News: Performance Management
Staff training helps council score top marks
12 February 2008
St Edmundsbury Borough Council has been rated as 'excellent' by the Audit Commission, and praised particularly for its staff training.
The Suffolk council now tops the national performance league table, after an assessment that looked at the performance of authorities and service providers, Personnel Today reports.
It was rated in the 'excellent' category and was only two points off scoring the maximum - the highest mark ever achieved.
Inspectors were impressed by the "good training provision", as well as good succession planning and the cutting of sickness absence per employee from 12.5 days to 8.7 days per year.
"The Audit Commission report mentions the 'passion' shown by staff and councillors and that's an incredibly unusual word for inspectors to use when talking about local government," said chief executive Deborah Cadman.
