Investors in People is the national Standard which sets a level of good practice for training and development of people to achieve business goals. The Standard was developed during 1990 by the National Training Task Force in partnership with leading national business, personnel, professional and employee organisations and provides a national framework for improving business performance and competitiveness, through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to meet these objectives. The result, is that what people can do and are motivated to do, matches what the organisation needs them to do. The process is cyclical and should engender the culture of continuous improvement.

The Investors in People Standard is based on four key principles:

• Commitment
  Commitment to invest in people to achieve business goals

• Planning
  Planning how skills, individuals and teams are to be developed to achieve these goals

• Action
  Taking action to develop and use necessary skills in a well defined and continuing programme directly tied to business objectives

• Evaluating
  Evaluating outcomes of training and development for individuals' progress towards goals, the value achieved and future needs.

These four key principles are a cyclical process and are broken down into 12 indicators, against which organisations wishing to be recognised as an 'Investor in People' will be assessed.

Achieving the Standard
Being recognised as an 'Investor in People' involves a number of steps:

• Understanding the Standard and its strategic implications for your organisation

• Undertaking a review against the Standard to identify any gaps in current practice

• Making the commitment to meet the Standard and communicating that commitment to all members of staff

• Planning and taking action, to bring about change

• Bringing together the evidence for assessment against the Standard

• Achievement or recognition as an Investor in People

• Working to keep the culture of continuous improvement alive.

The practical benefits of working towards and achieving the Standard are many.  They include:

• Improved earnings, productivity and profitability. Skilled and motivated people work harder and better. Productivity will improve. Extra effort will be made to close sales and a positive impact will be seen on the bottom line.

• Reduced costs and wastage. Skilled and motivated people constantly examine their work to contribute to reducing costs and wastage.
  Enhanced quality investing in people significantly improves the results of quality programmes. Investors in People adds considerable value to BS 5750, ISO 9000 and other total quality initiatives.

• Improved motivation through 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 organisation beyond the confines of the job.

• Customer satisfaction. Investing in People is central to helping employees become customer focused. Thus enabling the organisation to effectively meet customer needs at a profit.

• 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.

• Competitive advantage through improved performance, Investor in People organisations develop a competitive edge.

The additional organisational benefits to accrue from the Standard 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

For more information > http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/