Cinos is an agile and innovative technology provider which specialises in the delivery and integration of unified communications, contact centres, collaboration, video conferencing and audio-visual solutions.

Whilst their early history focussed on delivering world-class AV installations, they knew they could not stop there. 

With significant investment in people and building out their highly resilient Cinos Cloud platform, they now have the expertise to deliver true end-to-end solutions, giving organisations the confidence that one trusted partner can manage their audio-visual, unified communications and supporting infrastructure.

Being recognised as an Investor in People since 2015 and receiving the gold standard this year reflects their desire to continuously improve and develop our staff. 

The standard represents that Cinos’ people and leadership teams take full ownership of the practices they have in place to support people.

We spoke to Johanna Guest, Managing Director at Cinos, who told us what winning an award would mean to the company and what the future holds.

Why did you enter The Investors in People Awards 2021? 

We entered this year’s Investors in People Awards because we genuinely believe in delivering excellence in everything we do. Winning the award would reflect this commitment to our core ethos in the context of continually supporting and developing our people.

Our core values have been shaped to achieve excellence, including culture, integrity, equality, dedication, team spirit, quality, passion, and collaboration. 

These values are embedded in our recruitment process, induction video and code of conduct so new employees understand what it means to be part of our family. 

They are present in our appraisal process to remind current employees what is expected of them.

Are there any goals or challenges you hope an award will help you achieve or solve?

Although the past 18 months have been tough and dominated by the pandemic, Cinos has not stood still. 

Our appraisal process has been significantly developed, offering more frequent and proactive sessions, focusing on our people’s wellbeing and personal development. 

We have invested in a new Learning Management System better aligned with our company values and industry requirements.

During the pandemic and in line with governmental guidelines, both local and international teams worked from home. To maintain inclusion and keep spirits high, we ran regular online social events. To our teams’ immense credit, we achieved a 49.5% increase in sales, a great accomplishment in such testing times. 

Winning an award would recognise our staff’s hard work and dedication during these challenging times and ensure that morale and motivation remain high throughout the workforce.

Tell us what distinguishes you from other companies in the category you’re shortlisted in.

Our commitment to social inclusion and wellbeing sets us apart. The OLA stated, “One of your greatest strengths is your ability to communicate – across a wide spread of locations.” 

Platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Yammer remove geographical barriers, enable true employee interaction, and help all people feel part of the same team regardless of their physical location. 

Our international managers take time to understand the local culture to support the wellbeing of their staff effectively. Our OLA reflects this with “90.3% of respondents believe that Cinos is a ‘Great Place to Work’.”

What would it mean to win?

It would be a real honour to win in the Overseas Employer of the Year category. Investors in People is the UK’s leading accreditation body for business improvement through people management. 

Being aligned to an organisation working for nearly 30 years to help companies, leaders, and employees work together to create better, more productive working would be invaluable.

How does being shortlisted benefit your customers?

Shortlisting in this year’s Investors in People Awards will help us develop the relationship with our customers and inspire confidence that we care about our staff. 

It’s well documented that motivated and well-supported staff within their role will be more productive and deliver better results. 

We have proven this through the work we have provided for our customers by going above and beyond to exceed requirements set out in project briefs. 

We advise and support our customers to bring their vision to life, ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible from start to finish.

How would you use being the recipient of this award to influence others?

We’re incredibly proud to have received an Investors in People Gold accreditation earlier this year, as it shows our dedication to creating the best possible environment for our employees.

One of our ongoing goals is to continue supporting our people and empowering them to be the best they can be. Being recognised with an award will certainly help drive this going forward. 

To be a finalist in the Overseas Employer of the Year category at the Investors in People Awards is very special and recognises Cinos’ investment in putting its people first. 

We hope that this ethos will continue to empower our people and attract exciting new talent to the business for years to come.

What can we expect to see from your organisation in the next 12 months? (And beyond!) 

We plan to continue to grow, and investing in our people is paramount to achieving this. One of our key initiatives will be to invest in management and leadership training across all global locations. 

We want to reward our people with opportunities for promotions, and investing in this training gives them every chance of success. 

Hiring apprentices both locally and internationally is another key initiative to give young people an opportunity in the industry and help improve the age diversity within our company. 

We hope our commitment to improving continuously helps us achieve IIP Platinum in the future.

What advice would you give to anyone applying for The Investors in People Awards 2022? 

Our advice to other organisations thinking about applying for next year’s awards would be to embrace the opportunity with open arms. 

It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring all your people together and shout about your successes, as well as talking through some of the key challenges that you’ve all faced. 

From here, you can put goals in place to make improvements throughout your organisation, leading to increased employee satisfaction.