The assessment process
The following notes are to provide you with some guidance about
the Investors in People assessment process.
Early contact
to plan assessment
If this is your first assessment we will contact you upon
receipt of your application to clarify your requirements. Your
adviser will be able to help you with the application, ensuring
that it reflects your business priorities.
For existing recognised Investors In People we will contact you
six months prior to your assessment to start the planning process.
At this stage you will be asked to complete a Review
Application.
Once dates have been agreed we will allocate you a registered
assessor to undertake your assessment. If you have been assessed
before we will try to allocate the same assessor again, to ensure
continuity. We will confirm this in writing once the arrangements
have been made.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to
identify your current business priorities; this information will
help the assessor to tailor the asessment to your individual
requirements. You will also be asked to identify whether you
wish to be assessed against any additional evidence rquirements
from the "Your Choice" sections of the framework. If you are
working with an adviser, it may be beneficial to involve them in
supporting you with the application process.
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The Assessment
Plan
The assessor will discuss your business priorities with you so
that the asessment and subsequent feedback will be useful to you in
terms of driving your organisation forward.
You will need to consider the following:-
- Your organisation's purpose and vision
- Your organisation's objectives for the coming year and key
measures of success
- The barriers or challenges your organisation is facing in
achieving these objectives
The assessor will prepare an assessment plan for you which will
outline the arrangements and the dates on which they will visit
you. The assessor will want to interview a cross-section of
people from your organisation and will provide you with the names
of the invdividuals selected in the assessment plan.
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Assessment and
recognition
All assessments are outcome-based so there is no need to create
a portfolio of evidence. The assessor will gather evidence through
interviews, observations and, where agreed in advance, survey
results. They may however ask to see certain key documents either
in advance or during the assessment.
Once recognised, large organisations can also train their staff
to participate in gathering evidence adding an invaluable resource
for ongoing development.
Once the assessor has collated enough evidence to support a
recommendation they will inform the senior management of their
findings and write a report to help you develop your organisation
further - focusing upon the objectives you outlined in the planning
meeting.
Investors in People is awarded to organisations who demonstrate
they meet the evidence requirements of The Standard. You can
also achieve Investors in People Gold, Silver or Bronze by
meeting additional evidence requirements from the extended
framework.
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To achieve Investors in People Bronze recognition you need to
meet 26 evidence requirements beyond The Standard
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To achieve Investors in People Silver recognition you need
to meet 76 evidence requirements beyond The Standard
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To achieve Investors in People Gold recognition you need to
meet 126 evidence requirements beyond The Standard
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Once recognised you will receive a plaque and certificate as a
recognition of your achievement. We can also send you the logo
for your website and stationery. There are terms and
conditions which recognised organisations should accept. Full
details of these terms and conditions are outlined in the Recognition Obligations.
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Improvement
Plan
At the end of the assessor's visit, you will be presented with
the key findings verbally at the feedback meeting. This will
be followed up by a written report which will incorporate your
Continuous Improvement Plan to help you to implement changes in
line with your future goals and priorities. If you are
working with an adviser, it will be beneficial to involve them in
supporting you with your on-going development and improvement.
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Annual
continuous improvement support
Annual review is an option many Investors in People
organisations choose to gain expert feedback yearly to support
their business planning. Organisations that opt for a three yearly
review will be contacted by Investors in People International at
yearly intervals to support them with their progress. The scope
will be agreed with your assessor in line with your
requirements.
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