More than 100 businesses, including some of the biggest and smallest in the West Midlands have put themselves forward for the 11 categories so the judges really had their work cut out to whittle the selection down to the cream of the crop.

Staffordshire based eg also entered the ‘Company of The Year Award’ and the judges announced that as so many companies put forward excellent applications for this category they have decided to consider all of the short-listed companies for this prestigious award.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner on Monday 20 September 2010 at The International Convention Centre.

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer of eg solutions plc said: “International trade has enabled eg to trade through and grow despite the difficulties in our core UK market.  Once again it is really motivating that the benefits of our export efforts have been recognised by being shortlisted.”

- ENDS -

For more information on eg please contact Rachel Oliver, Marketing Manager at eg, on +44 (0) 1785 715772, email racheloliover@eguk.co.uk or visit www.eguk.co.uk.

About eg solutions plc

eg solutions plc is a global back office optimisation software company. Our software provides historic, real-time and predictive Operational MI.  When implemented with our training programme for managers and team leaders to use this intelligence, we guarantee improvements in operational results in short timescales.

The certification process is based around the achievement of pre-defined standards and is a highly-regarded badge of excellence.

As part of the assessment process, Accredit UK measured the whole of eg’s people, processes and performance factors.  It did this across 5 areas of the operation:

• Business Management – how well does a business manage itself and its personnel?
• Business Direction – how well has a business planned its strategy?
• Business Generation – how well does a business go about generating new business?
• Delivery & Operations – how well does a business carry out its activities?
• Customer Relationships – how well does a business manage its customers?

An independent assessor concluded that eg met the required standards in all 5 areas of its business; so purchasers can be sure that eg will perform well in every area.

In gaining this unique standard it demonstrates eg has achieved excellent performance standards in core business processes and has proven its commitment to continuous improvement.  An annual review will be carried out to ensure that we continue to improve and meet the required expectations.

Tony Lynock, Head of Software said “Certification is only awarded to the best ICT suppliers so we are proud to have achieved this recognition.  The blue-chip companies we work with now have the additional reassurance of eg as an ICT supplier having the core requirements to carry out a project, ensuring minimal risk.”

Accredit UK has produced a Guide to Purchasing ICT. It helps Purchasers by giving them useful advice on how to get the most from their ICT Supplier. http://bit.ly/d4mFTl

One for our clients……It’s that time again – the launch of the eg operational excellence® awards 2010.

The formal launch of this year’s awards will take place at the eg Software User Group on Monday 29 March at Wembley Stadium.

This year, whilst we have a brand new Gala Dinner venue, the categories remain the same and we anticipate a record number of entries.

All of the dates you need to be aware of are listed on our website.

The eg operational excellence awards are a unique chance to benchmark success both within your organisation and against your industry peers.  The nomination process is an excellent opportunity to congratulate your staff, reward individual hard work and celebrate team effort.

If you would like to find out more or speak to eg about the awards or obtain a press pass, email me at racheloliver@eguk.co.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1785 715772.

It is worth reading my previous blog on this topic and subsequent client comments.  You will notice my sinicism has changed slightly as since my last blog on this topic eg went on to win ‘Technology vendor with the Most Innovative Financial Services Solution’ – a key industry award and also be highly commended in the ICT awards.  We have also supported our clients in winning and being shortlisted for Ventana Research awards, the Financial Sector Technology Awards and Professional Planning Forum (PPF) Innovation Awards.

Maybe the luck has finally changed or maybe we have got to grips with what the judges really want to see evidenced…..

The FST Awards, now in their tenth year, aim to recognise excellence and innovation in the field of information technology within the UK and EMEA financial sector.  The awards are designed to emphasise the importance of IT as a key driver in business and to acknowledge and reward IT specialists working within the sector.

Nationwide Regional Brands, shortlisted in the ‘Best Use of IT in Retail Banking’ category, were nominated by eg following the deployment of the eg operational intelligence® software suite to develop a consistent, transparent approach to back office capacity and capability planning, managing volume throughput and the performance management of staff to evolve them to be the best they can be across the three brands.

