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'Living It' - August 2011

WE’VE seen many winners of both the BEST monthly ‘Living It’ Awards and the BEST Dragons’ Den project over the past few months. You never fail to impress!

Employee of the Month winners Lucy Cross and Selina Medford were nominated for their outstanding attention to detail and passion for recognising staff achievements.

Lucy and Selina form the Corporate Recognition Team, within HR, Corporate Resources. They are both extremely dedicated to organising outstanding ceremonies for both the Chamberlain Awards and the Long Service Recognition Scheme. They achieve against the odds, overcoming obstacles with ease, providing events that are first class.

Lucy and Selina are both very knowledgeable, hard working, and committed members of staff.

They work hard to bring in sponsorship which covers most of the costs of the Chamberlain Awards and in 2010, the sponsorship exceeded the amount needed which in the current climate is exceptional.

Their moto is ‘winners always find a way’. This sums Lucy and Selina up perfectly.

Joining Lucy and Selina as Employee of the Month, is Laurence Braithwaite from the Campaign Communications team within Environment and Culture.

Laurence was nominated for being instrumental in the production of the citywide adult care home directory. He consistently shows commitment to the organisation and service area, working in partnership with many colleagues across different services.

Laurence is willing to help anyone where he can, he very rarely says no. He is the first to volunteer and always goes the extra mile to achieve outstanding results for all.

Laurence completes any piece of work however large or small without hesitation and to the best of his ability. He is a credit to the team.

Leader of the Month winner Debbie Horsfall from Erdington and Sutton Home Care within Adults and Communities Directorate was nominated not only by her manager Caroline Rhoden but also by Service Users.

Debbie is extremely motivated in her role as a home care assistant, using her knowledge and understanding of individual needs of vulnerable service users to full effect. She treats all service users with respect and dignity, offering them effective advice and support. She always maintains her exceptional high standard of care.

Debbie is BEST Leader for her team, she always supports the team through the process, helping them realise their successes and positive work, while looking at how to improve. Each workshop is coordinated and facilitated well, with all information provided when needed. She continually promotes the BEST values and is a real role model for her colleagues.

Debbie is a great asset to the team; she is flexible, supportive and always goes the extra mile.

Manager of the Month winner Maggie Brason is from the South Business Support team at Lifford House, Children Young People and Families. She was nominated for her being a fantastic leader for her team.

Maggie is always helpful; her colleagues trust her reliability and her guidance. She is a great support to colleagues, contributing to the delivery of services to some of the most vulnerable children and families in south Birmingham.

Maggie was personally named by a recent trial OFSTED report. The inspection found her to be incredibly helpful, innovative and resourceful.

Joining Maggie as Managers of the Month are winners Brendan Duffy, Depot Manager; Wayne Chivers, Constituency Manager; Justin Hillyer, Constituency Manager and Mark Airey, Constituency Manager. They were all nominated by Matt Kelly, Assistant Director of Fleet and Waste for their commitment and effort in responding to the challenges of the Birmingham Riots in August.

The managers all responded to the riots with passion, resilience and quiet resolve to make sure the right people were in the right place to get Birmingham City Centre back to its best without impact or disruption to others. The teams had already cleaned the city by the time people arrived for work in the morning, and they generated a positive impression for the workforce and for the City as a whole in the local and national press.

Chief Executive, Stephen Hughes, expressed his appreciation for staff, “Special thanks must go to our street cleaning crews who have been doing a fantastic job, working from the early hours of the morning each day to make sure Birmingham’s streets were spotless by first light and the city ready for business as usual”.

These managers along with their teams all showed great motivation, expertise and commitment to make sure the disruption was dealt with but also kept on top of their day to day work and go above and beyond to deliver a fantastic service not only in times of emergency, but on a daily basis.

We would like to add our thanks and appreciation to all of the BCC staff involved in cleaning up after the Riots and to ensuring we got the city back to normal quickly and peacefully.

Last but by no means least, Team of the month winner Development Directorate Enterprise Zone Team was nominated for their outstanding partnership working, excellent leadership styles and fantastic team working.

The team consists of Colin Smith, Senior Planning Technician; Richard Cowell, Principal Development Planning Officer; Rebecca Farr, Principal Development Planning Officer; Andrew Round, Head of Development and Waheed Nazir, Director of Planning and Regeneration. They all individually contributed to the overall success for Birmingham gaining one of the UK’s first four enterprise zones.

The team’s key achievement was in producing a business case within tight timescales, which has been approved by the Government and been praised by the Local Enterprise Partnership. They presented a unique and ambitious plan for the enterprising zone that will no doubt benefit Birmingham in years to come.

Congratulations to our winners, they will all be invited to our next recognition event to collect their certificate and trophies along with our other winners.

For further information please contact Charlotte Ody on 0121 675 1579 or via Lotus Notes.