Stratford District Council retains ‘Excellence’ Award

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has retained its Investors in Excellence Standard and has also been shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious Midlands Excellence Award.

The Investors in Excellence Standard is a mark of excellence awarded to those organisations that demonstrate a high standard of all-round business performance. It is a very testing Standard covering all key business areas including leadership, people and customer results – but its scope makes it a powerful improvement tool, recognizing a commitment to continuous improvement and excellent performance.

Councillor Stephen Gray, Leader of Stratford District Council says: “The achievement of this award demonstrates Stratford District Council's commitment to excellence. Investors in Excellence has provided us with a user-friendly framework that enables us to continually improve our business for the good of our customers and employees."

The District Council has also been shortlisted for the Midlands' premier business awards – the 2010-2011 Midlands Excellence Awards after preparing a written submission and undergoing a rigorous evaluation by a team of independent Midlands Excellence assessors.

This year's winners will be announced at Birmingham's ICC on 3 February 2011, attracting more than 1,000 business leaders, the event is Europe's largest celebration of excellence.

About Investors in Excellence
The Investors in Excellence Standard is run by Investors in Excellence Ltd, a not for profit subsidiary of the performance improvement charity Midlands Excellence which has worked with more than 5,000 organisations over a 13 year period.  Working across a wide variety of sectors in the private and public arena, IiE Ltd has a passion for helping organisations improve. It is the largest organisation of its type in Europe, boasting the biggest Excellence Awards ceremony and a range of skills and expertise in leading world-class improvement techniques such as Business Excellence, Lean and Six Sigma.

Investors in Excellence offers great value for money and a recent study by independent regeneration consultants Ekosgen reported a 1,600% (£16m) return on investment to the taxpayer for programmes run to support business improvement. Key clients include BMW, Atkins, Siemens, G4S and Vodafone. Organisations that achieve the Investors in Excellence Standard are required to undertake a rigorous process of external assessment that looks at all key performance areas and more crucially an organisation's business and customer results. Once companies have achieved the Standard they need to undertake a reaccreditation process every two years to ensure that they are still operating at the same level.

For further information please visit the website: www.investorsinexcellence.org

This year's Midlands Excellence Awards finalists:

• Advantage West Midlands
  Advantage West Midlands is the regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands.  It is one of nine RDAs in England established to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development.
  
• Experian Payments
  Based in Rugby, Experian Payments develops strategic payments software and services to enable the world's leading banks and corporate organisations to improve their payments processes and manage risk with greater control and confidence.
  
• Haldex Concentric
  Birmingham-based Haldex Concentric is a world leader in oil, fuel and water pumps for diesel engines.
  
• Trent & Dove Housing
  Trent and Dove Housing provides affordable homes for rent and shared ownership across East Staffordshire.
  
• Stratford-on-Avon District Council
  Serving south Warwickshire, this local authority provides services and information to local residents, businesses and visitors.
  
• Walker Thompson
  Walker Thompson is one of Coventry's leading accountants, offering a wide range of advice on business matters including accounts, tax, audit and planning for acquisitions and disposals.
  
• The Wrekin Housing Trust Ltd
  The Wrekin Housing Trust is one of the largest social landlords in the Midlands with over 11,000 houses, flats and apartments to rent across the Telford and Newport area. The organisation also has homes for rent or shared ownership at new developments in Market Drayton, Stafford, Stone, Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury.

For further press information please contact Sophie Hunt, Above and Beyond Public Relations on 07821 660510 or email: sophie@aboveandbeyondpr.co.uk