Nottinghamshire County Council finds competitive edge
CHALLENGE
Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) offers over 50 support services to its school
communities from cleaning and catering to finance and HR, but with an increasing
need to compete with the private sector NCC needed to understand how they
compared to the competition.
"We are fortunate to have a very loyal client base but as budgets are being squeezed,
our schools and academies are facing difficult decisions in order to select services
which are both of high quality but also meet their financial commitments. To retain our
existing customers and win new business we needed to know how our service
compared to the wider market."
Mark Herring, Team Manager Facilities Management, Nottinghamshire County Council.
SOLUTION
Following initial meetings and the agreement of key project objectives, i-Clean
reviewed and analysed staff data, cleaning schedules, specifications, policies and other
relevant documentation.
This was followed by on-site visits to evaluate and benchmark a representative
proportion of NCC customer sites, taking into account the standards of cleanliness
achieved, costs and productivity rates.
NCC's cleaning provision scored above the sector benchmark for overall efficiency and
effectiveness and the report of findings highlighted that NCC outperform the sector in
the stability of their management structure and employee welfare.
The report also identified the potential for further improvements which include,
development of site specific schedules, accredited training and investment in
electronic auditing systems.
RESULT
"We are very pleased that this independent review demonstrates that we deliver a high
quality service at a competitive price. This evidence will help us to retain our existing
customers and hopefully win a few back. The RAG rated report of findings will also
enable us to focus on areas for improvement to take our service to the next level."
Mark Herring, Team Manager Facilities Management, Nottinghamshire County Council.
ABOUT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Nottinghamshire County Council
governs the non-metropolitan
county of Nottinghamshire,
which covers (excluding the City
of Nottingham) 805 square
miles.
The County Council has over
117,000 school children being
educated in 338 primary and
secondary schools.
Delivery of NCC support services
to schools and academies is
provided through NCC's Direct
Service Organisation, which is
one of the largest in the UK.
For further information please contact us on:
T: 01684 580680
E:
efficiency@sitemark.co.uk
W:
www.sitemark.co.uk