Investors in People

Summary
Future developments
About the Investors in People Standard
Working with the Standard
Advantages of working with the Investors in People Standard
Achieving the Investors in People Standard
The assessment process
Cost of assessment
Review of recognition
Internal review
Investors in People UK
Key stakeholders and partners

Summary

  • Investors in People is a national Standard for investing in the development of people for organisational and individual success. (See About the Investors in People Standard)
  • Organisations of any kind - public sector and private sector, voluntary and not-for-profit - can work with the Investors in People Standard as long as they employ two or more people. (See Working with the Standard)
  • There are a number of advantages to working with the Investors in People Standard. (See Advantages of working with the Investors in People Standard)
  • Support is available to organisations wishing to work towards Investors in People recognition. (See Achieving the Investors in People Standard)
  • Organisations working with the Investors in People Standard receive a formal external assessment whereby they are measured against all or parts of the Standard and receive feedback both verbally and in a report format on areas for improvements, and strengths and development areas. (See The assessment process)
  • Cost of assessment is dependent on the size of the organisation and the number of people "in scope" of the assessment. (See Cost of assessment)
  • Recognition is awarded for a period of up to three years; thereafter the organisation must come forward again for review or it will be derecognised. (See Review of recognition)
  • Internal review is an option to support the process of post-recognition review. (See Internal review)
  • Investors in People UK is a non-departmental public body established to ensure that the integrity of the Investors in People Standard is upheld through a process of quality assurance. (See Investors in People UK)
  • Investors in People UK is responsible for promoting and developing the Standard, and works with a number of key partners. (See Key stakeholders and partners)

Future developments

Investors in People UK (IiPUK) is a non-departmental public body. Following a review of operations by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills - now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - responsibility for the Investors in People Standard was passed from the Government to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), placing it at the heart of business and skills reform, as of 1 April 2010.

It is widely anticipated that Investors in People (IiP) will have a greater association with the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) in future, given that the UKCES also manages the SSCs.

The Standard has been significantly revised to provide greater flexibility for businesses, and this is being developed to more accurately meet the priorities of individual businesses, such as managing change, managing people, planning, etc. These elements will support the evolution of business quality frameworks in the future. Investors in people now accords a key part of the framework to considering the health and wellbeing of the workforce, adopting a more holistic view of investment by employers in their staff

This is reflected in the new scoring system. Organisations will now be awarded a level of recognition depending on the number and depth of evidence requirements met. ”Gold” and “champion” organisations will therefore be required to demonstrate performance that closely mirrors the highest Standard requirements.

Through its links with the UKCES, IiPUK is working with a number of SSCs and related bodies to encourage take-up of the Standard based on the results of the current review. The Government in England and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsible for determining the role that IiP will play in their national skills strategies, including arrangements for delivery, together with performance targets. It is expected that an appropriate body will be licensed in each country to take over delivery of the standards.

In addition, the current Practitioner Competencies are being replaced by a Specialist Capability Framework, which will include core capabilities, skills, knowledge and behaviours against which specialist advisers and assessors will be measured. This framework will demand even higher standards of performance from Investors in People Specialists.

About the Investors in People Standard

Investors in People is the Government's national quality Standard, which seeks to identify and exemplify good practice in business, especially in relation to the management of people. The Standard at Level 1 (see The assessment process) consists of three key principles, 10 indicators and 39 evidence requirements. Each requirement identifies who is responsible for demonstrating evidence, ie top manager, manager and people. It focuses on:

  • the way in which organisations plan to improve their performance by developing and implementing strategies on people development;
  • how actions are taken through training and development to deliver these strategies; and
  • how investment in such development is measured in terms of performance improvement.

This cycle of business improvement is at the root of what the Standard aims to achieve. The principles reflect a typical business planning cycle (Plan, Do and Review) and place emphasis on continuous improvement, the culture of the organisation and the vital role of managers in people management and development. Each principle has a number of indicators that must be met in order to fulfil the requirements of the Standard. These are as follows:

Developing strategies: There are four indicators to be met against this principle. The organisation must demonstrate that:

  • it has a strategy to improve its performance, which is clearly defined and understood by everyone (indicator one);
  • learning and development is planned to achieve the organisation's objectives (indicator two);
  • the strategies for managing people are designed to promote the equality of opportunity in the development of staff (indicator three); and
  • the skills that managers need to manage people effectively are clearly defined and understood (indicator four).

