Success for Highland Council staff

The Chair of The Highland Council’s Community and Place Committee has congratulated two members of staff from the Amenities service for their success after they shone at national awards.

At the Association for Public Service Excellence (ASPE) Awards Nicole Hardie, an operational support officer and technical assistant Ryen Campbell were both shortlisted for silver awards in the parks, grounds and streets category and automatically put through to the gold nominations.

As part of the final selection both had to prepare a presentation and undergo an Interview and Q&A with the panel.   Winners were announced at the ASPE Awards event held on Thursday 25 May.   Nicole won the Silver Rising Star Award in the parks, grounds and streets category and Ryen won the Gold Rising Star Award in the same category.

Chair, Cllr Graham Mackenzie said: “This is a great achievement for both Nicole and Ryen, and I am sure all their colleagues will want to join me in congratulating them for their success. To be recognised in such a way reflects their hard work and as a council we are fortunate to have such skilled staff working for us. I wish them a long and happy career.”

Nicole started work with the Council in 2013 as a Clerical Assistant and has developed through various roles. In her current role she developed new systems and processes for bringing the Play Technician team in-house, providing critical back-office support and organised training. She has developed a form for customers requesting play inspections, and a pricing structure for the Play Areas commercial works. One of her biggest successes has been the customer survey she designed and ran for operators of the comfort scheme. The findings of this contributed to an allocation from the Visitor Management Fund.

Ryen joined the Council in 2021 as a seasonal grass cutter and was quickly promoted to Play Technician in the new in-sourced team. He grasped the opportunity to learn new skills and excelled at the training to become a qualified Play Inspector.

He is very conscientious and ensures all his sites are kept safe, using his initiative by coming up with ways to repair damage, extend the life expectancy and reduce costs of play equipment. He has also adopted new and efficient ways of working, to ensure better resource allocation and quicker repairs.

Both members of staff have also been shortlisted for Employee of the Year at the Highland Council Staff Recognition Awards which will take place on Friday 9 June in Inverness