This strategy is intended to ensure that staff are able and motivated to achieve what the organisation requires of them.  Once an organisation is judged to have met this standard it becomes recognised as an IIP organisation.  The process increases the involvement and contribution of people at all levels within the organisation.  Public recognition of IIP status should help attract more and better staff, as well as retaining existing staff.  It will also prove to prospective customers that an organisation takes staff development seriously enough to plan, monitor and evaluate training programmes. 
 

To test how committed your organisation is to investing in people, ask yourself if you are doing enough to ensure that staff understand the goals of the organisation well enough to explain them to a customer or a new employee. Are your staff properly skilled and qualified to do their job?  Can they explain their job and its importance to the organisation?  Do they know and understand that the organisation is committed to developing everyone's skills and qualities?  Are they aware of the opportunities that exist for their own development?  Do they see the commitment of managers in their everyday work? 
 

IIP covers FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES - commitment, planning, action and evaluation. 
 

1 Managers in an IIP organisation commit themselves to developing all employees in order to achieve the organisation's objectives.  Every IIP organisation has a written plan setting out its goals and targets and considers how staff will contribute to its achievement.  In addition, managers should develop and make known the organisation's goals and how staff can contribute. 

2 The training and development needs of each member of staff should be reviewed regularly in relation to objectives.  Resources for this purpose should be clearly identified in the organisation plan and training goals should be linked, where applicable, to national vocational qualifications. 

3 An IIP organisation trains and develops staff from recruitment throughout their employment.  All employees are encouraged to contribute to identifying and meeting their own job-related development needs. 

4 Investment in staff development should be evaluated to assess its effectiveness and identify possible improvements.  The competence and commitment of employees and the use made of skills learnt should be reviewed against organisation goals. 

 
Organisations are likely to experience a range of BENEFITS while working towards the IIP standard.  Reduced costs, improved productivity or efficiency and increased flexibility are common examples. There are FOUR general areas in which REAL BENEFITS can be expected -quality, motivation, customer satisfaction and organisational reputation. 
 

1 Commitment to quality services in an organisation must be backed by an obligation to involve and develop all staff to play their full part in delivering such services.  It is people who make the quality difference.  A combined effort by everyone in an organisation is needed to keep customers satisfied. 

2 Motivation is about much more than just money.  It stems from recognition of achievements, training, personal development and influence over one's own work.  There is probably no greater waste than that of willing staff prevented by insensitive leadership from applying their energies and ambitions in the interests of the organisation.  Effective motivation reduces absenteeism, ensures realistic pay settlements, boosts morale, prevents disputes and increases staff flexibility. 

3 Few organisations take enough trouble to ensure that all staff understand customer expectations and how these can be satisfied.  An IIP organisation stresses the importance of staff understanding organisation goals and how they can contribute. 

4 The IIP assessment process is rigorous.  It ensures that only real achievement is recognised by IIP status.  Certified organisations will attract top quality job applicants, since the best people are most interested in their future development. 
 

IIP is not just for large organisations.  Indeed, the process is much more straightforward for smaller organisations with face-to-face communications and few management layers. 

The standard does NOT necessarily entail spending more cash or time on training.  It does, however, mean investing in essential staff development to improve organisation performance. 

The actual cost will depend on how an organisation operates prior to embarking on IIP registration and the resources it has available.  TEC's throughout England and Wales provide some subsidised consultancy for organisations striving for the Standard.  Allery Scotts Limited can assist in identifying relevant subsidies. 

There is common ground between IIP and the internationally accepted quality management system standard BS EN ISO 9000.  Both require commitment, planning, action and evaluation.  However, IIP places emphasis more specifically on involving and developing staff.  Clearly, an organisation run in accordance with BS EN ISO 9000 will find the implementation of IIP considerably easier, as many of the components will already be in place.  Equally, an organisation which adopts both standards will be well on the way towards achieving the objectives of TOTAL QUALITY - a management philosophy which is likely to be the ultimate objective for many organisations in the next five to ten years.