Orkney Islands Council achieves Investors in People Award for the first time

Orkney Islands Council has achieved the Investors in People (IIP) (Standard) Award for the first time – part of a drive to improve how the local authority supports and develops its employees.

IIP – which is recognised globally for pushing best practice in people management – carried out a review recently at OIC with IIP Practitioners meeting and surveying staff from across the whole organisation to determine what is working well and what could be done better.

Using a framework of best practice, an assessment was made of the Council’s working practices and policies – a key aim was to understand the organisation’s priorities and identify good practices that have developed, as well as any gaps. The visiting Practitioners also heard directly about the areas of challenge facing Council teams, with recruitment a particular area of pressure.

The Council’s interim Chief Executive, John Mundell, described the award as a “great achievement” for the organisation.

He said: “Our people are our most valuable asset, providing vital services for the people of these islands every day. As a local authority subject to regulation and a great deal of scrutiny, we are always ready to accept criticism where we have not met expectations and we must do everything we can to deliver excellent services.

“Meeting this standard is recognition of the efforts we are making to engage our teams and is seen as a real achievement for our organisation. How we lead and manage our teams needs to follow the best practices.

“Within the Corporate Leadership Team, our ambition has always been to support those who deliver the frontline services and support we offer, and there is a recognition that we can, and need to, do more. Internally we have recently undertaken some restructuring which has been central to some of the improvements we are making, but now we need to advance the ways we support and develop our teams so that they can deliver the best service in an increasingly demanding environment, for our island community where we have such unique needs.  

“The Investors in People review found that a standard at Orkney Islands Council is being met, assuring the Council’s approach to leading its people is the right one.”

Mr Mundell said that while the Award is recognition of the work so far, he hopes that the positive momentum will carry on in the weeks, months and years ahead to make the Council an employer of choice for all.

“It is so important that people enjoy their work and go home satisfied they have provided a valuable service. We know that there is more that needs to be done to achieve this and having a full complement of staff will undoubtedly help.

“Recruitment is a challenge businesses across the UK face and like other enterprises, OIC is experiencing staff and skills shortages: For some specialist teams that is proving particularly difficult. For these reasons, efforts have already been made to improve in this area and for the Council, recruitment must remain a priority.

“The Award is a celebration of what’s good about the Council - our staff work hard and this in many respects recognition of what they have already achieved.

“Using Investors in People, we start a new journey to find better ways to support and develop our teams – it offers us a framework of best practice that will help guide us moving forward.”