Nottinghamshire County Council finds competitive edge
 
CHALLENGE
 
Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) offers over 50 support services to its school communities from cleaning and catering to finance and HR, but with an increasing need to compete with the private sector NCC needed to understand how they compared to the competition.
 
"We are fortunate to have a very loyal client base but as budgets are being squeezed, our schools and academies are facing difficult decisions in order to select services which are both of high quality but also meet their financial commitments. To retain our existing customers and win new business we needed to know how our service compared to the wider market."
 
Mark Herring, Team Manager Facilities Management, Nottinghamshire County Council.
 
SOLUTION
 
Following initial meetings and the agreement of key project objectives, i-Clean reviewed and analysed staff data, cleaning schedules, specifications, policies and other relevant documentation.
 
This was followed by on-site visits to evaluate and benchmark a representative proportion of NCC customer sites, taking into account the standards of cleanliness achieved, costs and productivity rates.
 
NCC's cleaning provision scored above the sector benchmark for overall efficiency and effectiveness and the report of findings highlighted that NCC outperform the sector in the stability of their management structure and employee welfare.
 
The report also identified the potential for further improvements which include, development of site specific schedules, accredited training and investment in electronic auditing systems.
 
RESULT
 
"We are very pleased that this independent review demonstrates that we deliver a high quality service at a competitive price. This evidence will help us to retain our existing customers and hopefully win a few back. The RAG rated report of findings will also enable us to focus on areas for improvement to take our service to the next level."
 
Mark Herring, Team Manager Facilities Management, Nottinghamshire County Council.
 
ABOUT NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
 
Nottinghamshire County Council governs the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire, which covers (excluding the City of Nottingham) 805 square miles.
 
The County Council has over 117,000 school children being educated in 338 primary and secondary schools.
 
Delivery of NCC support services to schools and academies is provided through NCC's Direct Service Organisation, which is one of the largest in the UK.
 
For further information please contact us on:
T: 01684 580680
E: efficiency@i-clean.info
W: www.i-clean.info