West Yorkshire Police in running for top national management award

West Yorkshire Police has been announced as a finalist in the first ever CMI National Management & Leadership Awards, putting it among the UK's best organisations and brightest individual managers.

The awards celebrate organisations which have achieved real success during the past 18 months as a result of exemplary management and leadership. They also recognise employers dedicated to supporting the professional development of future generations of managers.

West Yorkshire Police has been shortlisted in the Management Team of the Year and Change Management categories, for its handling of budget cuts within its Criminal Justice Support (CJS) department.

Faced with budget cuts, managers within the CJS department involved staff in decision making, encouraging them to suggest ideas that could reshape the service.

Head of CJS and chair of the Restructure Programme Board, chief superintendent Simon Willsher, said: "This nomination is a reward for the combined efforts of a number of staff within CJS, including our staff associations. We have reviewed the functions and purpose of the Department, engineering fundamental changes to some of the existing structures and processes. As a result, both staff performance and public satisfaction rates have improved, saving over £1.5 million for the Force. This is an outstanding effort and one I am immensely proud of. To have our efforts recognised by the CMI is a fitting tribute to all those involved".

At the beginning of the year, organisations from across the UK were invited to enter the nine categories, irrespective of the size of the business or the sector in which they operate. Their applications underwent intense scrutiny by nine separate panels of experts tasked with choosing a winner. The judges considered aspects including how the organisations are structured, their integrity and sustainability, and their financial successes.

Ruth Spellman, chief executive of CMI, said: "The future wealth and prosperity of UK plc is dependent upon a competitive and determined mindset, executed through strong leadership and management. It is tremendously encouraging to see so many strong, tangible examples of the impact that excellent management and leadership has had on the success of these organisations shortlisted. The CMI National Management & Leadership Awards scheme is intended to raise the bar when it comes to management and leadership excellence. Those who have made it to this stage of the competition can feel justifiably proud that they are leading the field, and should be looked to as examples for others to follow."

The winners will be announced at an awards dinner in central London, following CMI's National Conference on Thursday 14 October. Further details about the competition and list of all the finalists can be found at http://www.nmlawards.com