HRZone.co.uk member Sue Harrison shares her experiences when researching Investors in People status as a business objective for her organisation.

I meet regularly with a group of HR managers as part of a network for our sector. I had put Investors in People (IiP) as an agenda item, with the intention of getting some helpful hints, feedback, opinion etc, because one of my directors had proposed it as a business objective – managed by the HR team. What I didn't realise was that my research would well and truly open the floodgates.

Of the six people around the table that day, only one of them had found the IiP experience worthwhile; and he maintains that this was mostly due to the fact that he had total control of the process, including choice of consultant. It had taken around 16 months from start to finish, but he did say that he probably wouldn't recommend it.

Mandy had the best story – she always does. Since she joined her present employers, she has regaled us with tales of illegal working practices, corners being cut and funnies about the individuals working there. Here is a brief summary of her story:

Working for a company with the barest regard for anything but statutory requirements in most areas of the business, Mandy was intrigued to discover that her company has been in the process of attaining IiP status for the best part of two and a half years. Two and a half years! Even I know that the process normally takes around 18 months and even that can be considered a little long; so she had to find out where it had all gone so wrong.

It would appear that the main reason for Mandy's company to start down this road was because one of her directors had been convinced – at a seminar – that IiP was one sure way of getting some processes in place for areas such as appraisal and training. What did concern her was that there is a retained consultant who, when she met him for an update, rambled through a long, apologetic tale of failing process management, cancelled assessments, fading enthusiasm and rank inefficiency.

Too complicated

Well, that's a précis of Mandy’s tale. And here's my cynical interpretation of what I think has happened. Under the guise of IiP, it would appear that the consultant had done little more than provide the company with an overly-complicated and, ultimately, extortionately expensive appraisal and training system based on competencies.

So far, one positive experience of IiP and one extremely negative one.

As I do not want my company to go through Mandy's experience, I did a bit of reading around the subject in order to try and achieve a more balanced view and arm myself with some information to take forward to my management team.

I reviewed the IiP website to see if it could convince me of its value. The IiP Standard claims to be based on three key principles:

1) Developing strategies to improve the performance of the organisation.
2) Taking action to improve the performance of the organisation.
3) Evaluating the impact on the performance of the organisation.

Admirable as these may be, surely such principles should be enshrined as part and parcel of any well-run company? I've worked for a number of organisations, but even the most shambolic had appraisals, individual training plans and company plans upon which to propose a budget. Why on earth would a company pursue IiP as a way of putting these in place?

The IiP website suggests that visitors take a look at the views of other companies' staff on IiP, where "over 30,000 UK organisation (sic) are recognised as Investors in People, covering a wide spectrum of UK industries".

Sadly, I couldn't find any organisations even remotely representing my company's sector. I had hoped that finding some good case studies would give me some encouragement.

Feeling wary

However, while investigating IiP on the internet, I read several reports that state that it works quite well for large companies but not so well for small ones.

This whole issue has left me feeling very wary about the whole business of IiP. What does it contribute to an organisation that isn't already provided by good old-fashioned HR systems that support successful business with great recruitment and induction processes, effective reward and retention programmes and a respect for employee well-being?

Well, that's my rant, reporting back from a range of HR professionals – from someone who's achieved the 'badge', someone knee deep in the process and someone possibly about to jump into it.

So what do you think, fellow HR professionals? Is IiP a force for good and a powerful agent of change? Or is it yet another well-meaning initiative that keeps senior managers in 'status meetings' and management consultants in Lexuses? Write in and join the debate.

However, one final point – for my own part, listening to Mandy very much reminded of a time when I was involved with BS5750/ISO 9001 accreditation some years ago. It took a year of blood, sweat and tears, and in the final analysis, all my company achieved was the right to pitch for government tenders and a broad standardisation of forms used throughout the business… oh, and we also made some savings on the stationery.

Sue Harrison is a group HR manager. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of HRZone.co.uk