3. Written evidence from Investors
in People UK
INQUIRY INTO MANUFACTURING AND TRADE IN WALES
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.1 The Investors in People Standard 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. Investors
in People is cyclical and should engender a culture of continuous
improvement.
1.2 Investors in People UK has a considerable
contribution to make to any initiatives designed to improve workforce
development, productivity and future skills.
1.3 Investors in People is employer-led
and maintains close links with the Confederation of British Industry
(CBI), Trades Union Congress (TUC) and many other employer/employee
organisations, such as the emerging Sector Skills Councils and
their lead body, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA).
1.4 Investors in People has been proactive
in working with The National Assembly for Wales, long-term delivery
partner Education and Learning Wales (ELWa), and the Welsh Development
Agency (WDA). In particular Investors in People is making a contribution
to "A Winning Wales", the national economic development
strategy of the Welsh Assembly Government, and to its resulting
Skills and Employment Action Plan.
1.5 The focus of this submission to the
Inquiry, Manufacturing and Trade in Wales, is to update the Committee
on the contribution which Investors in People is making to productivity
and business improvement across the UK and, in particular, its
latest work with partners in Wales. Investors in People would
welcome the opportunity to present evidence verbally to the Committee
(see Section 2).
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 Investors in People noted with interest
the evidence of Mr Calvin Jones, Welsh Economy Research Unit at
the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, Manufacturing and
Trade in Wales: September hearing:
"It can be difficult to get a full range
of skills employed in Welsh business and that is a problem that
can be addressed perhaps trying to help companies move up the
value chain . . ."
and believes strongly that Investors in People
has a contribution to make in addressing this issue.
members are offered this paper for their background
and information—we would welcome the opportunity to present
verbal evidence to the Committee, either alone or jointly with
ELWa, at a later stage.
3. INVESTORS
IN PEOPLE
UK—SETTING A
NATIONAL STANDARD
3.1 Investors in People is the national
Standard which sets out a level of good practice for training
and development of people to achieve business goals.
3.2 The Standard was developed during 1990
by the National Training Task Force in partnership with leading
national businesses, personnel, professional and employee organisations
such as the CBI, TUC and the (now Chartered) Institute of Personnel
and Development (IPD). The work was supported by the then Employment
Department. The experiences of the UK's most successful organisations,
large and small, representing all sectors of the UK economy, were
very positive and the Standard received the full endorsement of
wide range of interested parties.
3.3 The Standard 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, and are motivated, to do matches what the
organisation needs them to do. Investors in People is cyclical
and should engender the culture of continuous improvement.
3.4 Investors in People itself is committed
to a culture of continuous improvement and development. The Standard
is reviewed every three years (next in 2004), taking into account
the views of stakeholders and organisations. Following employer
research, Investors in People has introduced a number of topic-specific
stand-alone models, such as the Leadership and Management Model,
Work-life Balance Model and the Recruitment and Selection Model.
These Models enable companies to assess the effectiveness of its
strategies in these areas or to develop strategies to address
these business issues.
3.5 Investors in People UK is an NDPB with
UK-wide responsibilities, reporting to the Department for Education
and Skills (DfES). The recent White Paper "21st Century Skills:
Realising Our Potential: Individuals, Employers, Nation"
sets out new responsibilities and targets for Investors in People
UK (see section 5).
3.6 The Standard is now used as a business
tool internationally and, in South Africa, has proved to be an
effective catalyst for accelerating workforce change in all different
sectors including manufacturing, government departments, banking
and insurance. A pilot project, now extended, working with the
South African Department of Labour, has been commended by the
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
3.7 A particular focus since 2002 has been
the Small Firms Initiative, a £30 million initiative announced
by the Chancellor in the 2002 Budget, designed to encourage small
businesses to work towards the Standard.
4. THE STANDARD
AND BENEFITS
TO BUSINESS—WHAT
EMPLOYERS SAY
4.1 Over the past 12 years, independent
research has consistently shown that the Investors in People Standard
provides real business benefits to organisations of all sizes
and across all sectors.
4.2 There are currently more than 34,000
Investors in People-recognised organisations in the UK, employing
over 27% of the UK workforce. Organisations achieving the Standard
must be reassessed every three years in order to remain as a recognised
organisation. The Standard achieves a retention rate of over 90%.
4.3 Benefits of the Standard cited by employers
in a recent independently-conducted survey[1]
include:
— 91% say the Standard improves planning;
— 91% agree it helps people achieve
their potential;
— 89% agree investment in people is
a good business decision;
— 85% associate clear, measurable results
with Investors in People;
— 74% believe it delivers bottom-line
results; and
— 68% regard people-oriented issues
as key to achieving business objectives.
Almost half of businesses engaging with the
Standard cite growth reasons.[2]
— The opportunity to benchmark performance
(using our Profile tool).
4.4 Additional benefits which organisations
may gain from the Standard include:
— 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; and
— the opportunity to benchmark performance
(using the Profile tool).
5. INVESTORS
IN PEOPLE
UK AND THE
SKILLS STRATEGY
WHITE PAPER
5.1 The recent White Paper "21st Century
Skills: Realising Our Potential: Individuals, Employers, Nation"
sets out new responsibilities and targets for Investors in People
UK. The Strategy aims to strengthen the UK's position as one of
the world's leading economies by ensuring that employers have
the skills to support the success of their business, and that
employees have the necessary skills to be both employable and
personally fulfilled.
5.2 New Investors in People targets are
established:
— 45% of workforce working for an organisation
achieved or committed to achieving Investors in People status
by 2007; and
— 40,000 small firms achieved or committed
to achieving Investors in People status by 2007.
