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Presbyterian Support Otago
Presbyterian Support Otago was founded more than 100 years ago and is the largest non-governmental provider of social services in the Otago region. Each year, close to 80,000 people in the local community receive services of some description, from residential care to family support. “Presbyterian Support Otago holds firmly to the philosophy that it works with people and not things. Success is measured by the way it connects with individuals, families and the community,” said Bremner. The Chief Executive believes the length of time the organisation’s been in existence provided a little bit of an X-factor in their success. However, longevity alone wasn’t enough to sway the judges’ decision. “We still had to meet all the judging criteria in terms of how the organisation performed—and prove we were doing a good job over and above others. I think not-for-profit enterprises are sometimes considered to be a soft touch. But we showed we go about our business in a strategic and professional way.” Presbyterian Support Otago employs 1,200 staff, with 422 volunteers providing further support. And the win has had the welcome spin-off of being “uplifting” for them, according to Bremner. “I’ve seen a tremendous degree of pride being shown amongst the staff and volunteers associated with the organisation,” she said. “They’ve been encouraged and enthused to be part of an operation that’s been recognised in this way.” Not only that, but she’s been surprised at the amount of good PR that’s been generated by winning the award. “Other businesses are certainly happy to be associated with a business that’s successful,” she added. “I’ve lost count of how many conversations I’ve had with people who’ve said: ‘you’ve won the business excellence award’. I’ve been surprised at the amount of people who know . “Groups such as ourselves are usually not particularly good at promoting to the wider public the breadth of what we do. The award has done wonders for our profile – our win hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
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