Investing in your people.This checklist is an introductory guide to applying the Investors in People (IiP) Standard in your organisation. Introduction The goal of IiP is to help organisations develop all their people to achieve business objectives. Investors in People, a government initiative originally devised by the then Employment Department (now the Department for Education and Skills The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007. It was responsible for the education system and children's services in England. On 28 June 2007 the department was split in two by Gordon Brown. ), is a national standard aimed at helping organisations develop their staff. Resulting from lessons of best practice from organisations in the UK and abroad, IiP is based upon the premise that higher levels of skills and expertise benefit both the individual and the organisation. The standard underwent a major revision in 2004. The aim was to simplify the framework, making it more accessible to employers and expand its focus onto more general organisational matters such as leadership, work-life balance The expression work-life balance was first used in 1986 in the US (although had been used in the UK from the late 1970s by organisations such as New Ways to Work and the Working Mother's Association) to help explain the unhealthy life choices that many people were making; they were and employee involvement. (for the IiP standard see Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the resources at end of document). Proof that the organisation is actively encouraging its employees to develop their skills to achieve business goals is demonstrated through assessment against the four principles of the national Standard which are described below. Organisations obtain accreditation accreditation, n a process of formal recognition of a school or institution attesting to the required ability and performance in an area of education, training, or practice. as an "Investor in People" through a process of assessment carried out by the appropriate Learning and Skills Council (LSC LSC Learning and Skills Council LSC Legal Services Commission (UK) LSC Legal Services Corporation LSC Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, VT) LSC Learning Skills Council LSC Life Safety Code ), or Business Link (for small businesses) in England England, the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1991 pop. 46,382,050), 50,334 sq mi (130,365 sq km). It is bounded by Wales and the Irish Sea on the west and Scotland on the north. or Wales Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. , Local Enterprise Company (LEC (1) (LAN Emulation Client) A software driver that provides LAN emulation (LANE) in an ATM network. It resides in an ATM end station or in a computer system that provides the LAN to ATM conversion, often known as a LAN access device. See LANE. ) in Scotland, or Department for Employment and Learning Department for Employment and Learning is a Government Department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The aim of the Department is to "promote learning and skills, to prepare people for work and to support the economy.". in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. . Securing the IiP award will demonstrate the organisation's commitment to training and development and help the organisation in its recruitment and retention practices. The award will also provide a framework for developing the organisation's skills base. National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership This checklist has relevance for the following standards: D: Working with People, unit 7 Requirements There are four principal requirements for achieving the IiP Standard, each of which has a number of indicators to show how the requirements have been met. A range of evidence must be also provided. 1 Commitment from the top to develop all employees to achieve the organisation's business objectives There must be a public commitment from the most senior level of management to develop people. This constitutes far more than a token signature or statement of intent. Commitment must be part of every senior manager's belief system. It needs to be written up in the Strategic Plan, supported by public notices of commitment and reinforced by regular meetings to encourage, support and reassure re·as·sure tr.v. re·as·sured, re·as·sur·ing, re·as·sures 1. To restore confidence to. 2. To assure again. 3. To reinsure. . The Commitment principle requires that everyone knows the broad aims of the organisation, understands the mission statement--if there is one--and understands that the organisation is committed to their development. 2 Planning--be clear about company aims and objectives and what employees need to do to achieve them IiP requires that training and development needs are regularly reviewed against business objectives and that a process exists for regularly reviewing the training and development needs of all employees (eg performance appraisal Performance appraisal, also known as employee appraisal, is a method by which the performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). ). The organisation should identify the responsibility for developing people (eg line manager or personnel department) and ensure that the resources required to meet the training and development needs are identified in the planning process and made available. The review process also needs to verify (1) To prove the correctness of data. (2) In data entry operations, to compare the keystrokes of a second operator with the data entered by the first operator to ensure that the data were typed in accurately. See validate. that managers are competent to carry out their responsibilities for developing people (eg through their own performance appraisal, by assessment against certain competency COMPETENCY, evidence. The legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause. This term is also applied to written or other evidence which may be legally given on such trial, as, depositions, letters, account-books, and the like. 2. standards such as the MSC (1) (MSC.Software Corporation, Santa Ana, CA, www.mscsoftware.com) Founded in 1963 by Richard H. MacNeal and Robert G. Schwendler, MSC is the world's largest provider of mechanical computer aided engineering (MCAE) strategies, simulation software and services. National Occupational Standard listed above, or by attainment of a National Vocational Qualification National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are vocational awards in England & Wales (In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ)) that are achieved through assessment and training. They are practical qualifications based on being able to do a job. ). The review process will include--where possible--the targets and standards set for development actions. 3 Action to train and develop individuals on recruitment and throughout their employment IiP requires that all new employees are introduced to their workplace effectively and are given the training and development they need to do their job (eg there is an induction induction, in electricity and magnetism induction, in electricity and magnetism, common name for three distinct phenomena. Electromagnetic induction programme) and that the skills of existing employees are developed in line with business objectives. IiP encourages individuals to take responsibility for their personal development and requires that all employees are made aware of the development opportunities open to them such as: workplace experience special projects private reading work shadowing coaching mentoring delegation distance learning job rotation secondment Effective action should take place--and be seen to be taking place--to achieve the training and development objectives of individuals and the organisation. Managers have a responsibility to encourage and support their employees in identifying and meeting their job-related development needs. 4. Evaluation of the investment in training and development to assess achievement and improve its future effectiveness IiP requires that the organisation evaluates how its development of people is contributing to business goals and targets and whether or not the development actions are effective. The outcomes of training and development should be evaluated at individual, team, and organisational level. The Standard also requires that top management should demonstrate its continuing commitment to developing employees and has a clear understanding of the broad costs and benefits of developing people. The organisation should take action to improve those areas of its training and development activities where a need arises, this is likely to be an ongoing process. In attaining these requirements the organisation will need to: * compile To translate a program written in a high-level programming language into machine language. See compiler. a portfolio of evidence which should demonstrate that actions are being taken to meet the requirements * send a letter of intent together with a copy of the action plan to the local TEC/LEC to register as an organisation undertaking IiP. The organisation will also need to consider the requirements from the point of view of any major shifts of resources, any significant changes to the way people do things and securing staff involvement and commitment to the Standard. Action checklist 1. Read the Standard Make an initial assessment of the implications for your organisation and the entire workforce. 2. Relate the Standard's requirements to your strategic thinking Ensure that staff training and development are on the strategic agenda, as IiP requires. 3. Appoint a co-ordinator Appoint a member of staff as IiP co-ordinator (possibly from the human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. department). 4. Conduct a training audit Find out the difference between theory and practice--between what the organisation expects and what is actually happening--in terms of planning and evaluating development activities. Ensure that staff know about the four principal requirements of IiP. Diagnose diagnose /di·ag·nose/ (di´ag-nos) to identify or recognize a disease. di·ag·nose v. 1. To distinguish or identify a disease by diagnosis. 2. the gaps between current practice and the Standard's requirements. 5. Produce an action plan for approval You may find that some aspects of your practice are nearer to the IiP requirements than others. Most of the effort therefore needs to be put into closing these gaps. Much of the resource required will come in terms of time and effort--don't underestimate either. 6. Set up a steering The process whereby builders, brokers, and rental property managers induce purchasers or lessees of real property to buy land or rent premises in neighborhoods composed of persons of the same race. group Draw the participants from different sections of the organisation to help and encourage with implementation, monitor progress and channel feedback. 7. Make the commitment This is a formal written commitment to your LSC to register, usually when you know that you have the workforce behind you. 8. Communicate Hold meetings to explain IiP, the commitment of the organisation, and what it means to departments and individuals. Get the action plan agreed with key people and communicate it to all staff. 9. Plan the training process Establish a clear and distinct means of planning training and development and evaluating it (eg performance appraisals). 10. Assign and allocate To reserve a resource such as memory or disk. See memory allocation. resources Especially management time, but also an appropriate commitment to a training budget. 11. Build up evidence The assessor will want to examine written proof of commitment and action as well as visiting your premises to meet the staff. Start to construct a portfolio of evidence which demonstrates that the principles are being adhered to. 12. Check on progress Build in a regular monitoring process to check that action is taking place as planned and that evidence is being recorded. This should not just be an annual event, but should take place two or three times a year. The new standard requires that the organisation is aware of the impact of the standard on performance. 13. Prepare a dummy run dummy run Noun a practice or test carried out to test if any problems remain: we'll do a dummy run on the file to see if the program works dummy run noun Arrange with your IiP advisor for a pre-assessment exercise to learn how near you are to attaining the Standard, or if any further work needs to be done first. 14. Undergo the assessment Assessment against the Standard is performed against the portfolio of evidence submitted, and by accredited accredited recognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria. accredited herds cattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. assessors who come to visit the workplace and interview members of staff on various aspects of the four principles. Remember that being awarded IiP status is just the beginning; the organisation is periodically re-assessed to ensure that it still meets IiP requirements. Additional Resources Books and Reports Leadership and management model London: Investors in People UK, 2003 How to become an Investor in People London: Investors in People UK, 2001 Practitioner handbook
This article is about reference works. For the subnotebook computer, see .
London: Investors in People UK, 2000 Doing business better: the long term impact of investors in people Penny Tamkin and others Falmer Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies, 2000 Investors in people maintained, Peter Taylor People called Peter Taylor include:
London: Kogan Page, 1999 Achieving Investors in People London: Industrial Society, 1998 Developing your business through Investors in People, 2nd ed Norrie Gilliland Aldershot: Gower, 1997 Investors in people toolkit London: Investors in People UK, 1997 This is a selection of books available for loan to members from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic Journal articles Investors in people study IDS HR Studies Feb: no 816, 2006 (Whole Issue) All in all it's just another plaque plaque (plak) 1. any patch or flat area. 2. a superficial, solid, elevated skin lesion. attachment plaques on the wall the incidence and impact of the Investors in People standard, Kim Hoque Journal of Management Studies Mar: vol 40 no 2, 2003, pp543-571 This is a selection of articles copies of which are available from the Management Information Centre. More information at www.managers.org.uk/mic Internet Resources The investors in people (IiP) Standard: www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/IIP/Web/default.htm Also available on the IiP website is information on the work of the IiP, explanations of the processes involved and a selection of case studies of organisations who are working with IiP, outlining their experiences and the benefits they have seen since achieving the award: www.investorsinpeople.co.uk Organisations Investors in People UK, 7-10 Chandos Street, London W1G 9DQ Tel: 020 7467 1900 www.investorsinpeople.co.uk |
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