Public sector staff honoured for going the extra mile

Public sector staff in Inverclyde have been honoured for going above and beyond the call of duty.

The 2024 Pride of Inverclyde Awards took place recently in the Beacon Arts Centre to recognise council staff across a range of services, including the health and social care partnership (HSCP), for their work supporting residents, businesses, and communities.

Long service awards were also announced for 15 members of staff who have each worked with the council for more than 45 years and clocked up combined service of 693 years.

Employee of the Year Winner Anne MacIntosh.

Three employees have 47 years’ service each while 12 have worked for the organisation for 46 years each.

Eight of the 15 long service award winners were presented with their awards in-person.

The Employee of the Year Award recognises a member of staff who have gone the extra mile in delivering exceptional service and was presented to Business Development Team Leader Anne MacIntosh.

Anne was recognised for being instrumental in setting up the highly successful Inverclyde Women in Business group, connecting many lone working women and offering a place to network, connect and learn.

She also set up company growth programmes to provide support and development for a number of small and medium-sized enterprises and independent retailers and fostered closer links with the local business community.

Team of the Year Winner Libraries Service. Pride of Inverclyde Awards 2024. — Team of the Year Winner Libraries Service.

The Team of the Year Award acknowledges and recognises a team that has demonstrated excellence in quality, innovation, productivity or collaborative working and has delivered a clear benefit to the council.

The 2024 prize was presented to the council’s Libraries Team for consistently going above and beyond in their motivation to deliver for the communities they serve and introducing several new initiatives, such as a community fridge, clothing rails, and cost-of-living supports, in addition to core library services.

There was also a Chief Executive’s Award that went to the Waste Services team while the Provost’s Award was presented to the Homecare Service.

The other winners were Organisational Development Advisor, Hannah McGinty, who won the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Physical Assets Team claimed the Excellence in Innovation prize.

Louise Long, chief executive of Inverclyde Council, said: “Day in day out, there are individuals and teams across the organisation in wide and varied services, contributing towards positive outcomes for people here in Inverclyde, and helping to shape its future.

“None of these things are possible without great people. That’s something I take great pride in.

“The judging wasn’t easy as we had dozens of award nominations, from senior managers, colleagues and the public.

Chief Executive's Award Winners Waste Services.

“It was wonderful to read through the submissions and the sense of pride and gratitude in every single one of them is something worthy of celebration.

“Every one of the nominees makes a difference and helps to make Inverclyde Council and the HSCP impactful organisations that are dynamic and fulfilling places to work.

“The Pride of Inverclyde Awards are also an opportunity to acknowledge the commitment from a number of employees who have reached some impressive milestones in their length of service for Inverclyde and thank you to each of them for their loyalty and dependability over several decades.

“Thank you to all our staff for their contribution and hard work, it is much appreciated.”

The finalists and winners were chosen by a judging panel chaired by Environment and Regeneration Director, Stuart Jamieson, and made up of representatives from various council services and trade unions.

The event was hosted by Robert Lamb, the council’s Education Development and Arts Team Leader.

Provost Drew McKenzie said: “Congratulations to all the finalists and the winners.

“I see first-hand the great work employees do on a daily basis and they care so passionately about making Inverclyde an even better place to live, work, visit, and do business.

Provost's Award Winners Homecare.

“For the Provost’s Award, I chose the Homecare Service for special recognition in respect of the key role that they play in supporting vulnerable people in our community.

“Following challenging operating conditions during the pandemic, the service responded very well – indeed in their 2023 Care Inspection the service maintained its Very Good rating.

“They play a key role in getting people out of hospital and returning home to live safely in their own environment – a really important part of recovery and quality of life.

“It takes individuals with empathy, care and an ability to deal with people sensitively.

“Our staff often go the extra mile and the Homecare Service is undoubtably worthy of a special spotlight.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

Category winners and runners-up

Outstanding achievement

Winner:

Hannah McGinty, Organisational Development Advisor*

For work with the trauma informed steering group and identifying training needs of colleagues and enabling council-wide training. Also developed a new mentoring programme for the council to ensure the council will benefit from high quality leadership in years to come.

Highly commended:

Aileen Wilson, Children’s Residential & After Care Services Team Lead

*Hannah was unable to attend the awards ceremony.

Excellence in innovation

Winner:

Physical Assets Team

Excellence in Innovation winners Physical Assets being presented by Corporate Director Ruth Binks.

For developing schemes to improve local lives and contribute to the council’s net zero strategy, including Coves Nature Restoration project which saw the enhancement of a local beauty spot with the creation of new paths for residents, improved access and the planting of over 10,000 natural species trees, and Duchal Moor Peatland restoration which is a three-year project which will have significant impacts in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, preventing flooding and enhancing wildlife habitats which improves biodiversity.

Highly commended: