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Capita puts people first

ByDuncan Bennett

May 27, 2020

Capita’s partnership with North Tyneside Council has been recognised for putting its people first.

It has been awarded a silver level accreditation by Investors in People (IIP) after previously attaining the IIP standard.

A silver award means the partnership not only has the right principles in place, but its people and leaders make active efforts to check they’re happening consistently throughout the organisation.

Capita entered into a partnership with North Tyneside Council in November 2012 to deliver a range of technical services, such as engineering; property; planning; building control and public protection.

There are around 280 employees within the North Tyneside Partnership, which operates from Cobalt Business Park and Harvey Combe in Killingworth.

Last month, the partnership received further good news when it maintained the highest status of the North East Better Health at Work Award – Continuing Excellence.

Capita’s North Tyneside Partnership Director Margie Burdis said: “This is a great news for our staff and the partnership as a whole.

“We’ve been able to build on the strengths that were identified previously by Investors in People and develop some of the areas where there were opportunities for improvement.

“We’ll now be working hard to maintain this momentum to further benefit our staff.”

The IIP’s formal assessment took place between February and March 2020, and included survey responses from 137 staff and interviews with 34 staff representing all functions. The survey showed that Capita’s North Tyneside Partnership is ahead of the benchmark for its sector.

Strengths identified during the assessment included: the support provided by line managers; the fact that staff are trusted to do their job; and the collaborative working between different teams.

IIP assessor Ian Hartley said: “I would like to congratulate Capita’s North Tyneside Partnership on its silver award.

“It demonstrates that it is a good employer, which is committed to continuously getting better.

“Previously there were pockets of good practice within the organisation but now there is greater consistency across the business, helped by improved communication at all levels.”

The Partnership has previously been granted Investors in Young People status thanks to its focus on bringing both graduates and apprentices into the business. Since the Partnership began, 32 apprentices have been recruited and 24 staff are currently undertaking apprenticeships.