The Investors in People Standard is proving to be a highly effective and pragmatic tool in achieving organisational change, according to The Return on Investors. A survey of 1,800 employers conducted for the report revealed that increasingly Investors in People is being used to make changes and gain results.  Although other routes may be open to employers to introduce innovation and change the culture of their organisations Investors in People is being adopted because of its demonstrable benefits. 

The findings come following a series of in-depth interviews conducted by the IES as part of a three-year research programme for the Department for Education and Employment.  Since 1993 the IES has tracked a range of employers, both committed and uncommitted to the Standard, in order to identify the impact of Investors in People. 

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 

What emerges clearly from the latest survey is that use of the Standard is a very practical method of gaining improvements.  Six in ten of the employers surveyed said that they had seen improvements in their workforce as a direct result of the Standard. 

The major improvements were seen in four principle areas: 

employees' understanding of the business 
employees' skills and competences 
employee commitment 
employee communications 

In each of these fields around 50% (or more) of the employers in the survey reported advances. 

Collectively these improvements contribute to the overall success of business and there are already many organisations which can track direct improvements to the use of Investors in People.  An impressive 73% of those surveyed said that, directly or indirectly, Investors in People had made a contribution to enhance their business performance.  Almost half of these identified increases in productivity, while a similar number said they had gained a better quality of service or production. 

Although in some cases it may take time before these benefits become obvious on the bottom line there is an impressive level of confidence, even among those who reported no direct result so far, that their involvement in Investors in People would pay off financially in a year or so. 

In any case, there are a number of areas - particularly in the human resource field -where financial savings are made fairly quickly.  Most notable of all, many organisations are already making much better use of their training budgets through spending less on training while gaining enhanced results.  This arises, of course, because through use of the Investors in People Standard training is now concentrated on the right people at the right time. 

This improved targeting benefits everyone and a hefty 75% of employers who expected to gain training benefits said that their ambitions had been fulfilled.  In some cases they went so far as to say that Investors in People was the only way in which these benefits could have been secured. 

Overall, the picture painted by IES shows that Investors in People is actually enabling organisations to focus on improvements in a practical way.  Between one-third and a quarter of employers said that, as far as training was concerned, their involvement had enabled them to make changes earlier than otherwise or on a larger scale.  Almost one-third said that without Investors in People they would not have made the changes at all and many employers involved in Investors in People said that they had become more systematic in their approach to training. 

COMMON OBSTACLES 

As well as giving valuable insights into the benefits of becoming an Investor in People the IES survey also provides valuable information on the process of achieving recognition. 

Because the Standard is rigorous and tests people thoroughly on the quality of commitment to their people it is by no means a "soft option".  On the contrary, the IES survey reveals that employers who have made the commitment to become Investors in People are finding it harder than expected and taking longer, to achieve the Standard. 

Despite this, the level of determination from the top to achieve recognition remains at a high level.  For example, just 4% of those surveyed said that they wanted to drop out.  The remaining 96% are still focused on the goal. 

Even so the report still throws up some revealing data on the difficulties which are being encountered. 

There are four which are particularly troublesome: 

First, it can be a great change.  Organisations which were already in line with the Investors in People philosophy may have relatively little to do to achieve recognition. 

However, as the initiative has brought in growing numbers of businesses it is, perhaps, inevitable that some of the more recent recruits discover that they have a long way to go both in the culture of their organisations and in the systems and processes which they must have in place. 

Second, they need more external support.  Investors in People is a straightforward, practical tool but to wield it effectively often requires help from outside - especially in the early days.  The survey seems to show that some of the committed organisations need more and better counselling, mentoring and advice.  They also need improved assistance in actually assembling the evidence to present before their assessor. 

Third, although commitment remains undulled, there are certain signs that the more protracted the process towards Investors in People recognition, the greater the danger of a loss of momentum. 

Fourth, other forms of organisational change can divert attention away from Investors in People.  It is notable that as the number of mergers and acquisitions in the commercial world increases, so achievement of the Standard tends to slow down.  Any structural change - especially if it involves changes in personnel or a switch in responsibilities - is likely to inhibit progress towards meeting the Standard. 

It is revealing - but not surprising - that many of these obstacles are greater for small businesses than for larger ones.  Because resources tend to be thinner in small organisations they are more likely to find it difficult to find a manager who can devote time to driving the process forward.  They were also more likely to be subject to internal reorganisation or be distracted by pressing immediate circumstances. 

On the other hand, smaller businesses found that there was less internal resistance to implementing the changes necessitated by Investors in People.  So long as the other obstacles could be overcome the path to reaching the Standard could actually be easier in smaller organisations.  It is also noticeable, says the report, that the effect of being an Investor in People is both bigger and quicker for smaller organisations. 

1997 / 98: VITAL STAGE 

It must be said that some of the obstacles referred to by the surveyed group have now been removed.  As the author of the report comments, "The streamlining of the assessment process and the advances in support provided by the TECs should go a long way towards solving the problems that faced some organisations". 

Looking to the future the next eighteen months may be vital for establishing the position of the Standard in industry.  He said, "Investors in People has got off to a very good start and many of the country's leading organisations have now come on board.  The question is whether the Standard will be recognised as an award only for an elite group of companies or whether it can move on to achieve critical mass so that rank and file business also feel compelled to achieve it." 

The short answer, of course, lies in the benefits of being an Investor in People.  Once those benefits are appreciated then the case for achieving the Standard becomes irresistible. 

The most important benefits from Investors in People are improvements in: 

Training system   26% 

Skills and quality of workforce 18% 

Staff motivation and morale  14% 

Identification of training needs 12% 

Financial performance   5%