The FST Awards have recognised Legal & General Protection in the ‘Best Use if IT in Insurance category’ for a programme in 2009 which extended the use of eg’s software and methodology within the Strategic Partner business to provide consistent capacity planning and resource sharing, both across two sites and across the strategic accounts. This has created significant capacity that has been shared with other areas of the business to reduce overall operating costs and improve customer service performance.

The winners of the FST Awards will be announced at a gala dinner on the 25 March at the Lancaster London Hotel.

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer of eg solutions plc said: “Once again the benefits of implementing an operational management strategy and operational intelligence tools are proven following the recognition by the FST Awards of both clients’ projects.  The teams at Nationwide Regional Brands and Legal & General Protection worked with determination to achieve success on these implementations and would both be worthy winners.”

Nationwide Regional Brands – comprising the Cheshire, Derbyshire & Dunfermline Building Societies – has been shortlisted for the successful implementation of consistent operations management practices and Management Information (eg operational intelligence®) to deliver immediate cost benefits, create a common language for performance management and to establish an effective platform for consistent back office capacity planning across the three locations. 

Paul Smedley, Executive Director of the Professional Planning Forum, said: “The record number of companies in the shortlist reflects the depth of quality and the fantastic breadth of entries this year.  The back office innovations this time are a real sign of how much has changed in this area.  They are taking on more and more of the customer service disciplines previously associated with the front office.  These finalists put forward industry-leading achievements in planning, process improvements and delivery of effective end-to-end service.” 

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer of eg, commented: “These awards provide a benchmark for our clients to see how they compare to customer service operations across all industries, not just Financial Services.  It’s satisfying to see a client gain the recognition they deserve and we wish Nationwide Regional Brands the best of luck.”

The winners of the Professional Planning Forum Innovation Awards will be announced at a gala dinner on the evening of the Contact Centre Planning Forum on 20 April 2010.  eg are sponsoring National Back Office Forum which runs alongside the main event and attendees will gain insight into how others are building an integrated customer service performance culture in the back office and establishing effective planning and MI to optimise their processes and performance.

Click on the links to find out more information about the Innovation Awards, the Contact Centre Planning Forum or the National Back Office Forum.

eg solutions plc (the “Company”; LSE-AIM: EGS), the operations management software applications vendor, is pleased to announce that its customer, Legal & General Retail Savings has received the Ventana Research 2009 Leadership Award for Operational Intelligence.  The Award was in recognition of a successful business transformation project, supported by eg solutions plc’s eg operational intelligence® software suite.

Ventana Research is a leading benchmark research and advisory services firm based in the USA.  They provide expert guidance to help organisations manage and optimise performance – to become not only more efficient but more effective.

The Ventana Research 2009 Leadership Awards recognise organisations that have most effectively delivered business success using people, process, information and technology best practices.  The Awards recognise pioneers and leaders – organisations and individuals that exemplify the understanding that the successful management of performance requires a clear vision, understanding and determination, and a team effort.  They are designed to highlight exemplary individuals and organisations that have demonstrated business leadership.

The Operational Intelligence Award was awarded to Legal & General Retail Savings for their success at applying operational intelligence to leverage business and technology events to improve operational responsiveness and drive action.  Legal & General embarked on a major business transformation starting in 2008, resulting in significant service, efficiency and cost improvements and cultural change.  Core to achieving this was the implementation of the eg operational intelligence® software suite.

“The Leadership Awards honour organisations of all sizes and industries from across the world that have distinguished themselves in their approach to improving their performance,” said Mark Smith, CEO and EVP Research, Ventana Research.  “The nominations this year were among the finest we have seen and both winners and finalists are to be congratulated for the superior work they have done to accelerate their organisations’ growth and improve their competitiveness.”

Paul Lewis, Customer Service Director of Legal & General Retail Savings, said: “We are very proud to be recognised as the leader of the Ventana Research 2009 Leadership Award for Operational Intelligence.  The implementation of eg’s software and methodology has helped Legal & General to drive responsiveness across the business and improve service, efficiency and performance, which we believe will have a really positive impact on Legal & General’s future success.”

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer of eg solutions plc, said: “Legal & General Retail Savings have demonstrated best practice use of software and principles in an environment where operational intelligence is becoming increasingly essential to manage business activities in real-time.  This is a fantastic result.”

