Why did you enter the Investors in People 2023 Awards?

As a small, not-for-profit organisation, we were extremely proud to achieve IIP accreditation for the first time this year, thanks to the feedback from our team in our IIP assessment.

We were delighted when we found out IIP had placed us in the original top 20 shortlist.  Entering the awards was a perfect opportunity to test our corporate culture against some of the best in the UK.

Our team deserve recognition for working tirelessly and quietly in the background making a big impact for our social housing provider membership and the communities they serve, never looking to blow their own trumpets. They live and breathe our values every day, always striving to improve, to deliver the best results possible.

What has it meant to you, your team and your organisation to be shortlisted for an Investors in People 2023 Award?

Everyone in the team and board feels honoured to find themselves shortlisted for such a prestigious national award, alongside such a high cadre of companies committed to the IIP model.

Over the last three years our organisation has made massive advances in our people practices with the help of IIP.  It’s our team’s hard work and commitment that makes our culture of kindness, support, and constant improvement work.  We are extremely grateful that they have all come together to engage with the IIP process to help our organisation improve and become a better place to work.

Being shortlisted has shown us not only how far we’ve come, but also motivates us to achieve more through applying the IIP model, to learn what more we can do, and how much further we can go.

What would it mean to your organisation to win an Investors in People 2023 Award?

Like most companies in the UK, the last few years have been challenging and have tested every facet of our company’s capacity.

We started our IIP journey when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its height. Alongside dealing with all the challenges this presented, such as lockdowns causing a sudden pivot to remote working, we remained laser focused on our ambitions to develop the company’s corporate culture through the IIP model, keeping all our people close, included, valued, supported and protected, while they were forced apart.  Lessons we learned during this period informed our later actions, for instance, ensuring all our team are First Aid trained, not only to fully enable our new hybrid working model, but also to give them confidence to help in an emergency situation.

If we were to win this award and have our IIP journey shared and commended, it really would validate all that hard work in dark times and be affirming for everyone in Efficiency North.

How important is it for your organisation to be a part of the Investors in People community and engaged in awards and events like this one?

Efficiency North was founded in a culture of collaboration and sharing best practice.  We were keen to learn from other organisations with recognised best practice in people management, so IiP were the perfect partner to help us continuously develop our employment practices for the long-term.  With their wide engagement across all sectors, IiP brings expertise that helps us provide more for our people and, accordingly, more for our customers.

We always put our members’ and customers’ interests ahead of our own and seldom take time to congratulate ourselves for some of the great things we’ve achieved.

This awards event will provide that unique opportunity and, if we win, we can truly celebrate Efficiency North’s success in the company of the very best in people management, wellbeing and apprenticeships in the UK.