Investors in People
14 December 2010
Investors in People assessments have been taking place at the University, with the third and final stage commencing in January. Professor Terry Threadgold, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Staff and Diversity and Karen Cooke of Human Resources explain more about the Investors in People standard and the process.
Professor Terry Threadgold, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Staff and Diversity outlines why the Investors in People standard is important to the University.
“Investors in People (IiP) is a key part, and a key driver, of the work we do as an organisation to ensure that all of our staff enjoy a positive working environment (PWE). The focus in the IiP standard framework on effective internal communication, on management effectiveness and leadership and management strategy, on involvement and empowerment, recognition and reward, and on working for continual improvement in the way the University works as an organisation, are all linked very closely to a number of other major initiatives that we are taking forward as part of our PWE work and which we will evaluate again next year when we carry out our second staff survey.
“Some of you will have been involved this year in focus groups exploring the way we communicate with our staff. That work is nearly complete with an action plan emerging from what you collectively told us and which we will be reporting in the new year.
“We are working very hard to ensure that all staff are appraised and appraised constructively and well, that both appraisers and appraisees know what is expected of them, that the process is supportive of the individual but also enables them to deliver for the University.
“The recent Times Higher Award for our leadership and management work with principal investigators in research teams is one part of an impressive learning and development strategy for the University which benefits all our staff.
“Our equality and diversity training and development, data monitoring and impact assessment, and our inclusive curriculum work, help to ensure the culture of dignity, courtesy and respect valued in our strategic plan and so central to everything IiP and PWE aim to deliver.
“IiP helps us to deliver on all of these initiatives by helping us to evaluate our own progress, helping us to see where we need to do better and where we have examples of excellent good practice from which we can learn.
“IiP is about team-work. It is and must be a collective effort and every single person who takes part, and reflects, and learns from the process, helps the whole University to move forward positively.
“So - we are very grateful to all of you who take the time to attend the interviews and make the effort to support us in taking the University forward in this way. Thank you.”
Karen Cooke, Organisational Development Manager, Human Resources, explains more about the Investors in People assessment process.
You will probably have seen Investors in People (IiP) signs in many organisations including around our own University but may not be aware of what IiP is all about. The IiP standard is about making sure that as an organisation we support our staff in the way that they are line managed and developed, that we engage staff in strategy and decisions and we evaluate the impact that our line managers and our learning and development has on the future of the organisation.
The University has been working on achieving Investors in People since 2003 but in the past two years we have consolidated our approach and in April 2009 we took part in a whole university mock assessment to give us a clear idea of where our strengths were and where we had areas for development. This has lead to a full University assessment which is taking place in three phases:
Phase 1 which took place in June 2010 included Psychology, Optometry and Vision Sciences, Law, Welsh, Engineering, Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Computer Science and Informatics and the Business School.
Phase 2 which took place in November 2010 included Medicine, Healthcare Studies, Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education, Nursing and Midwifery, Social Sciences, Chemistry, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Biosciences, Music, Strategic Development, Physical and Financial Resources, Registry, Governance and Students and Human Resources, Safety, Health and Environment.
Phase 3 will take place in January 2011 and includes Information Services, Physics and Astronomy, English, Communication and Philosophy, European Studies, Maths, Pharmacy, Lifelong Learning, Dentistry, City and Regional Planning and Architecture.
The assessment team consists of three external assessors who are monitored by the Welsh Assembly Government who oversee IiP in Wales. Any staff who have been selected for interview have been chosen as a cross section of the University taking into account gender, length of service, line management responsibilities and full or part time status.
After phase 3 has completed we will know if the University has been recognised as an Investors in People organisation or if we still have work to do which will involve the external assessment team coming back in approximately 3-6 months.
For more information on the IiP process please look through the documents and reports that can be found at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/humrs/staffinfo/organisationaldevelopment/iip/index.html
