What is it all about?

What is it all about?

Who is it for?

• Any organisation – small or large – in any industry that is committed to supporting the development of its people

• Currently 25,000 organisations = 20% UK workforce

• TNT in Estonia

Training and Development –Early 90’s

• Focus was on operational issues:

– Making decisions on who got what

– Designing individual courses/events

– Managing the paperwork – policies, plans, procedures

• Against background of low quality and productivity

Government Taskforce

• Lot of activity and money being spent – average 3% of turnover

• What were organisations getting in return?

• People did not perceive that they were being “developed”

• Managers largely disengaged – training was what Personnel Departments did!

What is Investors in People?

• A national standard that sets what “good” looks like in relation to developing people

• Based on good practise amongst leading employers

• An organisation/business development tool:

“ The fundamental purpose is to improve business performance through improved people performance. It provides a simple framework to ensure that development activities are linked directly to business objectives - better people means better business”

How does it work?

• Investors in People is based on four principles

– Commitment

– Planning

– Action

– Evaluation

• These are supported by 12 “indicators” or criteria, of good practice against which organisations can benchmark themselves or they can be ‘measured’ through independent, external assessment

Key Features

• 12 indicators – set out clearly the “what” and the “who” but not the “how”

Principles Indicators Evidence

CommitmentAn Investor in People is fully committed to developing its people in order to achieve its aims and objectives

1.The organisation is committed to supporting the development of its people (4)Top Management (1)Managers (1)People (2)

1.1. Top management can describe strategies that they have put in place to support the development of people in order to improve the organisation's performance.1.2. Managers can describe specific actions that they have taken and are currently taking to support the development of people1.3. People can confirm that the specific strategies and actions described by top management and managers take place1.4. People believe the organisation is genuinely committed to supporting their development

2 People are encouraged to improve their own and other people's performance (2)

2.1. People can give examples of how they have been encouraged to improve their own performance2.2. People can give examples of how they have been encouraged to improve other people's performance

3 People believe their contribution to the organisation is recognised (3)

3.1. People can described how their contribution to the organisation is recognised3.2. People believe that their contribution to the organisation is recognised3.3. People receive appropriate and constructive feedback on a timely and regular basis

4 The organisation is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity in the development of its people (4)

4.1. Top management can describe strategies that they have put in place to ensure equality of opportunity in the development of people4.2. Managers can describe specific actions that they have taken and are currently taking to ensure equality of opportunity in the development of people4.3. People confirm that the specific strategies and actions described by top management and managers take place and recognise the needs of different groups4.4. People believe the organisation is genuinely committed to ensuring equality of opportunity in the development of people

PlanningAn Investor in People is clear about its aims and its objectives and what its people need to do to achieve them

5. The organisation has a plan with clear aims and objectives which are understood by everyone (3)

5.1. The organisation has a plan with clear aims and objectives5.2. People can consistently explain the aims and objectives of the organisation at a level appropriate to their role5.3. Representative groups are consulted about the organisation's aims and objectives

6. The development of people is in line with the organisation's aims and objectives (2)

6.1. The organisation has clear priorities which l ink the development of people to its aims and objectives at organisation, team and level6.2. People clearly understand what their development activities should achieve, both for them and the organisation

7. People understand how they contribute to achieving the organisation's aims and objectives (1)

1.People can explain how they contribute to achieving the organisation's aims and objectives

Key Features

• Key role of Line Managers

• Emphasis is on outcomes rather than processes

• Focus is on learning and development rather than “training”

• Integrated into Continuous Improvement philosophy

Using the Standard

• Internal Benchmarking against 12 indicators

• External Assessment:

– Process 3 - 15 days depending on size:

• Initial discussions –background/scope

• Agreeing assessment sample: 10% - 15%

• Site visit

• Report and feedback

The 4 principles - Commitment

4 indicators

Commitment – Challenges Indicator 1• Begins with Top Management – can they describe the

strategies they have put in place?

• How to get them involved?

• Pose two fundamental questions:

“ What did you spend on development activities last year?”

“What return did you get on that investment ?”

Commitment – Challenges Indicator 2• What do your people say? – can they give examples

of how they have been encouraged to improve their own and other’s performance

• Are they clear about what aspects of performance they should focus on?:

“ either make more parts with the same number of people, or the same number of parts with less people”

Commitment - Challenges

• What are the methodologies to help improve performance?

– Improvement teams etc.

– Importance of face to face discussions

Commitment – Challenges Indicator 3• Do people believe their contribution is recognised?

• Two issues:

– How do individuals want to be recognised?

• Asda – flexible packages

• Health Trust – annual awards ceremonies


– How does the organisation translate what it values into what it recognises?

• Encouraging attendance - cumulative bonuses

• Customer Care – publicity for employees

• Expertise – IT “champions”

• Loyalty – extra holidays


• How do you ensure that people are clear about what aspects of performance are important and how they as individuals are measuring up?:

- Performance management systems – do not need formal appraisal

- Consider “visible” performance tracking

- How do you develop managers to give feedback – “Job chats”

Commitment – Challenges Indicator 4• How do you ensure these approaches apply to all

your people?

