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Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of Organisations want to achieve the Standard?

Every kind, from small and medium sized businesses to large organisations in both the private and public sectors. To date over 80,000 organisations worldwide have either Investors in People accreditation or are working towards it.

What countries work with the Standard?

Investors in People is a truly international Standard that is continually entering new markets. Although originally from the UK the Standard is now well established in many European countries such as Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland. At this time other countries such as France, Spain and Portugal are also considering the benefits of Investors in People. Around the world the Standard is already available in the USA, Chile, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and, of course, New Zealand.

How much does it cost?

The main cost is in staff time - in seeing how you measure up to the Standard, and working out what changes you need to make and in putting those changes into practice. You will have a clearer picture of your potential cost once your organisation has had an initial assessment or review to identify what changes your organisation needs to make. Other costs to consider include any external help where deemed necessary by your organisation i.e. additional assessment activity, Investors training for staff, and advisory services. From experience the minimum external costs would be for an initial assessment against the Standard and we are happy to discuss this with you.

 What is the best way for an organisation to implement the Standard?

Experience shows that the most time efficient and cost effective way for an organisation to achieve the Standard is to adopt the following approach. Firstly, undergo an initial assessment or review against the Investors in People Standard to highlight the necessary areas for improvement. Secondly,decide whether to utilise an internal project team approach to maintain momentum - this may involve some training in the Standard for the project team members and key people in your organisation. New Zealand experience has shown that a progressive assessment approach delivers the greatest benefit by recognising achievements and successes in a timely manner with the ability the 'bank' the evidence that satisfies specific indicators. As every organisation is different we are happy to discuss with you the best approach for your organisation with no obligation.

How does this Standard differ to other Quality type standards?

It is the world's only people-focused standard, which is assessed on the effectiveness of business processes, ie. the outcomes, rather than the processes themselves.

What are the pitfalls to implementation and achievement of the Standard?

The most common is the commitment of senior management to achieving the Standard not being genuine or founded on inadequate knowledge of what may be required to become an Investor in People. This often then becomes the catalyst for other issues such as inadequate resourcing in personnel, time and money. Other pitfalls include poor management of the implementation of the actions needed to meet the Standard and insufficient communication about the results of these actions.

 How can you make sure it works?

Some organisations lose momentum because they don't explain to management and staff the benefits of their organisation becoming an Investor in People. To count on everyone's support, you need to tell them how they will benefit. It is important that you treat Investors in People as part of your culture rather than a separate project.

How long does it take?

It depends very much on the type and complexity of the changes you need to make and how quickly you can put them into practice. If the correct project approach for your organisation is adopted it normally takes between 12 - 18 months for an organisation to become an Investor in People.

How often do we need to be re-assessed?

Experience has shown that regular re-assessment is essential for those organisations that wish to be considered exemplars of best practice and to maintain recognition as an Investor in People. As with most quality standards, to retain accreditation, organisations must have an assessment every three years. However, some organisations may choose to do that more regularly to get feedback to integrate into their business planning processes. It is important to plan your assessment at a time that will deliver maximum benefit in terms of feedback to your organisation. For example, after completing a review and revision of your communications or business planning strategies.

Is there a lot of paperwork?

Investors in People does not prescribe WHAT you need to do to achieve success and you don't have to provide any extra paperwork to achieve the Standard. The Standard is primarily assessed by confidential interview of a sample of staff and there is no requirement for document review. The Assessor will only ask to see existing documentation such as your business plan and any learning and development related documents such as appraisal and evaluation forms. As long as you are achieving the results and benefits the Standard is looking for it does not matter how you get there. It's your organisational outcomes that count, and the opinions, experiences and beliefs of the employees interviewed assess the results of these.

When will we know we are ready to go forward for our recognition assessment?

When you feel you have completed all the changes needed and that the results match what the initial assessment highlighted as being required. You can achieve this by adopting a progressive assessment approach combined with good support from Investors in People New Zealand.

What happens if we are not ready for assessment when we thought we would be?

Even if you find you were not quite ready, it will give you the opportunity to see what progress you have made and what else you need to do from an objective view point. You should still aim for an assessment as early as possible because even though you may not meet the Standard you are able to 'bank' the parts of the Standard you currently meet and the next assessment will only focus on the remaining areas that need improvement. (time limits apply between assessments to ensure the continuing validity of the 'banked' criteria that have been assessed as met).

Do we get more than one chance to meet the Standard?

You have as many as you need. If your assessor decides you need to improve your actions in one or two areas before you become an Investor in People, you agree how and when you can achieve them and when you should be reassessed.

Can Investors in People help you achieve other Quality Standards?

Yes it can. Investors in People is the only quality standard that focuses on people, so the good practices that you need to become an Investor in People dovetail well with other quality standards, such as ISO 9000 and with the Business Excellence Model or Baldrige Award criteria.

We already follow the business excellence route what value would a similar initiative add?

Business Excellence is about an organisation striving to be judged as 'world class'. This is an admirable but imposing task for most organisations, and it's fair to say that most in NZ are not yet able to 'score' enough points to be considered above average in terms of global performance. Ideally Business Excellence should be the goal for all organisations; however, many have a long way to go. Experience shows that when organisations using the BE model are benchmarked and the result is below expectation the main reason is often that the employee aspect has not been addressed effectively. Organisations often say that if they had addressed the people issues first everything else would follow - this is the strength of Investors in People, because it effectively addresses these issues in the context of continuous improvement. Investors in People is therefore often used as one of the building blocks for achieving and maintaining excellence.

Is this an alternative to Business Excellence?

No, it is complimentary as both initiatives are drivers for continuous improvement leading to 'excellence'. The difference being that Investors in People achieves this by focusing 100% on people and how, and what, they need to function to ensure goals are achieved. In fact in NZ we are working with the NZ Business Excellence Foundation, and leading experts in the ISO 9000 management systems field to map the benefits of each approach and to see how each relates to the others in terms of 'deliverables'. The driver for this is to remove confusion in the market place and to offer real evidence of complementary options rather than of competition to organisations that can then be encouraged to choose the best approach for them. Although similar work has been carried out in other countries this is NZ focused and the close working relationship between the respective bodies is unique to this country.

Isn't this just like ISO 9000?

As with the ISO range of Standards Investors in People is a Standard against which you must be assessed, however there is one quite significant difference which greatly effects the value of one Standard to another. The Investors in People Standard is assessed against outcomes or results rather than processes. Investors does not consider the type of processes that you have in place, instead it ensures that they are delivering what you need them to, for example in terms of business planning, individual accountability, communication, management practices and more. Of course process is important because this is the vehicle to achieve the desired outcomes. So, where an organisation has employees who are focused, motivated, skilled, managed and supported by robust business processes this lends itself perfectly to an environment of continuous improvement.