Taking action: There are four indicators to be met against this principle. The organisation must show that:

  • managers are effective in leading, managing and developing their people (indicator five);
  • the contribution of people to the organisation is recognised and valued (indicator six);
  • people are encouraged to take up ownership and responsibility by being involved in decision-making processes (indicator seven); and
  • people learn and develop effectively (indicator eight).

Evaluation: There are two indicators to be met against this principle. The organisation must show that:

  • the investment in people improves the performance of the organisation (indicator nine); and
  • improvements are made to people-development activities on a continuous basis (indicator 10).

To meet the evidence criteria for each indicator the organisation must demonstrate evidence to the assessor, either as files or other data or from interviews. This must be at a satisfactory level to meet the requirements; for example, within indicator five, managers would need to show: how they were effective in such activities; how they supported and gave feedback to their staff on their performance; that staff understood what their manager should be doing for them; and that they could describe how this happened, by giving examples.

As well as being assessed against the criteria referred to above, organisations have to demonstrate how they deal with health and safety and the training of their employees in safe working practices. This also covers health and wellbeing, including areas such as mental health support and training, fitness and physical health, and includes opportunities provided by the employer, such as reduced gym memberships, health checks, etc. Although legislative requirements are not monitored per se in the assessment, organisations should be able to demonstrate how they plan for and deliver activities in this area.

In addition, organisations are explicitly required to show how they ensure that their employees enjoy equality of opportunity for development; and are encouraged to focus on improving the levels of literacy, language and numeracy of their staff as part of their strategy for improving performance.

The MacLeod Review on Employee Engagement, Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement (PDF format, 972.6K) (on the BIS website), highlights working with the Standard as a positive way to engage employees and add value to an organisation.

During summer 2009, the content of the Standard's three existing models (recruitment and selection, work-life balance, and leadership and management) and the Health and Wellbeing at Work Framework were reviewed in light of the introduction of new options for assessment. In line with government priorities in terms of promoting health, the health and wellbeing model has been significantly revised and now identifies a more holistic approach to promoting good health practices in the workplace, including both mental and physical health.

The more flexible framework offers a wider choice in the way it may be assessed, and organisations can now opt to be assessed against any part of the wider framework. This allows organisations to meet the core requirements while also choosing specific performance indicators towards the wider standard according to the nature of the organisation and the people management processes in place.

Additional indicators include:

  • talent management;
  • employee involvement;
  • corporate social responsibility;
  • leadership and management strategy;
  • learning styles;
  • knowledge management;
  • equality and diversity;
  • external benchmarking;
  • mentoring;
  • work-life balance; and
  • coaching.

Working with the Standard

Organisations of any kind - public sector and private sector, voluntary and not-for-profit - can all work with the Investors in People Standard as long as they employ two or more people. However, even in small organisations, the relevant evidence requirements must be met and demonstrated to the satisfaction of the assessor/s. As the key focus of the Standard is on people management and development, organisations need to be able to show that they are making such an investment with planned and measured results. The term "people development" refers to all people who make some contribution to the achievement of organisational aims and objectives. In effect, this means that people such as temporary workers and voluntary workers will all be considered as requiring some training and development by their employing organisation, and therefore be in "scope" for a formal assessment (see The assessment process).

A number of overseas organisations are working with the Standard, either as part of the work going on in their parent organisation in the UK or independently. Through licensing arrangements between international strategic partners and Investors in People UK, work is going on in more than 20 countries worldwide, covering Africa, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australasia. This activity is managed through the International Quality Centre and IiP International (see The assessment process).

Advantages of working with the Investors in People Standard

There are a number of reasons why organisations might wish to work with the Investors in People (IiP) Standard, namely that it:

  • should help organisations to be more competitive, more productive and, in the longer term, more profitable because it identifies the benefits that are achieved from investment in staff development activities;
  • may result in improvements in sales and service delivery and the control of costs, as it identifies the development of staff towards areas such as customer care, financial management and associated fields;
  • should improve communications and employee relations, as organisations must demonstrate how much staff know about and understand what is going on in the organisation and how staff are involved in decision-making, including representative groups and trades unions;
  • should improve the way management learning and development is provided and assessed;
  • can improve employee morale, reduce staff turnover and create longer-term loyalties;
  • can help with the process of managing change; and
  • can help with multi-skilling and flexibility in the workforce, as people receive the training that is required for the business in a focused and managed fashion;
  • allows them to show commitment to business improvement through people, display the IiP plaque and use the IiP logo on stationery and in recruitment advertising; and
  • can support improvements in physical and mental health and welfare practices through the Health and Wellbeing elements.

