Public Servant Lifestyle

A pilot group of police officers and civilian staff from the West Midlands Police Force have signed up to develop their management and leadership skills through a new partnership with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

West Midlands Police is to become the first police force nationally to put both its officers and civilian employees through the CMI's Chartered Manager programme. The professional designation - launched to raise performance levels and improve career development opportunities - will test their ability to meet the community’s needs, lead people and manage change.

The fourteen people selected to begin the scheme will be required to complete an assignment focusing on management issues relevant to civilian or police scenarios. To be awarded Chartered Manager status, each participant will also need to demonstrate an ability to drive change and increase operational efficiency.

Chartered Manager Status

The Chartered Manager programme has been designed to provide an independent benchmark of individual performance in the workplace. As a complementary scheme to West Midlands Police’s own training scheme, it will enhance the management career structure provided by the force.

Inspector Yvonne Harris, Leadership Strategy Co-ordinator for West Midlands Police, said: "The scheme is significant because our staff will only be able to retain Chartered Manager status if they demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development. That means no one can rest on the laurels of an award and our local community will benefit from police who are determined to be the best."

Participants also have to undertake 360-degree appraisals from colleagues and attend a panel interview as part of the final assessment. Christine Hayhurst, director of professional affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, says: "Modern management is about getting the best out of your people and this often involves creating a strong team ethic. By giving colleagues an opportunity to assess candidates’ management capabilities, the aspiring Chartered Managers will know what skills they need to improve and what their teams expect of them.”

This latest initiative with the Institute forms part of the force's wider leadership programme, which is designed to provide leaders with a framework for individual development and examples of good practice. The programme includes workshops, lectures and seminars, delivered on a monthly basis and which include a range of speakers, both internal and external, police and non-police.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) works to support the managers of tomorrow, helping them deliver results in a dynamic world. The Institute helps set and raise standards in management, encouraging development to improve performance. Moreover, with in-depth research and regular policy surveys of its 74,000 individual members and 480 corporate members, the Institute has a deep understanding of the key issues. The Institute came into being in 2002, as a result of the Institute of Management being granted a Royal Charter.

More information available in Education & Training