Frequently Asked Questions
If you do have a question that is not listed below, please email
us at info@iipnz.co.nz - and we will gladly help.
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 42,000 organisations
worldwide have either become an Investor in People 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 there is an annual reassessment requirement.
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 an IIPNZ.
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.
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