In November 2006 Investors in People celebrates its 15th Anniversary. But what can it do for your business?
Developed in 1990 by a partnership of leading businesses and national organisations, the Investors in People Standard helps organisations to improve performance and realise objectives through the management and development of their people.
During 1993, as a demand for, and interest in the Standard grew, Investors in People UK was formed to take national ownership of the Standard, protect its integrity and ensure its successful promotion and development.
Since it was developed the Standard has been reviewed every three years by Investors in People UK to ensure that it remains relevant, accessible and attractive to all. The most recent review was completed in November 2004.
The Investors in People Standard provides a flexible framework, which any organisation can adapt for its own requirements. It mirrors the business planning cycle (plan, do, review) making it clear for organisations to follow and implement in their own planning cycle.
The framework involves:
- Plan – developing strategies to improve the performance of the organisation
- Do – taking action to improve the performance of the organisation
- Review – evaluating the impact on the performance of the organisation
Investors in People - Profile
To allow organisations to continuously improve through taking an in depth look at their strengths and weaknesses a more stretching tool was introduced – Profile .
The Investors in People Profile is a framework of good practice that provides further stretch for organisations. It does this by going beyond the current scope of the Investors in People Standard into broader areas of people management and development. It is based on the same 3 principles as the Standard, Plan, Do and Review.
The Standard tells an organisation it is displaying good practice, Profile shows an organisation exactly how good they are and where they can focus for further improvements and productivity gains.
Details of the Investors in People Standard and Profile can be viewed within attached PDFs.
Benefits of Investors in People
Over the past 15 years independent research has consistently shown that the Investors in People Standard provides real business benefits to organisations of all sizes and across the all sectors.
There are over 60,000 organisations in the UK working with Investors in People, including household names such as Sainsbury’s, Lloyds TSB, McDonalds and Unilever. By encouraging organisations to focus on their return on investment, Investors in People has helped employers to improve the bottom line and deliver further tangible business results.
The practical benefits of working towards and achieving the Investors in People status are many and include:
- Improved earnings, productivity and profitability
Skilled and motivated people work harder and better improving productivity
- Customer Satisfaction
Investors in People is central to helping employees become customer focused enabling organisations to effectively meet customer needs
- Improved motivation
Through employees greater involvement, personal development and recognition of achievement, motivation is improved. This leads to higher morale, improved retention rates, reduced absenteeism, readier acceptance of change and identification with the organisations goals beyond the confines of the job
- Reduced costs and wastage
Skilled and motivated people constantly examine their work to contribute towards reducing costs and wastage
- Enhanced quality
Investing in people significantly improves the results of quality programmes. Investors in People adds considerable value to The Excellence Model, ISO 9000, BS 5750 and other total quality initiatives
- Competitive advantage through improved performance
Investor in People organisations develop a competitive edge
- Public recognition
Investor in People status brings public recognition for real achievements measured against a rigorous National Standard. Being an Investor in People helps to attract the best quality job applicants. It may also provide a reason for customers to choose specific goods and services.
The additional benefits an organisation can gain from the Investors in People are:
- The opportunity to review current policies and practices against a recognised benchmark
- A framework for planning future strategy and action
- A structured way to improve the effectiveness of training and development activities
To find out more about the benefits of Investors in People through experiences of engineering organisations already working with the Standard please look through the following Case studies.
Capita Symonds North
Farrelly Facilities and Engineering
Clarkson Evans
Investors in People Champions Programme
Investors in People Champions are an elite group of organisations have been exemplary in their use of the Investors in People and are encouraged to offer their support and guidance by sharing their ideas and success stories to organisations throughout the United Kingdom.
The Champions work with Investors in People UK to share their expertise with other employers through a series of best practice sharing activities designed to promote effective alignment of people development with business goals. The activities will include presentations, mentoring and site visits to the Champion organisation. If you would like to find out more or even contact a Champions organisation, visit the IiP website.