CIPD - Investors in People

Learning, training and development

Revised December 2009

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

explains the essential elements of the Investors in People (IIP) Standard
summarises the assessment and recognition process
considers the benefits of recognition for organisations and their employees
includes the CIPD viewpoint and our approach to organisational capability.

The Investors in People journey

The Investors in People (IIP) Standard is a national quality standard which sets a level of good practice for improving an organisation's performance through its people. It provides a framework for improving organisational performance and competitiveness through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to meet these objectives.

The Standard was developed in 1990 by a group of organisations representing both employees and employers, and was launched nationally in 1991. In October 1993 Investors in People UK (IIP UK) was established as the body that would take responsibility for the Standard. Its purpose is to provide national ownership of the Standard and is responsible for its promotion, quality assurance and development.

The Standard is subject to regular review and in November 2004 a revised version was launched. This has been further revised after a long consultation period with stakeholders including CIPD. IIP standards have been further simplified with the introduction of 3 levels of award gold, silver and bronze. Furthermore IIP has now become part of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), a government strategic skills and productivity body, and this will significantly impact what it does.

The Standard is based on three key principles:

Developing strategies to improve the performance of the organisation – an Investor in People develops effective strategies to improve the performance of the organisation through its people.
Taking action to improve the performance of the organisation – an Investor in People takes effective action to improve the performance of the organisation through its people.
Evaluation of the impact on the performance of the organisation – an Investor in People can demonstrate the impact of its investment in people on the performance of the organisation.

Stages of the Investors in People journey

The Investors in People journey follows a cycle of Advice, Assessment, Recognition and Review.

Advice

Some organisations decide that they need additional support, often to improve their performance in a particular area. IIP centres use experienced advisers who can provide suggestions for new approaches or design practical solutions to help organisations to address developmental areas.

Centres can provide employers with an adviser who is experienced in a particular issue, such as health and wellbeing at work, their sector or type of business. Alternatively organisations may decide that they want an adviser who can bring experience and ideas from other sectors.

The first step is to consult with a local Centre. They will put forward the most suitable adviser and a meeting will b arranged to agree the scope of the support required and their fees.

Although some IIP advisers also do assessment work, it would compromise the assessment procedure for advisers to provide advice and then later on assess an organisation. A separate assessor will be put forward to avoid bias and to ensure that that the assessment is objective and fair.

Assessment

An IIP assessor will agree the focus of an assessment to best match an organisation’s business priorities. Assessment is based on first hand evidence from staff interviews and employers don’t need to provide a single piece of paper, policy or strategy. The assessor will then provide a concise assessment report providing feedback on development areas for the future. According to IIP UK, a tracking study carried out by Ipsos MORI in 2009 found that 90% of surveyed IIP customers rate assessments as professional and fair.

Recognition

Becoming an Investor in People organisation shows commitment to continuous business improvement through people. Organisations can display the IIP plaque and also use the IIP logo on stationery and recruitment advertisements. Many organisations find being an Investor in People helps them to win tenders or new business. With IIP now part of UKCES that is likely to accelerate.
With the new approach there are three opportunities to go further. Organisations can achieve bronze, silver or gold status by meeting additional evidence requirements from across the framework. IIP participants can also become 'Champions' by publicly profiling their IIP journey. This is a further level of recognition.

Review

In order to retain recognition as an Investor in People, employers need to have a review within a maximum of three years of their last assessment. Employers can decide the timetable for their next assessment, and can specify whether they want it to happen more regularly than every three years. Increasing numbers of employers are having more regular reviews rather than waiting the full three years for their next assessment because they are finding assessments can help signpost areas they need to focus on for the next year. As a result, many organisation link reviews into their annual planning processes.

Preparing for reviews is very similar to preparing for first assessment. In the current economic climate, organisations are finding they need to be more innovative and flexible. This can affect business plans and management practices. Thus objectives or goals can change quite considerably from one year to the next.
One of the other benefits of the new, tailored approach to IIP is that it gives organisations the opportunity to look beyond the Standard and 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.

