The Chamberlain Awards at Birmingham City Council

Maven Training was a proud sponsor of the Chamberlain Awards in November. These awards are staged by Birmingham City Council once a year to recognise the outstanding contribution of the council’s employees.

Councillor Alan Rudge, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Human Resources said: “The scheme, which is managed through the corporate human resources team, is named after Joseph Chamberlain, one of Birmingham's most distinguished civic leaders. Under his leadership Birmingham was described as the best-governed city in the world. Today we remain dedicated to providing quality services to the public and business alike.”

Birmingham City Council is the largest employer in the West Midlands Region. It employs over 55,000 workers to deliver high quality services to residents and businesses.

Councillor Rudge said: “The Chamberlain Awards fit in with our Human Resources strategy to raise performance, increase motivation and share best practice so we can have one of the best performing local Authorities in the UK.”

He quoted the 18th century French philosopher Voltaire who said: 'Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.'

William Franklin, Client Services Director, Maven Training, attended the event with Melanie Franklin, CEO, and Angela Faithful, Associate Trainer. William said, “Maven Training and BCC share the same ethos. We admire the work of BCC, which never rests on its laurels but always strives to improve. It supports its staff and invests in them. We are pleased to be providing training in the Principles of Change Management as part of our sponsorship of these awards.”

William reported that the evening was thoroughly enjoyable: “Everyone who won an award had really made a difference to local people and their stories were inspirational. I was particularly moved to hear about Alan Gadd, a Groundsman at one of the city’s parks, who demonstrated service beyond the call of duty in helping Patricia Hughes, MBE, when her dog was attacked while walking in the park. All park users have benefited from his presence and noticed when he was away through illness or holiday which is the true sign of making a difference.”

On leaving the celebrations, the Maven Training team renewed their commitment to supporting the event in 2009.