Crime slashed and half a million pounds saved, as Liverpool police look to people management

Liverpool North Area Merseyside Police are the first front-line public service provider to win the prestigious CIPD People Management Award, since it was launched in 1995. Their entry, A Leadership Accreditation Scheme: Prepared to Lead, helped increase the number of crimes detected in the area by almost a third in 22 months.

Chief Superintendent, Mike Langdon, says, The problem was too much crime in the community. Our efforts to change this were hampered by a series of massive changes to internal structures, roles and responsibility - staff were confused about their roles and uncertain of their objectives. Developing our performance culture enabled us to understand the needs of our staff. Working with line managers and training them to lead was essential. They were the drivers of this project. Involving staff, monitoring performance and taking personal responsibility for reducing crime. The results are clear for all to see - less crime and more action to tackle crime. Our new approach to people management is delivering real results for the people of Liverpool.

The leadership programme has produced outstanding results over the 22 months, including:

*Efficiency savings of 547,660.

*Overall reduction of crimes committed by 10%.

*Increased availability of each officer by almost 4 days per year.

*54% reduction in robbery offences.

*42% reduction in thefts from cars.

*31% reduction in burglaries.

Key elements of the scheme included:

*Ensure all individual objectives tie into overall objective, helping to reduce crime and the local
communities’ fear of crime.

*Encourage staff to reflect and learn from their experiences.

*Individually tailored programmes for continuous learning and development.

*Maximise resources through initiatives including reducing sickness absence levels.

Geoff Armstrong, CIPD Director General, says, Merseyside Police worked closely with line managers to develop their leadership capabilities. This innovative solution has helped the force meet its performance targets and led to better results for the local community with a reduction in the number of crimes. They worked hard to ensure their employees’ needs were at the heart of the initiative and have demonstrated how engaging with employees is central to organisational success.

Home Secretary David Blunkett says, This initiative has played a huge part in the remarkable improvement in the forces performance and overall reduction in crime within the area. This is an excellent achievement. Their accomplishments will go a long way to reassure the local community, and to cement relationships between staff and residents. I wish Merseyside Police my congratulations and hope the success of the initiative continues.

Steve Crabb, Editor of People Management, says, The force put employees firmly at the heart of its change management programme. This initiative applied leading-edge thinking on employee engagement, in a tough and fast-moving working environment, to produce fantastic results.

The field of entries for this year was so strong that a second award was made this year, for the first time since the award was launched. A special commendation went to INA Bearing Company Ltd in Llanelli, South Wales, who experienced severe competition from lower wage countries. They introduced a training programme to raise the skills of all their staff and meet stretching new targets. This gained support from the trade union and helped attract new investment and higher value orders to the plant. The programme focused on productivity and efficiency by encouraging continuous improvement and lifelong learning.

Geoff Armstrong, CIPD Director General, says, INA Bearing Company shows how an organisation can transform its performance by investing in people as the source of its competitiveness. INA Bearing Company could not afford to compete by achieving wage levels below those of Eastern Europe. Instead they invested time and money into staff training. It can now succeed by virtue of the high skill and flexibility of its workforce.

Positive outcomes from the programme include:

*Increased productivity.
*Improved quality performance.
*Lower absenteeism.
*Increased employee commitment and skill.

Steve Crabb, Editor of People Management, says, INA Bearings Company demonstrated utmost commitment to their employees, with a change programme to help keep jobs that were due to be transferred to a lower-cost location.