5.3 One of a number of proposals involving
Investors in People is the introduction of a programme offering
tailored support for leadership and management development in
small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim will be to provide
mentors and coaches who can help managers develop a programme
for improving their leadership and management skills, including
through informal learning[3].
5.4 Whilst Investors in People would, of
course, wish to acknowledge the range of particular needs and
circumstances relating to Wales in particular, rather than to
the UK as a whole, the view of respondents cited in the DfES consultation
on skills seems relevant to this inquiry:
"How should we promote the benefits of
skills investment to business?
It was stressed that investment in skills should
be promoted as a key component of overall business improvement
strategies and performance management, building on the success
of Standards such as Investors in People."25
6. INVESTORS
IN PEOPLE
IN WALES
6.1 Investors in People has been proactive
in working with The National Assembly for Wales, long-term delivery
partner Education and Learning Wales (ELWa), and the Welsh Development
Agency (WDA). Following discussions with The Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan
AM, First Minister for Wales; Rt Hon Andrew Davies AM, Minister
for Economic Development and Transport National Assembly for Wales;
and Rt Hon Jane Davidson AM, Minister for Education and Lifelong
Learning, National Assembly for Wales, Investors in People UK
is developing strategies designed to build on both "A
Winning Wales", the national economic development strategy
of the Welsh Assembly Government, and its resulting Skills and
Employment Action Plan.
6.2 Briefly, elements of "A Winning
Wales" where Investors in People is particularly relevant
include:
— its vision to achieve a prosperous
Welsh economy "with highly skilled, well-motivated people";
— demanding targets designed to raise
"skill levels [and] our learning performance at every level";
— through its Skills and Employment
Action Plan, its determination to "improve the mechanisms
of workforce development"; and
— its aim of "offering better
support for new and growing businesses" in recognition of
the concern that Wales has comparatively few growth businesses.
6.3 Since 2001 Investors in People UK has
worked closely with delivery partner, ELWa, to ensure relevance
to Welsh needs and Welsh business, particularly to the needs of
Welsh SMEs. Wales is represented on the Investors in People Board,
most recently by Sheila Drury OBE (from April 2000), recently
appointed (September 2003) as the Co-Chair, National Council for
Education and Training in Wales.
6.4 Investors in People UK has worked successfully
in Wales since the original launch of the Standard and 1,738 organisations
in Wales have achieved Investors in People to date. ELWa is on
target for commitments and recognitions for 2003-04 (362 and 241
respectively).
6.5 Currently, Wales is one of three sample
areas involved in a major research project commissioned by Investors
in People UK, "Snakes and Ladders",[4]
which investigates small business responses to the Standard. Twenty-six
organisations from Wales were included in the sample (92 organisations
in total). Results should be available later in the year, but
from early findings,[5]
the top three benefits recognised as an outcome of the Standard
are: better HR processes; better training and development; and
identifying scope for improvement.
6.6 As an illustration of Investors in People's
success in Wales, a recent real-life example is revealing:
Badgers Café, Llandudno, was recognised
as an Investor in People in January 2001.
An organisation of 32 employees, the café
invited an external consultant to talk to staff about the Standard
and to assist them in identifying development activity necessary
to achieve Investors in People recognition. Some of their results
include:
— The business has doubled its profitability
within the last two years.
— The café has been recognised
by Taste of Wales and the Wales Tourist Board, who awarded the
business a Quality Crown for superior customer service.
— The café was voted "Best
Newcomer in 2000" by the Les Routieres guide.
— Badgers also received the "Best
Tearoom in Wales" accolade and is rated amongst the "Top
10 Tearooms in the UK" by the Tea Council.
— Manager Donna Horton won the "Tourist
Manager of the Year" award in a competition run by the Wales
Tourist Board.
The organisation has elected to be reviewed
against the Standard at 18-month intervals.
Three other examples of organisations benefiting
from the Investors in People Standard are FIRSTPLUS Financial
Group plc, Anthony A Davies and Beatus Cartons Ltd (see attached
case studies)
7. INVESTORS
IN PEOPLE
AND WELSH
BUSINESS
7.1 As an employer-led initiative, the Investors
in People Standard can support change and employee development
in a range of ways—from offering a framework—or a
catalyst—for change, to acting as a diagnostic tool (for
example, with clusters of SMEs). It is the employer's choice—the
Standard is not intended to be used prescriptively, but as a framework.
7.2 In particular, there appears to be a
useful correlation between research indications that almost half
of businesses engaging with the Standard cite growth reasons,[6]
and the concern that Wales has comparatively few growth businesses.[7]
7.3 Early indications from Future Skills
Wales research[8]
suggest that employers want employees who are adaptable, entrepreneurial,
good communicators and with the latest management skills. "A
Winning Wales" alludes to concerns that Wales is either
not growing its own future organisational leaders, or that successful
business leaders do not choose to remain in Wales. These are areas
in which (as the research cited in this document shows) many employers
believe the Investors in People Standard, and models such as Leadership
and Management, have clear benefits to offer.
Ruth Spellman
Chief Executive
17 October 2003
1 MarketShape Ltd for Investors in People UK 2002
UK Tracking Study-Employer Research. Back
2
b & mr for Investors in People UK 2002 Performance Tracking
Research October 2002. Back
3
www.dfes.gov.uk/skillsstrategy/docs/summaryofc.doc Back
4
Centre for Enterprise for Investors in People UK 2003-work
in progress. Back
5
Dutton Jones Associates 2003 Investors in People: Quality
Centres independent feedback. Back
6
b & mr, ibid Back
7
A Winning Wales, the national economic development strategy
of the Welsh Assembly Government. Back
8
Future Skills Wales, April 2003.
Back
| 
