The five star show brings golden prize

Oct 22 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

IMPROVING service has won West Lothian Council a landmark award.

The council have achieved five star level (gold) in the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Recognised for Excellence scheme.

This achievement is awarded to organisations that can demonstrate high-performance and a commitment to providing excellent services.

The prestigious accolade, based on the most widely used management framework in Europe, was created to encourage efficient improvement in organisations.

Recognition in EFQM also provides the opportunity to learn from the highest performers in the public and private sectors across Europe.

A team of external assessors spent five days during September visiting council offices and carrying out interviews with the council’s staff and leaders.

The assessment team based their evaluation and the level of recognition awarded on the council’s leadership; customer focus; partnership-working and what they have achieved in terms of performance.

In their feedback the assessors praised the passion of council staff in supporting the vision of the council.

Leader of West Lothian Council Peter Johnston said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this phenomenal achievement.

“West Lothian Council is one of the top performing councils in the country and this is largely due to the dedication and commitment of its staff.

“The commitment and quality of our staff is second to none and will stand our community in good stead in as we face up to the massive challenges coming our way in the years ahead.”

Dave Bradley, Chief Executive of Quality Scotland, added: “We are proud to acknowledge the success of West Lothian Council in achieving this accolade.

“This award recognises the long term commitment to continuous improvement shown by the council and supported by the Chief Executive Alex Linkston.

“The council has shown what can be achieved with a strong desire to improve services and the overall organisation.

“Our assessors were particularly impressed with the passion of the employees in supporting the vision of the council. This was strongly evident in their shared understanding of where the organisation is heading.

“On behalf of Quality Scotland, I would like to congratulate West Lothian Council on this achievement and praise the dedication of the staff who, through their everyday actions, showed excellent practice to achieve this award.”

West Lothian Council’s Chief Executive Alex Linkston, said he was delighted by the team’s success.

He said: “West Lothian Council strives to provide excellent service for those in West Lothian.

“Achieving Recognised for Excellence at the top level demonstrates our commitment to this goal and the commitment from our staff to provide excellent customer services for the residents of West Lothian.

“Some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies use this recognition scheme and for West Lothian Council to gain five star level is a significant landmark for us.

“This type of external scrutiny challenges the council to demonstrate that it continues to provide excellent customer service and value for money for the citizens of West Lothian.”