We entered for this award as we felt that the People Team had overcome a lot of challenges and changes within the previous year and had reached a point where we could see the added value and positive impact to our organisation. At this stage, we took some time to reflect and in the spirit of being a team that drives employee engagement and recognition, we thought it was time we considered the advice we give to other people being the advice we needed to follow. The entries for the Awards timing was perfect for us to utilise a robust framework and quality check our journey to date and the future direction. We felt that the questions for the award would allow us to highlight our successes both internally and externally to IiP and other organisation. IiP is a well-known, large accreditation organisation with excellent people management practices. In comparison, POhWER are a less known, smaller charity with a continuous improvement approach to people management practices. We felt there was a synergy here to adopt and adapt the framework and advice from our assessor. Plus of course, we are ambitious and driven and wanted people to know that we are on the map.
The team are absolutely delighted to have this recognition, especially in an organisation that has a high focus on operational roles and external customers. It has brought to life that we may be an enabling function, but we can implement and drive improvements to support our colleagues and achieve success. Although POhWER holds the silver level accreditation status, the People Team does not have a history of being known as a contender for people awards nor have POhWER entered for any other IiP awards to date. By being shortlisted, this has given us the recognition and the confidence that we are a serious competitor and has opened doors for us to consider other awards. The finalist’s logo has been beneficial for us to adapt so we can include it in marketing and promotions such as recruitment campaigns and bid submissions. For example, when recently recruiting for additional People professionals to support with some of our exciting projects in the team at a busy period, we used the logo and managed to attract a high volume of quality candidates. During the recruitment process, this was a selling point for us to candidates and we have been proud to tell our story. By being able to recruit to our team is beneficial for all other teams as we are a small organisation and many people work closely and collaboratively together. Our senior leaders are proud to have an in-house People Team who have made it this far in the short list, this sets us aside from our competitors. We are an organisation that has regular service provision changes and TUPE activity so this is a unique selling point for existing and potential clients to win new business. The People Team are core to the smooth running of all people related processes in bids and tenders so this demonstrates that we are credible and knowledgeable and will get the job done. To make it this far has definitely raised the profile of POhWER and the People Team and has already enhanced our reputation.
For POhWER to win the first IiP award would enhance our credibility and give us a healthy competitive advantage over our peers. By winning an award, we would look at the past, present and future of the journey. Initially, we would be in the present and excitement would kick in with an excuse for celebrating in the moment. However, it would then mean time to reflect on our journey and congratulate ourselves for the hard work, commitment and successes to date. For the future, this would increase morale and give us a sense of pride and motivation with the drive to continue to grow and excel. The image of the organisation would definitely be improved publicly and to showcase this, we would look at how we promote this achievement in our email signatures, job adverts and bids. The award would enable us to attract new business and entice other stakeholders to work with us therefore would fulfil business and personal opportunities. We are a people focused organisation and so we would ensure the benefits of the award would create a positive impact to our employees. This will be by increasing the profile and reputation so people feel proud to work for POhWER. Also, by putting us in a good position to win more business would create more development opportunities for our people with an increase in internal vacancies, training and career progression. In time an increase in profit would allow us to revisit our Employee Value Proposition and consider what is important for employees for successful attraction and retention. To summarise, on an individual level, the award will help to accelerate personal growth and increase confidence. At organisational level, the award will enhance our reputation which we feel will help to win new business, secure existing contracts and be a powerful differentiator in a tough market.
Our organisation has been part of the IiP community for a number of years and in 2024 retained silver. This is an important accreditation for us although we have ambitions to strive for gold next time and have a plan in place to get us there. By being an IiP accredited organisation, this means we can boost our reputation when seeking to attract new employees and customers. In addition it is important for existing employees and customers to know they are working for or with a reputable organisation that cares about people and continually strives for improvement. The community provides us with a robust framework whereby the nine indicators cover a wide range of people practices to keep us challenged, structured and focused. The knowledge and expertise of IiP provides an opportunity for external quality checking and validation of good practice. By being part of the community, this encourages healthy competition with other IiP accredited organisations so we can view their journeys, experiences and share best practice. We can learn from previous award winners to see what they have done, how and why to achieve an award/awards. The IiP mantra of continuous improvement encourages us to challenge to change and change to challenge. By adopting and adapting the external world into our internal environment, being part of IiP has many benefits for the organisation and our employees. The IiP award and action plan to get to gold has had a positive impact upon quality of leadership and people management practices, employee engagement and trust and confidence. This can be evidenced by results from employee surveys. For existing and potential new customers, they have the reassurance that we are a good employer and have an accreditation which is recognised nationally and internationally.
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