IiPUK Licensed Workshops

Internal Reviewer Development Programme

2008

INTRODUCTION

Internal Review is one of the ways your organisation can gain and retain recognition against the internationally acclaimed Investors in People Standard. It involves training one or more of your own people to collect and interpret evidence against the Standard. The training, which is accredited by Investors in People (UK), equips your people to:

• undertake robust healthchecks against the Standard to test your organisation’s readiness for formal assessment, or simply to highlight development issues,
• prepare and implement action plans for organisation development,
• contribute to formal assessments by collecting evidence under the guidance of an external managing assessor.  

Organisations already using Internal Review have identified several broad benefits, including:

• the ability to keep the key business themes covered by the Standard under constant review (as opposed to having an external assessor take a snapshot just once every two or three years),
• deeper analysis of issues leading to more workable solutions (because your own people have a good feel for what is working and what is not, and will be trained to make objective assessments against the Standard),
• better sharing of good practice,
• significant personal development for Internal Reviewers (additional transferable skills from the workshop and better understanding of real business issues)
• reduced assessment costs over time.

Those using the Internal Review process in the East Midlands Region include:

• Baggaley Construction
• Derby City Council
• Derby Community Safety Partnership
• Derbyshire County Council
• High Peak Borough Council
• Leicestershire County Council
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust
• Moy Park Limited
• Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
• Office Depot
• Rolls-Royce plc
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Royal Mail
• Scott Wilson
• Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust
• Sundial Group
• Thorntons plc
• Toyota UK

While most of these are medium to large organisations, the process will also work effectively in smaller ones. We will happily give impartial advice on the suitability of Internal Review for your organisation, whatever its size or type.

THE PROGRAMME

We need to stress that most delegates find the Internal Reviewer Development Programme very demanding. It has to be in order to bring people quickly and cost-effectively up the exacting standards required by IiPUK.

Prior to a two-day workshop, each delegate completes a case study exercise which normally takes 6 to 8 hours. As the case study is central to learning, those who fail to submit their findings by agreed deadlines cannot attend the workshop.

The workshop, which runs across two consecutive days, is a blend of tutor inputs and group work designed to allow delegates to apply Investors in People knowledge as they learn it, and to develop and practice the skills required of an effective assessor (evidence-based interviewing, critical analysis, decision making, reporting and feedback skills).

After the workshop, delegates undertake a ‘mini-review’ against the Investors Standard within their own organisations. This can take up to 12 hours as it involves doing at least six interviews (two of which will be observed by a workshop tutor), and reporting findings. These findings usually provide useful feedback for the organisation too, especially where teams of delegates from the same organisation complete the programme together.

The final stage is a one-to-one registration interview with a tutor. This uses evidence generated during the mini-review to assess the delegate’s performance against IiPUK competencies for the Internal Reviewer role. It is also an opportunity for delegates to highlight further development needs.

Those who demonstrate sufficient competence will then be licensed as Internal Reviewers by Investors in People UK. This enables them to gather evidence towards formal Investors reviews.

PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

By the end of the programme delegates will:

• Have a firm understanding of the Investors in People Standard;
• Be able to plan an effective and efficient review in line with Investors in People UK guidelines;
• Be able to carry out effective interviews and demonstrate appropriate questioning, listening and recording skills;
• Be able to analyse a range of subjective and objective evidence, and use it to reach appropriate conclusions about Investors in People status;
• Be able to report review findings clearly and accurately;
• Appreciate the confidentiality requirements associated with Investors in People reviews;
• Be able to work well as part of the Internal Review team;
• Understand how to manage the Internal Review workload alongside their main work role, and;
• Be able to deal with difficult situations which may arise from the Internal Reviewer’s role.

WHO CAN BECOME AN INTERNAL REVIEWER?

Any employee of your organisation, and others who make a long-term contribution to its success (e.g: non-executive directors, school governors etc.). Consultants, contractors etc. are not eligible.

For organisations planning to build an Internal Review Team, we recommend that members be selected from a range of departments / disciplines / levels in order to capture a spread of experience and knowledge. The choice, however, is obviously yours.

IiPUK does not specify prerequisite knowledge, skills or qualifications for programme delegates, though we strongly recommend that you recruit people who are already fairly competent interviewers. Those who cannot interview, or quickly learn basic interview techniques, will definitely struggle with the programme.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

An in-house programme for up to 12 delegates from the same organisation costs £5950 + VAT. This includes all tutor costs, materials, observations, in-programme coaching, competence assessments and IIPUK certification / registration. This equates to about £500 per delegate (roughly £150 per delegate day) for nationally recognised training and certification.

The cost assumes that the host organisation will provide a suitable learning venue, lunch and refreshments.

Additional costs (travel and/or accommodation) may apply if the tutors need to travel beyond the East Midlands Region.

For open courses and infill places, costs will be negotiated on the basis of £595 per participant plus a reasonable contribution towards venue costs.

ABOUT THE KEY PLAYERS BEHIND THE PROGRAMME

1. Investors in People UK

IiPUK is a not-for-profit company which owns all international rights to Investors in People. It licences and quality assures all those involved in assessment and accreditation against the Standard (including Internal Reviewers) and those delivering training on its behalf.

For further information please see www.investorsinpeople.co.uk

2. EMQC Ltd

EMQC is another not-for-profit company involved in a range of assessment and organisation development activities. It is the only IiPUK-licensed Investors in People assessment and recognition centre in the East Midlands Region.

For further information please see www.emqc.co.uk

3. The Regan Consulting Practice Ltd.

Is an organisation development business which delivers the Internal Reviewer Development Programme on behalf of IiPUK and EMQC. The programme is delivered by its two directors, Ruth and John Regan. Both are highly regarded IiP practitioners and leadership / management trainers.

For general information please see www.reganconsulting.co.uk

For more information or a chat about the Internal Review Development Programme, please contact Ruth (trcp@waitrose.com) or John (john@reganconsulting.co.uk) or call us on 01773 863906.

Back to Regan Homepage