Tools and models

An online business support tool, ‘Interactive’, which features a simple 20 question diagnostic which will indicate how well an organisation is performing against the Standard. Interactive also offers a step by step tour through the Standard to give a impression of what IIP is about.

How long does it take?

The time taken to achieve recognition depends on many factors including:

the size and nature of the organisation
current practices and culture within the organisation
the resources which will be dedicated to the development programme.

IIP UK advise that it typically takes between six and eighteen months to prepare for assessment, but that benefits of adopting the Standard will be seen straight away.

The IIP website (see Useful contacts below) has more detailed information on all aspects of the IIP assessment journey.

How much will it cost?

The total cost of achieving Investors in People recognition comprises:

External costs: An organisation chooses whether to use specialist advice to diagnose and implement an action plan – the size and complexity of the organisation will determine the number of days required and charges for such services will depend on the provider. Business Links are usually cheaper than an independent consultant.
Internal costs: The cost of resources (people and materials) needed to set up and manage the development programme.

Problems which may delay or prevent recognition

As with other quality initiatives, it may be difficult to maintain the initial enthusiasm for the project, particularly when faced with other pressing short-term problems. Organisations no longer need to produce documentary proof and are assessed on outcomes which makes the process simpler. Be aware that issues such as merger can affect recognition and may mean re-qualification.

Benefits for IIP organisations and their employees

As with other quality improvement programmes, the benefits of working towards the Standard are apparent as soon as the process starts. The discipline of examining the organisation and its practices contributes to improvements long before the standard is achieved.

For employees, the benefits are:

recognition and job satisfaction
better communication on training and development issues
a good and supportive working environment
improved skills, increased responsibility and involvement and better career development opportunities
pride in belonging to a successful organisation
good quality training where its needed.

For employers, the benefits are:

better morale and a motivated workforce
greater profits and outputs
training activity is more closely linked to business needs
impetus to other improvement and quality initiatives
customer satisfaction
positive publicity for the organisation.

The CIPD approach to organisational capability

CIPD offer an organisational diagnostic which helps to identify the specific competencies for HR professionals around our HR Profession Map. We think this is in many ways a more relevant path for the HR profession, though IIP will continue to play a major role in gaining traction for a strategic approach top people and performance issues.

The HR Profession Map can be used by organisations to build capability by:

understanding how your organisation’s structure, activities and competence need to evolve - the HR Profession Map is a comprehensive view of how HR adds the greatest value to the organisations it operates in, both now and in the future. It can help you be clear about the strategic priorities and purpose that are right for your organisation. The map is also designed to be dynamic and so will change to reflect the best of the emerging trends in the practice and thinking around HR as they develop.
benchmarking and assessing the capability of the HR team - the architecture of the map is simple so we have the flexibility to create the shape of the HR function as you define it – either as it is now, or as you need or want it to be. We assess the capability of your team identifying very clearly where there are gaps and/or strengths in three ways:
- the teams alignment to its overall purpose and priorities
- its capability to deliver
- its capacity to change.
  This creates a complete picture of everything you need to know ahead of embarking on a change or development journey.
designing development solutions - our understanding of what it takes to be successful in the HR profession is unprecedented, so we have the knowledge and experience to create solutions that are right for your organisation.

If you'd like to talk to someone about the services we offer and the work we’re doing, please email us at oed@cipd.co.uk or call the Organisation Effectiveness and Development team on +44 (0) 20 8612 6597.

Find out more about the HR Profession Map

CIPD viewpoint

CIPD believes that Investors in People has encouraged many organisations to look at their training and development processes in a more strategic and detailed way and is very supportive of this approach. From 2010, IIP will become part of the UK’s strategic skills and employment advisory body UKCES. This will increase the profile of the IIP standard and CIPD will continue to work with IIP (UK).

Investors in People