Staffordshire-based eg, a Microsoft Gold Partner, won the award for the eg operational intelligence® software suite – an application which provides real-time management information to help organisations make the right operational decisions to effectively measure, manage and improve customer service delivery.  eg guarantees improvements in productivity, customer service, quality and cost savings.

The award recognised the Company’s operational efficiencies and the cost savings delivered for its clients in the UK, Europe, South Africa, India and the Middle East.  The judges were looking for financial and non-financial evidence of how customers have benefited from use of the eg operational intelligence® software suite, how the technology is innovative and the impact the application has had on eg’s own organisational success.

Current clients of eg include a range of blue chip financial services organisations, such as: The Co-operative Financial Services; HBOS; Aviva; Legal & General; Nationwide Building Society; Resolution (South Africa) and one of the largest bancassurance groups in the Nordic region.

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This award is a great tribute to the hard work by all the staff at eg and their focus on meeting the specific needs of our clients’ back office operations management.”

 Chris Ray, Director of Communications and Alumni Services at the ifs School of Finance, said:

“These awards now in their 12th year celebrate those financial firms that have made stand out innovations in the field of financial services. The industry has came through a difficult year and we are delighted to see that even in the throes of a recession, companies are continuing to innovate and look at alternative ways to harness resources and talent to rebuild and meet the challenges ahead. This is evidenced in the quality and quantity of this year’s entries and the growing reach of the competition into Europe and beyond with entries this year from Spain, Turkey, Poland, Malta and South Africa.  Our congratulations therefore go to eg solutions for their tremendous success in winning this award, a real hallmark of success.”

Notes to Editors:

ifs School of Finance

The ifs School of Finance is a registered educational charity incorporated by Royal Charter. It has a remit to provide the financial services industry with a skilled, effective and competent workforce whilst also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers.

The ifs is the only educational body with a specific focus on finance that has the power to award its own degrees. Its formal qualifications range from GCSE and A Level equivalents for the 14–19 age group, to Degree and Masters programmes for financial professionals. The ifs also offers professional development, competence maintenance and executive education programmes through its alumni membership services

The awards, now in their 7th year, recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals towards best practice use of the eg principles of operational management® and achievements in pursuit of World Class Operations Management Standards.

The awards evening was attended by guests from many of eg’s clients including: The Co-operative Group, Capita, Legal & General, Wesleyan Assurance, West Bromwich Building Society, Nationwide and Aviva. 

When announcing this year’s winners, Tim Becker – the evening’s compere and Client Engagement Manager at eg – said: “The eg operational excellence® awards celebrate real achievements and reward the hard work and success of Team Leaders, Managers and their teams.  The standard of the nominations this year was extremely high and all the winners should feel extremely proud of their achievements and their progress in the journey to operational excellence.”

The 2009 Winners

Best Newcomer – Jo Fulford, Capita Life & Pensions
Best Business Support – shared by Kuba Tatarski of Nationwide – Specialist Lending & Julie Bott of Wesleyan Assurance
Most Improved – Lyndsey Franklin, The Co-operative Group
Best Practice Manager – Amanda Hunter, Legal & General, Protection
Customer Service Team Award – Wesleyan Assurance
Best Practice Team Leader – Lisa Chaplin, The Co-operative Group

Photographs from the eg operational excellence® awards 2009 are now available.

The fast-growing and successful company won the award for a recent implementation of its software within Birmingham-based mutual, Wesleyan Assurance Society.  The project involved the support of an internal initiative to deliver an improved and differentiated customer service. 

The judges selected eg as it is the only operations management software applications vendor that guarantees return on investment and is paid based on the results delivered.  There is a myriad of different IT systems and methodologies that claim to resolve or contribute to solving the operational issues faced by organisations. 

eg’s software is used to augment these existing IT platforms – including BPM, BI, Workforce Management, CRM and core processing systems – to provide the missing link – historic, real-time and predictive operational intelligence.

Over the last 12 months eg has successfully demonstrated that the use of the eg operational intelligence® software suite achieves improved operational efficiency and significant cost savings.

