Council targeting world-class status

27 July 2006

Christchurch City Council has set its sights on being “world-class” by 2008.

In the first step towards its target, the Council lodged its first ever application for the 2006 Performance Excellence Study Awards (PESA), a system to stimulate performance improvement among New Zealand organisations.

General Manager Human Resources Philippa Jones says the Council has a proud record of achievement including a number of unit-based successes and awards, and it wants to sustain this tradition.

“The Council chose the business excellence framework of PESA because it is nationally respected. Thirty-five of the 86 local authorities have, at some time, made a formal application and 45 of them currently use the entire set of international criteria,”  Ms Jones said. 

“The results of this first PESA application will serve as our benchmark. It is a snapshot of where we are now. The assessment, which is expected in September 2006, will highlight the areas in which we are doing well and also identify opportunities for improvement.  It is vital we do this to ensure we can deliver the best services possible in every area of the Council’s activities.”

PESA is sponsored by the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of Internal Affairs, Business Excellence New Zealand Limited and Local Government New Zealand.

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