The Assessment Package

The way in which organisations are using Investors in People has changed so that Investors in People is proactively used as a tool to drive organisational change and business improvement.

Traditionally, an Investors in People assessment has been seen as the method by which an organisation demonstrates that it meets the requirements of Investors in People to an Investors in People Specialist. A successful assessment meant that an organisation achieved Investors in People accreditation as a demonstration of good practice.

From July 2008, organisations working with Investors in People have been encouraged to design their own assessment framework based on their business priorities.

This exciting new approach to working with Investors in People, known as "New Choices", allows an organisation and their Investors in People Specialist to explore the issues that really matter to the organisation and agree an assessment that will focus on the business priorities. The assessment process is now aligned towards helping organisations reach their own development goals, and supporting their plans for the future.

To ensure good standards, all assessments must at least include the requirements of level 1 (The Standard) and an organisation has to be assessed every 3 years to keep their Investors in People accreditation.

To help support and drive continuous improvement after an organisation achieves Investors in People accreditation, Investors in People Scotland incorporates "post-recognition" support activities. This includes timely telephone contact with all our clients throughout their continuous improvement journey.

If you would like to discuss working with Investors in People and how it can help you, please contact us.

Additional assessment options

An assessment every three years is not the only way an organisation can work with Investors in People. To discuss assessment options and what might be best for your organisation, you can call the Investors in People Scotland helpline number: 0845 606 6000.

Early Assessment
Annual Review (for organisations already Investors in People accredited)
Internal Review (for organisations already Investors in People accredited)

Early Assessment

Do you feel that you might already meet the requirements of Investors in People? Early Assessment assesses an organisation against level 1 of the framework , giving a quick indication of what they are doing well and what they need to improve to be Investors in People accredited.

Using this method, an organisation can "bank" the evidence for the areas in which they are doing well for up to 12 months, and a future assessment during this period will focus only on the areas in which they needed to develop to meet the requirements. Many organisations have found this a helpful way of driving change and improvements towards the goal of Investors in People accreditation.

Annual Review

Annual Review is an Investors in People assessment every 12 months, but the difference is that for each assessment only an agreed portion of the full assessment is conducted and the evidence is "banked". This means that an organisation can get more regular reports and feedback on how they are doing towards their objectives while maintaining Investors in People over the 3 year period.

The assessment can be divided by a percentage of the indicators or a portion of the number of employees that need to be interviewed by the Investors in People Specialist for your organisation size.

3 annual reviews almost equates to a single 3 year assessment, making it just as cost-effective for all organisations.

Internal Review

Are you interested in developing a team within your organisation to collect evidence for your Investors in People assessments? Internal Review helps an organisation really take control of its own continuous improvement and benefit from greater involvement in managing change and development.

After an organisation trains a team of Internal Reviewers with Investors in People Scotland, the process of evidence gathering will be guided and supported by an Investors in People Specialist.