We decided to enter the Investors in People 2025 Awards following our most recent IiP assessment, where our Training & Development department achieved exceptionally strong results. The feedback confirmed the real impact that our work is having across the organisation and prompted us to showcase these achievements more widely. It was a moment of pride for the team, and also a catalyst for us to benchmark ourselves against the very best.
At Arun Estates, people are at the heart of everything we do. As the only estate agency group with a fully accredited Property Mark training centre, we have invested significantly in structured pathways that support colleagues from their very first day through to senior leadership roles. Our nine-month induction and mentoring programme ensures new starters feel supported through the challenges of their first year. Our Management Development Programme has been refreshed to focus on resilience, digital leadership and emotional intelligence, equipping future leaders to inspire their teams. Alongside this, we have created clear professional qualification routes, with many of our colleagues achieving or working towards a Property mark accreditation, raising industry standards and confidence across the group.
At the core of all of this sits The Arun Way which is centric to our culture.
The decision to enter was therefore about more than recognition. It was about celebrating the people who bring the Arun Way to life every day, sharing best practice with others in the IiP community, and holding ourselves accountable to the highest possible standards. Being part of these awards allows us to measure our success externally and continue to challenge ourselves.
Being shortlisted for an Investors in People 2025 Award has been a proud and humbling moment both for me personally as Group Training Director, and for Arun Estates as a whole. Leading our Training & Development department, I see first-hand the commitment, creativity and hard work that goes into supporting our people every day. To have that effort recognised externally is incredibly rewarding – it validates that what we do really matters, not only within our business but also at a national level.
For my team, this recognition has been a huge source of motivation. They work tirelessly to design and deliver programmes that give colleagues the skills, confidence and career pathways they need to succeed. Seeing their work acknowledged outside of the company has given them renewed pride and energy. It has also meant a great deal to our colleagues across the business. When staff see that our approach to training, culture and development is being celebrated by Investors in People, it reassures them that they are part of something special – an organisation that invests in them, believes in them and genuinely values their contribution.
For the wider business, being shortlisted reinforces our belief that culture is a true competitive advantage. It highlights how central The Arun Way is to the way we operate. It also demonstrates that our investment in people is not just about business outcomes, but about creating an environment where every individual feels supported to thrive.
Ultimately, this shortlisting has been more than recognition – it has been validation. It tells our people that the effort they put in every day matters, it tells our customers that they are served by a company with values at its core, and it tells me personally that the vision we have for training and development is not only the right one, but one that is making a real difference.
Winning an Investors in People 2025 Award would be an extraordinary milestone for Arun Estates and, for me personally as Group Training Director, one of the proudest achievements of my 30 career in Estate Agency. Over the past four years, I have been dedicated to raising the profile and impact of training across the business, building a department that not only delivers skills but shapes culture, confidence and careers. To see that journey recognised at the very highest level would be a moment of immense pride – proof that the investment, belief and hard work we have put in has created something truly special.
From a company perspective, winning would validate the commitment we have made to put people at the heart of our success. It would confirm that our focus on developing careers, building leadership capability, and creating professional pathways is not just felt internally but acknowledged externally as a standard of excellence. It would demonstrate to every colleague that the support, training and opportunities they experience are world-class and recognised outside of our industry.
For our colleagues, it would be a powerful message that what they do every day matters. It would instil pride, strengthen loyalty and inspire them to continue delivering the highest standards for our customers. For Arun Estates it would provide external recognition that investing in people is the right strategy – one that secures both business performance and long-term sustainability.
Ultimately, winning would be more than an award. It would be a defining moment in our story, showcasing to our people, our customers and our communities that Arun Estates is a business where training, development and culture are true cornerstones of success.
Being part of the Investors in People community is very important to Arun Estates because it keeps us connected to best practice and challenges us to continually improve. IiP provides an external benchmark that ensures we never stand still, helping us measure our progress against the very best and remain accountable for the culture we are building.
Awards and events like this give us the chance to celebrate our people, share ideas, and learn from other organisations. That exposure to fresh thinking and innovation helps us strengthen our own approach, ensuring that training, development and leadership remain at the centre of our business strategy.
Most importantly, being part of IiP gives us confidence that our investment in people is driving not just internal results but long-term business growth. It reinforces to our colleagues that what they do matters and that they are supported by a company committed to being one of the very best places to work as seen in our annual staff engagement surveys and recently the IiP survey.
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