Elizabeth Gooch, Chief Executive Officer at eg  said, “Receiving a highly commended recognition has helped everyone at eg feel recognition for the hard work they have invested through very trying times.  It also illustrates that we have triumphed in adversity and helps us to continue to feel positive for the future growth of eg. As our nomination concerned a client project, being a finalist illustrates that we are achieving significant successes for our clients during this difficult economic climate.”
 
“Despite the ongoing economic turbulence, eg has successfully demonstrated to potential and existing clients that the use of our solutions is guaranteed to achieve improved operational efficiency.  The company has made solid progress in converting its sales pipeline prospects into firm orders,” she concluded.

Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager, added: “This year we’ve seen the highest standard of award entries yet and competition has been incredibly tough. The ongoing judging process has been rigorous and the panel faced a major challenge deciding the final winners. It’s fantastic to see the quality and diversity of technology companies the West Midlands region has to offer.

The ICT Cluster Excellence Awards were presented at the evening Awards event following the Annual ICT Cluster Conference held at the National Motorcycle Museum on 10 November 2009.

The Awards, now in their 7th year, recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals towards best practice use of the eg principles of operational management® and achievements in pursuit of World Class Operations Management Standards. 

This year’s shortlists contain individuals from Financial Services organisations in the UK and South Africa, including The Co-operative Financial Services, Legal & General, Capita Life & Pensions, Wesleyan Assurance, West Bromwich Building Society, Resolution, Aviva and Nationwide Building Society.

Tim Becker, Client Engagement Manager at eg, said: “The eg operational excellence® awards celebrate real achievements and reward the hard work and success of Team Leaders, Managers and their teams.  The standard of the nominations this year was extremely high and all those shortlisted should feel extremely proud to be recognised for their excellent demonstration of operations management best practice.”

This year’s award ceremony will take place on Friday 13 November at the prestigious Lowry Hotel, Manchester. Guests will enjoy a gala dinner followed by the Awards ceremony and entertainment.

The 2009 shortlist

Best Newcomer
Rebecca Davies, Legal & General Protection
Paul Maycock, Cheshire Building Society (Nationwide Regional Brands)
Jo Fulford, Capita Life & Pensions
Jo Gee, Nationwide Building Society – Specialist Lending
Faith Harrison, Wesleyan Assurance
Jennifer White, Nationwide Building Society – MAA
Chris Uitenweerde, Resolution
Mark Barton, The Co-operative Financial Services

Best Practice Team Leader
Sue Cox, The Co-operative Financial Services
Steve Harris, Aviva – JV
Lisa Chaplin, The Co-operative Group
Amanda Keeping, Legal & General Protection
Andrea Holloway, West Bromwich Building Society
Lisa Long, Capita Life & Pensions
Jeanette Coombe, Capita Life & Pensions
Michelle Smith, Nationwide Building Society – Specialist Lending
Sara Bruton, Nationwide Building Society – Specialist Lending
Nick Parkash, Wesleyan Assurance

Most Improved
Lyndsey Franklin, The Co-operative Group
Michelle Whitehead, The Co-operative Group
Jane Munn, Aviva-JV
Lynda Upton, Wesleyan Assurance
Toni Lahanas, Nationwide Building Society – Specialist Lending
Tony Lee, The Co-operative Financial Services
Cath Dewey, Capita Manchester Operations

Business Support
Nathan Sheppard, Legal & General Protection
Julie Bott, Wesleyan Assurance
Matthew Rose, Nationwide Building Society – MAA
Gary Lloyd, Capita Manchester Operations
Peter Wright, Capita Life & Pensions
Andy Shackleton, Capita Manchester Operations
Mark Jones, West Bromwich Building Society
Tracy Mitchell, The Co-operative Group
Kuba Tatarski, Nationwide Specialist Lending
Su Beech, The Co-operative Financial Services

Best Practice Manager
Philippa Gayle, The Co-operative Group
Amanda Hunter, Legal & General Protection
Peter Rawlings, Legal & General Protection
Stuart Harris, Nationwide Building Society – Specialist Lending
Lee Marjoram, The Co-operative Financial Services

Company Award
Legal & General Protection
Nationwide Regional Brands
Resolution
Wesleyan Assurance
West Bromwich Building Society