Research published by Cranfield School of Management – The impact of the Investors in People Standard on people management practices and firm performance (PDF format, 777K) (on the Cranfield School of Management website) – suggests that the adoption of the Investors in People Standard creates a positive corporate culture that leads to improved organisational performance. Other research reports are available on the Investors in People website.

Achieving the Investors in People Standard

An organisation wishing to work towards Investors in People (IiP) recognition may work through an intermediary agency, such as Business Link, or go directly to the regional offices of IiP.

Intermediary agencies can often support businesses to progress through the accreditation, by giving advice and assistance to managers, and by running workshops with key staff to support their knowledge of the process and systems. The timescales for preparation will vary, but generally it takes between a year and 18 months for an organisation to prepare itself for a formal assessment. When it is considered ready for the formal assessment, contact will be made with the appropriate Investors in People Centre, which will project manage this part of the process.

The assessment process

There are 12 Investors in People Centres throughout the UK. These centres are responsible for coordinating assessment activity in their local area. Assessment is carried out by trained practitioners who visit an organisation to carry out a formal assessment or review at its request. The organisation is measured against all parts of the Standard and receives feedback both verbally and in a written report on areas for improvements and on its strengths.

Much of the evidence gathered through the formal assessment is based on interview evidence collected from a sample of employees and others involved in helping the organisation achieve its aims and objectives. Where appropriate, assessors use online or paper-based pre-assessment questionnaires.

When an organisation is recognised for the first time, approval for this is given by the Recognition Panel (see Key stakeholders and partners). For second or third assessments (known as reviews) an experienced assessor can make the decision, which is then reported to the Panel. Where, following its first assessment, an organisation does not meet the Standard, it is given feedback and set on the path towards achievement in the future, usually within an agreed timeframe. This is normally within one year of the first assessment visit. Where an organisation does not meet the Standard following a first recognition, it is put into retaining recognition mode until it has agreed an action plan to deal with the identified shortfalls in practices. The Recognition Panel has to agree to this action plan and the suggested time frame, which is usually less than a year.

The International Quality Centre, a partnership between the Centre for Assessment and Assessment North East, handles all international assessment work.

In May 2009, the New Choices project merged the Investors in People Standard and Profile into a single framework to give organisations undergoing assessment or review more choice and flexibility in how they are assessed. They can choose to be assessed or reviewed against Level 1 only (the current Standard) or Level 1 plus aspects of, or the whole of, the rest of the framework (ie Levels 2, 3 and 4 in the previous Profile).

The assessment can be designed according to business priorities or to enable improvements to be made in relation to feedback given. Assessments/reviews will focus on key themes as appropriate for the organisation, such as:

  • leadership;
  • managing change;
  • recruitment and retention;
  • corporate social responsibility;
  • equality and diversity; and
  • health and wellbeing.

The scope and content of Level 1 represents the Standard, whereas Levels 2 to 4 provide greater breadth and depth based on the theme of the indicator. Areas covered include leadership, work-life balance, recruitment and selection, diversity and corporate social responsibility. If an organisation chooses to look in more detail at these areas, it will be allocated a level of good practice against each indicator:

  • Level 1 represents an organisation that meets the evidence requirements of the Standard and demonstrates good practice.
  • Level 2 represents an organisation that exceeds the requirements of the Standard by achieving at least 50% of Level 2 and 3 statements in addition to meeting Level 1 requirements.
  • Level 3 represents an organisation that significantly exceeds the requirements of the Standard by achieving 100% of Level 2 and 3 statements in addition to meeting Level 1 requirements.
  • Level 4 represents an organisation that demonstrates excellent practice by achieving all of the requirements for Levels 1 to 4.

Results are placed in a central database and organisations can benchmark themselves against others in their sector. This online approach is equally as challenging as a formal assessment, in that comparisons with other organisations and self-review methods used by the organisation are also considered in the assessment decision. There may be additional costs when using this approach, depending on the amount of assessor time taken.

