Introduction

Like many of their counterparts around the network, Business Link Wessex recognise the value of Investors in People to employers within their region. With the launch of the new Standard at the end of 2004 they saw an opportunity to engage larger employers in their region that were not already working with the Standard.

People Insight were commissioned in November 2004 to design and deliver a project with three main objectives:

	To introduce the new Standard to larger employers in the region
	To undertake IiP Insight surveys amongst this group, showing how they measured up to the new version and encouraging them to formally commit
	To provide ongoing support through to Recognition via facilitated benchmarking and training sessions.

The result of the project was that 9 employers were signed up over a three month period, with a number of others likely to commit in the near future. These organisations will be working together over the coming months to work towards and achieve the Standard, sharing ideas and best practice through a series of events designed around their survey findings and facilitated by People Insight.

Project approach

The project team knew that in order to attract new, larger organisations to the Standard we were going to have to do something special! After all, these organisations all knew about Investors in People and had decided against it in the past. We spent time discussing our options and designed an innovative approach based around the IiP Insight survey approach.

IiP Insight is a staff attitude survey designed by Investors in People assessors to show how an organisation measures up to the new version of the Standard. All the organisation has to do is provide People Insight with the e-mail addresses of their staff and we do the rest, including survey set-up, administration, and reporting. As such IiP Insight is an incredibly easy and non-threatening way for an organisation to conduct a review against the Standard and generate an initial action plan.

The project team felt that IiP Insight would prove ideal not just because it is easy to do but more importantly because having done it the organisation would know exactly what they were committing to by working with the Standard - so the commitment would be backed by an action plan and therefore be more likely to succeed. Business Link Wessex committed to majority fund the IiP Insight surveys for organisations meeting our agreed criteria.

In summary, the project stages included:

	People Insight making telephone contact with HR directors/managers in the region to introduce the new version of the Standard and the IiP Insight diagnostic. This was backed up by high quality marketing information
	Subsequent meetings to discuss the new version and the IiP Insight offer in more detail
	IiP Insight surveys undertaken in 9 organisations, with follow-up meetings to generate action plans and commitments.

The benchmarking sessions are currently being designed and will allow the organisations that undertook a survey to compare results, share best practice and hear the latest about the issues identified.

Project outcomes

In addition to the 9 new large employer commitments generated by this approach, a number of other benefits have been achieved, including:

	Awareness of the new version has been raised amongst larger employers in the region
	Business Link Wessex can identify the specific HR problems and opportunities within this target employer group by reviewing the survey and benchmarking data
	Business Link Wessex will attend the benchmarking sessions and be able to position its wider workforce development offer amongst this influential group.

Feedback from Business Link Wessex

"People Insight proved to be extremely useful in attracting clients to the Standard. All representatives of People Insight worked as a team with Business Link Wessex Advisers to present a really good offer to customers which was followed through professionally. We received regular feedback on the results of telemarketing activity (without having to chase for information!) and were 100% confident when People Insight was representing Business Link Wessex on the telephone and at meetings. We found the project to provide significant value for money and all of our targets were met. Overall, People Insight exceeded our expectations as a reliable, professional delivery partner and we would be very willing to recommend the service to other Business Links and LSCs." Gill Pulling, Skills Development Team Leader Business Link Wessex

Feedback from some of the new large employer commitments

"People Insight provided a very professional service and produced for us an in depth report that we could actually understand!" Julie Scowen, ICEE

"It is a painless experience and you are helped every step of the way. I particularly like the ease with which everything has been set up and the response we have had from any requests asked of yourselves has been fantastic." Geneen Ford, Le Creuset

"People Insight is an easy process with one point of contact and good use of email. The team relieve you of the administration and present the collated responses in a ready-to-use report." Lesley Grant, Humphrey Farms

"A helpful and professional service who will not use 'management' jargon and who will try and understand the issues for your organisation" Alison Lee, Biscoes Solicitors

How can we help you to hit your IiP targets?

People Insight can support you in a number of ways, including:

	Attracting new clients to the Standard and generating Commitments
	Rejuvenating stalled commitments and accelerating clients towards Recognition
	Helping you support, motivate and retain your Recognised clients by helping them prepare for and achieve the new requirements of the revised Standard
	Stretching Recognised clients beyond the Standard through benchmarking and best practice sharing

We do this by offering our Business Link and LSC partners a number of services including:

	Local marketing and promotions to raise awareness of the Standard and interest in the services and support you offer
	Conducting exploratory meetings with clients (or booking these for your team)
	Running IiP Insight staff surveys to diagnose your clients position against the Standard and generating ideas and suggestions for them to move forward
	Working with your team to present the findings back to your clients to ensure change happens
	Creating local benchmarking groups for your clients and facilitating events to help your clients share best practice
	Managing your IiP case load to ensure Recognised clients are well communicated with and stay on track

We can put together a package of support at often no cost to you.

Call 0870 742 4810 now to find out more about how People Insight can help you. We would be delighted to discuss our services in more detail.