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    <title>News</title>
    <description>News</description>
    <link>http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk</link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence delivers a 1600% R.O.I]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-05-24 09:10:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[  Midlands Excellence, the not-for-profit performance boosting
specialists, have delivered &Acirc;&pound;16.3m of added value to the region at a
cost to the taxpayer of just &Acirc;&pound;1.046m. That&acirc;s the conclusion of a report
commissioned by Advantage West Midlands and produced for the RDA by
independent regeneration consultants ekosgen.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;Over the next
three years this figure is expected to rise to &Acirc;&pound;20.25 million, once
future employment benefits have been realised, producing an expected
ROI of &Acirc;&pound;19.37 per &Acirc;&pound;1 invested. AWM made the &Acirc;&pound;1m contribution to
Midlands Excellence between 2002 and 2009, in a bid to help bridge the
&Acirc;&pound;10bn productivity gap that exists between the region&acirc;s economy and the
UK per capita average.&amp;#160;Midlands Excellence used the cash to
launch and pilot its own unique standard of excellence, known as
Investors in Excellence (IiE) and to deliver a package of best practice
sharing initiatives through its West Midlands&amp;#160; Excellence Network.&amp;#160;The
ekosgen
 report says that nearly 500 businesses benefited from the
charity&acirc;s interventions, ranging from SMEs with fewer than five
employees to large scale businesses with 250 FTE employees or more.
Midlands Excellence helped 1,103 people with skills development and
delivered management and leadership skills training to a further 1,083
people.Benefits reported by businesses were as follows:&amp;#160;&acirc;&cent;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;
41%
 reported that the IiE programme had made the biggest impact on
their business compared to any other service they may have accessed&acirc;&cent;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;
the
 proportion of organisations reporting better customer satisfaction
levels rose from 40% to 46% and employee satisfaction improvement was
even higher, rising from 26% to 46% &acirc;&cent;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160; 
organisations meeting corporate social responsibility targets increased 
from 25% to 33%&acirc;&cent;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160; 66% of the sample said that 
their customer service had improved thanks to Midlands Excellence 
expertise&acirc;&cent;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;
Nearly 60% of the sample reported that they had reduced their costs as
a result of a programme delivered by Midlands Excellence. The
majority
 indicated that they had made savings of up to &Acirc;&pound;20k. Some
reported savings of up to &Acirc;&pound;60k and a handful had secured even higher
cost reductions.Midlands Excellence CEO Ian Nield commented: &acirc;To
deliver &Acirc;&pound;15.58 of value for every &Acirc;&pound;1 invested represents an excellent
ROI &acirc; well ahead of the expected average of around &Acirc;&pound;7 per &Acirc;&pound;1. The
message from the ekosgen report is clear &acirc; investing in excellence
works. It delivers measurable performance improvements and helps
transform good businesses into great organisations that waste fewer
resources, get more from their people, have happier customers and
deliver sustainable profitability.&acirc; ]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/midlands-excellence-delivers-a-1600-roi]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[A packed event that left attendees inspired and ready to achieve the impossible]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-05-14 13:19:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[A huge thanks to all those that turned out to our most recently inspiring Midlands Excellence networking event. Our guest speaker, Dave Heeley (aka Blind Dave) is a truly inspirational man who has overcome one of the most incredible challenges.One
of only four people in the world, Dave (39 and 156 months old!)
