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Hants invests in its people |
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Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been successful in achieving the Investors in People Standard. A spokesperson told FIRE that the service set out to achieve the standard – a national standard of excellence and best practice – to improve in a range of areas and ultimately, to provide an even better service to the local community. An audit was first undertaken in September 2005 to identify the amount and type of work required for the Service to improve and to achieve the Standard. In November 2007 an Investors In People auditor undertook an assessment to see if these areas had improved, interviewing staff working at all levels and in all areas of the organisation. The service illustrated improvement in a range of areas and was awarded the highly prestigious Investors in People Standard. The service was highly praised for planning, staff engagement and communication throughout the organisation.
The Investors in People auditor was also impressed with the enthusiasm, professionalism and passion from all of the staff they met. In an extract from the report, the IIP assessor wrote: ‘Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service operates in an environment that has seen significant change over the last five years. A number of factors have contributed to major changes to the service, not least the ‘modernisation’ agenda from government. The Service Management Team have taken forward a major change programme impacting on all aspects of the service. My impression of the organisation now is that the culture is one which is far less hierarchal, where the focus is on individuals actively involved in their community and a service that will provide new and exciting opportunities for employees in the future’. CFO John Bonney commented on the achievement: “I am absolutely delighted that Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been awarded the Investors in People standard. We are the first fire and rescue service in the country to achieve the standard under its new and more challenging criteria. This is a national award in recognition of the hard work and effort of every member of staff across the service and I thank them all for their contribution in achieving the standard.
“For us, Investors in People is much more than just trying to get a plaque to display on our wall. It is about genuine improvement for the benefit of our staff and the communities in which in work. This standard illustrates a real improvement in such areas as the way we plan and involve staff in our planning and in our communications, helping staff to feel much better informed and involved in changes to the service. This is a journey for us to continually improve and is one important step in us moving from a good to great service.”
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