• Two issues:

– Equality of access – eg night shift workers in the Royal hospital

– Equality of take up – what processes do you have in place to monitor/challenge

The 4 principles - Planning

3 indicators

Planning – Challenges Indicators 5,6,7

• Do your people understand what the organisation is trying to achieve and how they contribute?

• Goes beyond mission statements and written plans


“ My job is to help put people on the moon”

“ What would happen if you didn’t do your job well?”


• How do your development plans link to your aims and objectives?

– Get each manager to set out their top five challenges for the year ahead and then ask:

“ What different things do you want people to do?”

“ What do you want people to do differently?”• Make these linkages explicit before any development

activity

The 4 principles - Action

2 indicators

Action – ChallengesIndicators 8 and 9

• Key issue = who takes the action?

– How do you prepare managers to develop their people?

• Clear about their responsibilities

• Method of tracking that they are carrying them out?

• What support do they get for their own development?

– New module on Leadership and Management

The 4 principles - Evaluation

3 indicators

Challenges – EvaluationIndicators 10, 11, 12• Links back to Planning indicators – being clear about

the aspects of performance you want to develop

• Individual level – what are they doing differently?

– Eg collating answers to FAQs on intranet

– Evaluating Management Development

• Self reports with examples of changes

• 360 degree feedback

Challenges – EvaluationIndicators 10, 11, 12

• Team/Organisation level:

“ What were your top 5 spends – time and money – and what have you achieved for that investment?”

The Benefits

The Benefits

• Survey 0f 2079 companies:

– 70% - catalyst for change

– 70% became more competitive, 40% achieved improved profitability

– 40% reduced recruitment costs, 50% reduced employee turnover

– 80% achieved a”one company” ethos

– 90% improved communication throughout their organisation

The benefits

• Managing change

• Improving profitability

• Creating new cultures

• Reaching goals

Managing change

A L P H A R E T A I L

SIZE:

INDUSTRY:

COMMENTS:

Large, 2000 Staff

Retail

Used Investors in People to define standards of serviceto customers and to develop staff as specialists in sellinghigh quality goods

BENEFIT: Re-invented itself to stay in business

Belfast Airports Alpha Retail Outlets

Improving profitability

B L P P r i n t i n g & P a c k a g i n g

SIZE:

INDUSTRY:

COMMENTS:

140 Full Time, 40 Flexible Staff

Printing

Used Investors in People to establish and develop a pool of ‘mature’ employees to help them achieve their goal of being the “easiest and most flexiblePrinting company to work with”

BENEFIT: Increased turnover from £2.1 million to £11 million in 5 Years

Creating new cultures

G W R – F M R A D I O S T A T I O N

SIZE:

INDUSTRY:

COMMENTS:

70 Staff

Broadcasting

Used Investors in People to turnA “team of champions” into a “champion team” through improvedcommunication and team performance measures

BENEFIT: Created a one-company culture

http://www.musicradio.com/index.cfm

Reaching goals

C O L M E R S F A R M S C H O O L

SIZE:

INDUSTRY:

COMMENTS:

1000 Staff and Pupils

Education

Used Investors in People to formalise development activitiesfor both pupils and teachers

BENEFIT: 56% pupils achieved top grades, twice the average for inner-city schools

www.colmersfarm.bham.sch.uk

Colmers FarmSchool

A Member of

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/beaconschools/

What Does it Mean For People?

• “ I want to do well at work”

• “ I want to know what’s going on”

• “ I want my opinion to count”

• “I want to know where I stand”

How You Might Use It

The IiP Process

Commitment

1. Assess “current state”in relation to the Standard

2. Action Planning

3. Implement improvements

4. OngoingAssessment

5. Recognition?

A Suggested Approach

1. Confirm Steering Group/Local teams – How many; who leads?

2. Awareness sessions for teams

3. Local Teams self-assess against the standard – use “Traffic lights” matrix

People Management Indices

Area May October Nov.

1.2 Commitment 1 1 3



2.1 Encouragement 2 2 3

2.2 Encouragement 1 2 3

3.1 Recognition 1 2 3

3.2 Recognition 3 3 3

3.3 Feedback 2 2 3

4.2 Equal Ops 2 2 2

4.3 Equal Ops 2 2 3

4.4 Equal Ops 3 3 3

5.2 Aims and Objectives 3 3 3

5.3 Consultation on aims and objectives 1 2 3

6.1 Team and individual development priorities 1 2 2

6.2 Understanding Development Activities 3 3 3

7.1 Contribution 3 3 3

8.2 Management Effectiveness 1 2 3

8.3ManagementEffectiveness 3 3 3



A Suggested Approach

4. Collate examples and action plans

5. Meet with Senior Managers to discuss plans

6. Establish milestone progress report/s

Possible Strategies

• Whole organisation

• Building Block

– Overarching strategy

• Get together with others in similar companies

Questions

• How much does it cost?

• How long does it take?

• Is there a lot of paperwork?

• Main cost is in staff time to work out what changes you wish to make and the implementing them.

• Depends on what kind of changes you need to make. Plan for 12 – 18 months.

• Standard does not require any additional paperwork. Its your results that count!

•Further information on Investors in People is available on their website:

www.investorsinpeople.co.uk

•International Manager – Louise Bower

[email protected]

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”

Isaac Newton

Documents

What is it all about?