The revised Standard should help organisations to clarify the way in which they manage their human capital, including the reporting requirements of the Operating and Financial Review now affecting all quoted UK companies. Another benefit of the new approach to IiP is that it gives organisations the opportunity to look beyond the Standard to decide which parts of the extended framework link to their priorities or performance targets. This means that organisations can focus on different but relevant topics for each review as part of a continuous development programme, often linked into their planning processes and cycles.

In May 2009, IiP introduced Bronze, Silver and Gold recognitions to the Standard. These are awarded to organisations that have met additional criteria beyond the requirements of the Standard. Organisations that achieve:

  • the Standard plus 26 additional evidence requirements or more will be recognised as Investors in People Bronze;
  • the Standard plus 76 additional evidence requirements or more will be recognised as Investors in People Silver;
  • the Standard plus 126 additional evidence requirements or more will be recognised as Investors in People Gold; and

Organisations recognised as “Gold” Standard may replace the current system of “Champion” organisations, which serve as ambassadors for the Standard.

There is an online business support tool, IiP Interactive (on Investors in People website), which features a simple 20 question diagnostic that indicates how well an organisation is performing against the Standard. The interactive tool also offers a step-by-step tour through the Standard to give an impression of what IiP is about for organisations considering accreditation.

Cost of assessment

The cost of assessment is dependent on the size of the organisation and the number of people in scope. A number of days of assessment activity are agreed with the organisation and these cost up to £750 per day per assessor. When an organisation has already been assessed, its following review may be cheaper depending on the complexity of the assessment and the time period when it is carried out. For some smaller organisations certain subsidies for assessment may be available through the relevant business development network or Investors in People Centre, or virtual assessments can be done electronically or using paper questionnaires in advance of the formal assessment, allowing costs to be reduced as the assessors will spend less time on site.

Where an organisation is made up of several parts and locations, it can opt to go forward for a whole organisation assessment over a planned period of time. Investors in People UK does not encourage fragmented parts of larger organisations to go forward for assessment, preferring to agree a strategy, as far as is practicable, to take the whole organisation forward as one entity. If they wish, organisations can choose to have a parallel assessment whereby autonomous parts of a large organisation are assessed at the same time as the whole. Many large organisations, such as government departments, have found it appropriate to develop some internal expertise to help with this process by training a team of internal reviewers to monitor overall progress. Organisations may use their internal reviewers to collect evidence for reviews if they have undertaken relevant mandatory training and are deemed capable by their local Investors in People Centre.

In such cases the evidence gathered by the internal reviewers forms part of the overall assessment, and the expertise developed by such reviewers may be used to support the progress of continuous improvement in line with the Standard. The costs of such an approach are again dependent on the number of days of assessment activity required, covering planning, on-site interviews, report writing and feedback to the client.

Review of recognition

When recognised, an organisation can come forward for review at any time within a three-year period. If, after three years, an organisation chooses not to come forward again for assessment it will be derecognised. Rather than waiting for three years, organisations can opt to follow a "rolling review" programme. This enables them to focus on different areas at different times. However, a consolidation report must be produced at least once every three years indicating whether or not the Standard continues to be met across the whole organisation.

Internal review

Internal review was formally introduced in 2002 as an option for post-recognition review. One method is for staff members trained as internal reviewers ("health checkers") to carry out periodic checks to see where and how the national Standard continues to be met, or where the organisation needs to improve to meet the Standard. If required, this team of internal reviewers can help to gather evidence for the formal post-recognition review under the direction of an external assessor and the Investors in People Centre. This team of internal reviewers review any documentary evidence, sample the assessment, carry out interviews to collect evidence, review this evidence and participate in report writing and providing feedback to the organisation. To all intents and purposes they act as internal assessors working alongside the external assessor.

A second method is for the internal review team to gather evidence and present it periodically to an external assessor for validation. However, before this approach is embarked on, there has to be agreement between the external assessor, the Investors in People Centre and the customer organisation on how and when the evidence is to be presented.

Organisations may use their internal reviewers to collect evidence for a conventional or more in-depth review provided that they have undertaken relevant mandatory training and are deemed capable by their local Investors in People Centre.

Investors in People UK

Investors in People UK (IiPUK) is a non-departmental public body, under the purview of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. Its main role is to ensure that the integrity of the Investors in People Standard is upheld through a process of quality assurance. It promotes the value and application of the Standard and monitors its implementation. It also maintains a central database of organisations committed to or recognised as Investors in People (IiP).

