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Achieved 4 star Recognised for Excellence (R4E) in January 2008
Leicestershire and Rutland Probation achieved Trust status in April 2008, one of only six services in the country to do so. The Trust aims to maintain and improve outcomes concerning public protection and reduce re-offending through innovation, flexibility and attention to locally identified needs.
Leicestershire and Rutland Probation are part of the National Offender Management Service, who have been sponsor members of the BQF since 2001. They use a number of the BQF’s tools, workshops and networking events to continue their commitment to continuous business improvement. They have been using the EFQM Excellence Model since 2001, as a template to plan their overall improvement activities and constantly assess the organisation’s capabilities and achievements. This has enabled them to achieve new and higher targets and implement a broader range of performance measures.
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Since implementing the model, the Trust has seen the following results:
- Remained in top quartile of Probation Area performance for the last 5 years
- 1st on the weighted scorecard 2004/05
- Staff turnover fallen by 30%
- Improving trend for most key performance results for at least 3 years
- Good links can be seen between the very positive results achieved and the enabling activity showing that the performance levels are planned rather than ad hoc
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The Trust decided to participate in Recognised for Excellence as part of its overall drive for continuous improvement, to receive regular feedback on business areas that needed strengthening, and to achieve external recognition for its work.
The biggest challenge facing the Trust before embarking on the scheme was communicating its objectives, processes and successes throughout the organisation, and managing internal knowledge management issues. With the help of the BQF, coupled with the assessment process and the site visit, the R4E process enabled the Trust to improve on this area and achieve a higher level of performance across the board.
The Trust was awarded 4 star status in the R4E scheme in December 2007 and is now planning the next stages of its improvement journey, which will include achieving standards in Customer Service Excellence, the New IPP standard and UK Excellence Award status by 2010.
Trevor Worsfold, Assistant Chief Officer at Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust, comments:
"The nature of our business means that it is a constant struggle to ensure that the work we are doing is having a positive impact on the individuals we help, our staff and the wider community. Our main aim in working with the BQF and in using the Excellence Model is to make sure that we identify every area of our business that needs strengthening and work consistently to achieve a standard that we can be proud of as an organisation."
Mark Bell, Levels of Excellence Manager at the BQF, adds:
"The Levels of Excellence programme aims to give organisations a structured and comprehensive approach to achieving better business performance. We are thrilled that Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust have made such great progress and they fully deserve their 4 star status. We look forward to working with them to achieve even greater success in the future."
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