born and bred in the West Bromwich, set himself a worldwide challenge
to run seven marathons in seven days across seven continents.&amp;#160; Such
an
 epic feat of physical endurance would be beyond most people, and is
all the more extraordinary when you consider that Dave has been
officially registered as blind for the past 20 years. Dave is the first,
 and at the moment the only, blind person in the world to complete this 
challenge.All those that attended were captivated by Dave and emotionally touched by his story.Midlands Excellence would like to thank all those involved including Dave, Kevin Parr &amp;amp; the PGS Team and of course the Studio.We look forward to bringing you more fantastic events like this so please keep checking our site for upcoming details. For more information please contact one of the team on 01675 460 997 or email midex@midlandsexcellence.org.uk]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/a-packed-event-that-left-attendees-inspired-and-ready-to-achieve-the-impossible]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence Assessor Training - it's like doing an MBA every year!]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-03-23 08:53:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[Every year we assemble teams of volunteers to assess 
all the different organisations that apply for the Midlands Excellence 
Awards. With so much riding on the 
assessment, our applicants need to know that the teams are fair, expert 
and professional.That&acirc;s why, if you become a volunteer assessor, 
you&acirc;ll undertake a rigorous training programme that gives you a deep 
understanding of the EFQM Model, Europe&acirc;s most established and holistic 
framework for developing organisational excellence. And we have just annouced our next training dates:Welcome workshop: 19th October 2010Two day training: 30th November &amp;amp; 1st December 2010ORWelcome workshop: 2nd November 2010Two day training: 14th &amp;amp; 15th December 2010To find out more please click HERE]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/assessor-training-its-like-doing-an-mba-every-year]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Ambassadors of Excellence]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-01-21 09:45:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[This award gives us the tremendous opportunity to recognise the really exceptional performances of individuals and organisations across the Midlands region.This year we have recognised two exceptional Midlands-based Centres of Excellence both holding national and international significance. We are honoured to recognise some of the unsung heroes who epitomise excellence for their outstanding accomplishments within their chosen profession.Firstly we are proud to announce that the RAF College and Directorate of Recruiting and Initial Training (based at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire) have this year been presented with our Ambassadors of Excellence Award. It is their mission to recruit and select the best potential RAF officers and airmen, providing their initial training and career development to the very highest standards. All these individuals strive for perfection and live up to the highest possible standards at all times &acirc; Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence.Our second Ambassador of Excellence this year certainly deserves their recognition as a centre of excellence here in our region for defence medical research. The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, based at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust was established in 2001 and received its Royal appellation a year later. Their work includes providing care of casualties from the conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan and is of course a combined effort from the NHS and military personnel. The mutual respect and team work is outstanding and the teams are united in their determination to deliver the very best care and support to patients and their families.Both Centres of Excellence are truly deserving of this year&acirc;s Ambassador of Excellence award. We are extremely proud to be recognising such remarkable organisations.]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/ambassadors-of-excellence]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Specialist Category Awards Winners 2009/10]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-01-21 09:37:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[In their second successful year, these awards recognise excellence performance in the areas of Innovation, Sustainability, Lean Efficiency and Learning &amp;amp; Development.&amp;#160;The Specialist Category Awards are open to any organisation across the Midlands region who believes that they have a good story to tell in one of the categories mentioned.&amp;nbsp;Although the application is short, the assessment process is thorough and following a desktop assessment, our shortlisted organisation present to a panel of experts, who are looking for a sound approach, effective deployment and positive results.The winners and highly commended for each category are as follows:InnovationWinner: Syspal Ltd Highly commended: BuildAbility Ltd SustainabilityWinner: CarillionEnterpriseHighly Commended: DLA Piper&amp;nbsp; Lean EfficiencyWinner: Haldex Concentric Pumps LimitedHighly Commended: Instarmac Group Ltd Highly Commended: Shrewsbury &amp;amp; Telford NHS Trust, Division 3Learning and DevelopmentWinner: Seddon Property Services LimitedHighly commended: LHA ASRA GroupCongratulations to all those winners, finalists and a big thank you to all those who enter this years Specialist Category Awards. ]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/specialist-category-awards-winners-201011]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[ Congratulations to The Hanley Economic Building Society! ]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-01-21 09:35:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence is extremely pleased to announce that the only award winner this year is the Hanley Economic Building Society! The Building Society is a committed user of the Excellence Model.&amp;#160; The organisation has established very strong values which were found to be lived and breathed, and has a passion for service delivery. The assessment team were particularly impressed by the positive attitudes of staff.The Hanley Economic Building Society is a thriving, independent mutual building society with a head office and five branches in North Staffordshire.