TNT MODERNISING GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP AWARDS

6 April 2000

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be here at the inaugural TNT Modernising Government Partnership Awards ceremony.

Part of the Government’s modernising agenda to transform the delivery of public services

When Ian McCartney launched these Awards last September together with Alan Jones, they emphasised that this annual award was to encourage excellence in the public sector by delivering efficient high quality services focused on the users of those services.

One of the ways of achieving that goal is to work in partnerships. But what do I mean by partnership?

First, the need to recognise and value the central role of the workforce in any business.

Second, the need to have a common understanding of the aims and goals of the business, and an agreed work culture.

Third, top management need to have a strategy for developing their staff - and that means all their employees, not just the highly skilled or the high flyers.

Fourth, staff for their part need to be encouraged and supported to identify and enhance their own skills.

Fifth, and crucially, there needs to be an inclusive relationship between top management, staff, their representatives, users and the society in which they operate.

Investing in staff is a key principle, and actively pursuing it will bear great dividends.

As well as Partnership working, the award is linked to using the Excellence Model. As most of you will know, the Model is highly regarded across the public and private sectors in the UK and Europe. It creates a framework from which your organisation can pursue excellence at every level.

I am pleased that more and more public sector organisations are integrating and using the Model into the day-to-day running of their business. Quite simply it works – ask TNT

And the third key element is recognition. Too often those in the public sector are criticised: named, blamed and shamed. Sometimes this is deserved. But we also need to celebrate the good public services, provided by many of you here today.

We are here today to applaud the winners.

But, no organisation that entered is a loser – all will I hope use the feedback received to help improve future performance.

Before we announce the winners, I want to say a large thank you to TNT for supporting this initiative. Alan Jones, the driving force behind making TNT a world class company focused on quality, has been committed, enthusiastic and pushed froward the concept from day one. I would also like to thank Bob Allen-Turl who has been responsible for the day-to-day running of the Award – he has done a fantastic job. Finally, I would like to thank the Jury for giving of their time to help choose the winners.

The final word goes to the winners. Congratulations. You have shown that excellence is a day-to-day reality in public services.

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