambient, frozen, fresh, chilled foods and equipment and non foods to the catering industry. We provide an industry-leading service to approximately 60,000 customers through a network of 31 depots. The customers include national catering groups, public sector organisations, large private sector customers and smaller local independent businesses.

Why is excellence important to your organisation?At 3663 we aim to be First for Foodservice. Our First for Service Total Quality Management Programme defines our culture and is our vehicle to drive towards business excellence. We have developed a First for Service culture enabling us to better ‘value and develop our people’, improve our customer satisfaction and involve everybody in the improvement of our results.

What do you do to improve performance? How have you engaged with Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence?The Birmingham depot has been engaged with Midlands Excellence for the last five years. We have achieved great success in the awards process, winning the 2007 Midlands Excellence Award for an operational unit after being highly commended in 2006. 3663 sponsors the awards ceremony and have hosted

a number of Midlands Excellence events at our state-of-the-art depot. The depot also achieved the Investor in Excellence Standard in 2006.

What benefits have you seen?Our commitment to excellence has seen sustained improvements in profit, customer satisfaction and people satisfaction. Birmingham depot have an unrivalled reputation in the company and in the marketplace and are a national award-winning organisation having won the 2008 BQF Achievement Award for People Satisfaction. 3663 Birmingham and its people epitomise what it means to be First for Service.

Highlights of 2008? Aims for 2009?One hundred and eighty people work at the Birmingham depot providing a food supply service across an ambient, chilled and frozen product range and all temperatures can be delivered in one consolidated process. Our aim for 2009 is to continue to strive for excellence in a very demanding marketplace and challenging economy. We will do this by continuing to satisfy our customers, involving our people and continually improving our processes.

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3663 First for Foodserviceby Martin Holmes, Director of Quality

Sponsor profile:

This is the eighth year that Dragon Leisure has entertained guests at the Midlands Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Founded more than 20 years ago by Managing Director John Harper, Dragon has established an enviable reputation in providing corporate entertainment and audio visual services across the UK.

Thousands more have enjoyed Dragon’s music at discos run on behalf of radio stations such as Heart, Galaxy and Kerrang! John has run the Heart roadshow for more than six years.

At the heart of Dragon’s success is a passion for perfect service and sound. “We always aim to go that extra mile”, explained John. “If we are providing audio visual equipment we know the client’s reputation is at risk and we can’t afford to put a foot wrong. We take the same approach if we’re running a disco and we’ve got a knack of knowing exactly what the crowds are going to dance to!”

Glowing feedback from a string of high-profile clients - including BUPA, KPMG, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and PricewaterhouseCoopers - shows that Dragon are true to their promise. Whatever the event, Dragon’s customers benefit from the very best equipment and sound thanks to a long-established partnership with US audio giants, Shure and QSC Audio.

The tables have now been turned with John benefiting from Midlands Excellence’s advice and tools to help him further expand and strengthen his business. Dragon’s long association with excellence is certainly set to continue. In the meantime, enjoy tonight’s disco!

Tonight’s pre-dinner entertainment is provided by multi-talented 12-year-old Richard Jones.

A pupil at Bridgnorth Endowed School in Shropshire, Richard has been playing the saxophone for around two-and-a-half years.

He was inspired to take up the sax by one of the American Pie films that featured a saxophone solo. His first public appearance was in May 2008. Since then he’s been hailed as a highly-accomplished performer.

A soloist in the musical world, Richard is a team player when it comes to the other love of his life – football. He has been a goalkeeper at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC since the age of eight. Currently in his fifth season for the club, he is now a member of the under 13 squad. He recently combined both passions in performing at Wolves’ annual academy dinner attended by first team players and manager Mick McCarthy.

Dragon scales the musical heights

Saxophonist – Richard Jones

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1. I would like my organisation to take part in:c The Investors in Excellence Standard

c The Midlands Excellence Awards

c The Midlands Excellence Special Category Award for (please select below):

c Innovation c Sustainability c Lean Efficiency

2. Your organisation

Organisation Name

Address

County Post Code

Tel No. Fax No.

Email

3. Contact details

Name Job Title

Tel No. Email

4. Size of your organisation

Number of full-time equivalent employees

Number of sites

5. Nature of your business

6. Signature of director or authorising officer

Signature Date

Name Job Title

To help our planning, please return this form as soon as possible.

Application for 2009/2010Do you want to become an Investor in Excellence? Do you want to take part in next year’s awards? If so, simply fill in the form below and fax it back to 01675 460472

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c Becoming an Investor in Excellence

c Entering the main Midlands Excellence Awards

c Entering the Midlands Excellence Special Category Awards

c Training to be an assessor

c One-day performance improvement workshops

c Lean and efficiency programmes

c Joining the free Midlands Excellence networks

c Achieving the Training Quality Standard

Your details

Name

Position

Organisation

Address

County Post Code

Tel No. Fax No.

Email

Please tear off this form and fax it back to 01675 460472 or post to Midlands Excellence, c/o BMW Plant Hams Hall, Canton Lane, Coleshill, Birmingham B46 1GB. Tel: 01675 460997

Faxback form

Please provide further details about:

Midlands Excellence Awards 2008/09

Midlands Excellence gratefully acknowledges the support of all of its sponsors throughout 2008/09

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Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you...

Midlands Excellenceemail: [email protected]

Investors in Excellence Limited email: [email protected]

Tel: 01675 460997 Fax: 01675 460472 c/o BMW Plant Hams Hall, Canton Lane, Hams Hall, Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 1GB