&amp;nbsp; The Hanley says: &acirc;There are many advantages to entering these awards and these include the benefit of assessors reviewing the practices and results in the organisation. We would highly recommend the guidance and support that Midlands Excellence provides.Winning a Midlands Excellence Award represents success in one of the country&acirc;s toughest and most rigorous assessments of organisational performance.Midlands Excellence Founding Chairman Alan Jones OBE adds: &acirc;Making a strong commitment to achieve excellence is the best possible response to the current difficult economic climate.Well done to all at the Hanley Economic Building Society.A huge congratulations also to those who achieved our highly commended award: Advantage West Midlands (also Most Improved Organisation award winner)G4S Integrated Services (Met Office)Kineton High SchoolSevernside Housing&amp;nbsp; For more information on how you could be a winner of the Midlands Excellence Awards Programme 2010/11 please follow the link below:Midlands Excellence Awards Programme]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/-congratulations-to-the-hanley-economic-building-society-]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[A night of celebration for the region's excellent organisations]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2010-01-21 09:32:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[More than one thousand one hundred business leaders gathered last night (21.01.2010) at the ICC to recognise the winners of the thirteenth Midlands Excellence Awards.As well as being the region&acirc;s highest profile business awards, the event is also the biggest annual celebration of Excellence in Europe, co-hosted this year by local broadcasters Ed James and Arti Halai. Guest speaker at the event was British Olympic gold medallist and polar explorer James Cracknell OBE.&amp;#160;This year&acirc;s winners have demonstrated to Midlands Excellence that they have what it takes to perform at the highest level. To reach this stage they have each submitted comprehensive evidence of success and been assessed against nine crucial criteria including leadership, employee and customer satisfaction and a range of results.&amp;nbsp;The assessment and awards programme is based on the EFQM Excellence Model, a proven framework for boosting and sustaining performance used by more than tens of thousands of organisations across Europe.&amp;nbsp;Midlands Excellence Chief Executive Ian Nield says: &acirc;The winners are true role models of excellence and an inspiration to anyone who is passionate about boosting their own performance.&acirc;Midlands Excellence would like to thank all those that contributed to the Awards Programme and congratulate once again all those celebrating their excellent achievements. For more information please click on the links below:Midlands Excellence AwardsInvestors in Excellence RecognitionsSpecialist Category AwardsAmbassadors of ExcellenceFor more information on how you could be a winner of the Midlands
Excellence Awards Programme 2010/11 please follow the link below:Midlands Excellence Awards Programme]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/a-night-of-celebration-for-the-regions-excellent-organisations]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence welcomes our latest sponsors Lloyds Development Capital ]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2009-12-22 11:32:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[Investment is always key to future success and Midlands Excellence is honoured to be working with a market leading organisation that understands this philosophy more than most, Lloyds Development Capital. This builds on our long relationship with Lloyds TSB and reinforces the Groups commitment to excellence and providing tangible support to organisations looking to continually improve their own performance. &quot;LDC is proud to be a supporter of Midlands Excellence and Investors in Excellence. Both organisations are not only champions of excellence for British business but are active in helping to drive progress and improvement in all partner businesses. This is an ethos very close to our heart.Established in 1981 LDC is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, and is the leading private equity player in the UK regional mid market. With the ability to complete transactions requiring between &Acirc;&pound;2m and &Acirc;&pound;100m of equity LDC is able to support entrepreneurial management teams in UK domiciled businesses requiring funding for a management buyout, development capital, equity release or acquisition finance transaction.Currently working with over 70 businesses from a diverse range of sectors LDC's approach to portfolio management is one of support and value add. LDC is able to work alongside management teams pre and post investment, provide access to an international operation for outsourcing, new market, and exit opportunities; and to review intra portfolio and Lloyds Banking Group synergies.&quot;For more information about LDC visit: www.ldc.co.uk or talk to James Robinson on 07763 717907]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/midlands-excellence-welcomes-our-latest-sponsors-lloyds-development-capital-]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Congratulations to our Main Awards Finalists 2009/10!]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2009-12-14 10:05:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence is very pleased to annouce that the finalists for this year's main Awards Programme have now been confirmed.Big congratulations to all those entrants that have been shortlisted as
a finalist. We wish you all the best of luck and look forward to seeing you at the Midlands Excellence Awards Ceremony 2009/10 where the winner(s) will be announced.Midlands Excellence would like take this opportunity to thank all of those who entered this year's Awards Programme. Midlands Excellence Main Awards Finalists 2009/10:Advantage West MidlandsCarillionEnterpriseESOS - IT Division G4S Integrated Service (Met Office)Kineton High SchoolSevernside HousingThe Hanley Economic Building SocietyWalker Thompson - Accountants &amp;amp; Registered AuditorsThe Wrekin Housing Trust]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/congratulations-to-our-main-awards-finalists-200910]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Specialist Category Awards Finalists 2009/10 have been announced!]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2009-11-20 13:36:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[Midlands Excellence is very pleased to annouce the organisations shortlisted for the Specialist Category Awards 2009/10.  Big congratulations to all those entrants that have been shortlisted as a finalist. We have had a large number of entries in all categories this year leading to strong competition. Midlands Excellence would like take this opportunity to thank all of those who submitted an entry. We wish you all the best of luck and look forward to seeing you at the Midlands Excellence Awards Ceremony 2009/10 where the winner for each category will be announced.Innovation BioFuels Ltd BuildAbility Ltd 