IiPUK is the advocate of the Ambassador Programme, which promotes IiP through the personal experience and recommendation of individual Ambassador organisations and individuals. The Investors in People Champions programme recognises organisations that have boosted their performance through the management and development of their employees and are prepared to promote the ethos to others and support them on their journey towards accreditation. Details of the two programmes are available on the Investors in People website.

A wide-ranging agreement between Unionlearn, the TUC's workplace learning organisation, and Investors in People has been set up to maximise the promotion of workplace learning and skills development. Projects in north-west England and London have achieved positive results including the creation of a wider role for union learning representatives and IiPUK centres. Each organisation has pledged to promote the positive role of the other in getting workplaces to implement the Investors in People Standard and advocate Skills for Life courses, and the quality of their content. A Unionlearn booklet, Making the most of Investors in People - a guide for trade unions (PDF format, 723.8K) (on the Unionlearn website), highlights the partnership way of working. Other planned developments include the linking of union involvement and IiPUK with other initiatives such as Skills for Life, Matrix, and the Sector Skills agenda.

IiPUK has close working relationships with a number of bodies, including Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, in England and Wales. To prevent overlap and duplication, attempts have been made to ensure that assessment evidence presented can be shared, where appropriate, and visits coordinated so that assessment and inspection are less onerous for the client. IiPUK has also established a strong working relationship with UK Skills, a non-profit organisation that champions skills and learning for work through competitions and awards.

Key stakeholders and partners

Investors in People UK (IiPUK) is responsible for promoting and developing the Standard and works with a number of key partners.

Advisers and assessors: Advisers work with customers to plan and prepare for their assessment, and to promote the Standard as a business-development tool. An adviser may be an independent consultant or an employee of a business development agency such as Business Link, the Small Business Service or the Local Enterprise Companies.

Assessors are employed by the Investors in People Centres to work with customers to plan and conduct their assessment or review. An assessor provides feedback to the customer on completion of the assessment on whether or not the Standard has been met and where any shortfalls arise, and also works with Recognition Panel members. Assessors' competence is measured against an agreed set of competencies.

Since 1 June 2007, all Investors in People practitioners, ie advisers and assessors, have been required to join a national register for Business Support Professionals. One of the outcomes of the 2005 White Paper Skills: getting on in business, getting on at work (on the Department for Children, Schools and Families website) was a recommendation to improve the performance of business advice and support through the creation of a common national standard. IiPUK has therefore agreed as a matter of policy to request that its licensed Investors in People specialists register with the Institute of Business Consultancy.

Investors in People Centres: The Investors in People Centres are tasked with the quality assurance of the Standard's implementation by ensuring that the assessment process is carried out in a professional and appropriate way. The centres must recruit and train competent assessors and ensure that customer satisfaction is achieved through the operation of assessment activities. They are responsible for the management of their local Recognition Panels and the training and development of members. They also share good practice amongst themselves and with IiPUK, and work towards adding value to customer organisations. In addition to the centres, there is a service for national organisations called Investors in People Corporate Solutions. This provides a holistic service of promotion, client management, advice and assessment to embed Investors in People into the corporate strategies of very large organisations in England. International advisory and assessment work is handled by the International Quality Centre. The IiPUK quality assurance team acts as an arbiter in any quality issues arising that cannot be settled at local level.

Recognition Panels: A Recognition Panel is an independent group of experienced senior managers from recognised organisations whose role is to quality assure the work of the assessors by monitoring reports, providing feedback and making decisions on recognition for organisations going forward for first-time recognition. The Recognition Panel plays a key role in ensuring that the Standard is not brought into disrepute through the award of recognition to any organisation, and also provides advice to its Investors in People Centre.

Other agencies: It is important for those working in the Investors in People field to maintain close links with, and understand current developments within other strategic bodies including the Skills Funding Agency, the Sector Skills Councils, Business Link, the Enterprise Directorate, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in Scotland, and other business-development agencies. IiPUK is a member of the Skills Alliance, the partnership body delivering the Government's skills strategy.

Successive governments have recognised the importance of core skills in maths and English, and the benefits to both businesses and individuals. To support the emphasis on these skills a Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) section has been added to the IiPUK website. LLN is also supported through the Skills Pledge in England.