Eurofilms Extrusion Limited&amp;#160; 
Pure Vision 
SyspalSustainabilityBirse Civils 
CarillionEnterpriseDLA Piper LLP Siemens Mobility&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
Lean EfficiencyAmey Wye ValleyHaldex Concentric LtdInstarmac Group PlcNHS Re:Source HubProperty CareShrewsbury &amp;amp; Telford NHS TrustLearning and DevelopmentLHA- ASRA GroupLuminus GroupPP Electrical Systems LtdSeddon Property ServicesService BirminghamSiemens Mobility]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/specialist-category-awards-finalists-200910]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Make that boat go faster and sail the 7C's]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2009-11-13 08:51:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[There was plenty of best practice, learning and
knowledge sharing at this year&acirc;s Midlands Excellence conference, and
real inspiration was to be found in the form of double rowing Olympian
Steve Williams.&acirc;How
do you make the boat go faster?&acirc; is a rowing metaphor that really
struck a cord with us at Investors in Excellence and it set us thinking
where we can take our own little boat &acirc; across the 7Cs.Commitment
&acirc; all excellent organisations commit to a journey of improvement and
learning with a defined success point, the achievement of a vision,
just like commiting to win a gold medal.Constancy &acirc; all
excellent organisations remain constant to the cause.&amp;#160; Just like the
Olympian in training, temptation will come their way, but constancy of
purpose will win through.Collaboration &acirc; all excellent
organisations know they can&acirc;t do it all on their own. Partners, like
teammates and support crew have their role to play in the efficient and
effective execution of your plans.Customer&amp;nbsp; - all
excellent organisations know that they have to constantly deliver value
to their customers, and customers requirements will always change, just
like the coach who demands more and more of the crew.Consistency
&acirc; all excellent organisations know that they have to get in the habit
of predictably dull, excellent performance. We just expect it of
ourselves; winning is our habit.Continuous Improvement &acirc;
all excellent organisations know they have to be always thinking.&amp;nbsp; If
every day the competition are going faster and the coach wants more, we
have to think how to be better and better and better, and try some of
those ideas out.Certification &acirc; all excellent
organisations know standards and awards make the truly excellent stand
out, just like having a gold medal put around your neck.Someone
who has crossed a few seas, the hard way, is the Olympian James
Cracknell, see what he has to say at the Midlands Excellence Awards
Ceremony on 21st January 2010.]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/make-that-boat-go-faster-and-sail-the-7cs]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[Olympic rower Steve Williams to speak at Midlands Excellence Annual Conference]]></title>
        <pubDate><![CDATA[2009-10-21 08:50:00]]></pubDate>
        <description><![CDATA[by Graeme Brown, Birmingham PostA Midlands-born Olympic gold medal-winner will address more than 300 businesspeople at a conference today about the links between sporting endeavour and business success.Steve Williams OBE, who twice won the ultimate sporting prize, is among the speakers at the Midlands Excellence Annual Conference. He will speak about his experiences on the water in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and how goal-setting, managing intensity and feedback are as crucial in the world of business as in sport.Williams, who was born and bred in Leamington Spa, said: &acirc;In telling my story I hope that the audience will start being clearer about ways that they can work better as a team, and be stronger as individuals, with insights into team disciplines that will help them be more successful.&acirc;I make no claims to be an expert in any of the worlds that the members of the audience come from. My background is in rowing and I have been lucky enough to have been in some really great teams and to have won some gold medals.&acirc;Williams said his speech will cover &Acirc;&shy;issues like goal-setting, managing &Acirc;&shy;intensity and energy, accountability of roles and the need for honest feedback.He added: &acirc;Hopefully I can give some insight into how business leaders can create conditions for their teams to be successful. I hope people will hear my story and be clearer that these issues are important and leave thinking about something different and change for the better.&acirc;Williams competed at the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and twice won the gold medal in the coxless four event.The Oxford Brookes University graduate now lives in Henley-in-Arden and runs team workshops for businesspeople in leadership and team management.Creative industries guru Kenny Harris will also speak at today&acirc;s event, at the National Motorcycle Museum, as well as representatives from Siemens, Poundland, Pertemps and the NEC Group, who will present workshops.It is being organised by not-for-profit performance-boosting body Midlands Excellence, which has helped nearly 500 businesses, 1,103 people with skills development, and delivered management and leadership skills training to a further 1,083 people. The organisation has received &Acirc;&pound;1.046 million from the public purse since it was established in 2002 and a new report says it has delivered &Acirc;&pound;16.3 million of added value to the &Acirc;&shy;region.Produced for Advantage West Midlands (AWM) by independent regeneration consultants Ekosgen, the report predicts that the value will rise to &Acirc;&pound;20.25 million once future employment benefits have been realised &acirc; producing an expected return of &Acirc;&pound;19.37 per &Acirc;&pound;1 invested]]></description>
        <link><![CDATA[http://midlandsexcellence.org.uk/about-us/news/olympic-rower-steve-williams-to-speak-at-midlands-excellence-annual-conference]]></link>
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