Success for L&H Homes with Investors In People Silver Standard

News Section: Longhurst and Havelok Homes RSS Feed 
Publish Date: 21. 09. 2011
Author: K Baumber

Midlands-based, housing association, L&H Homes has achieved the prestigious Investors In People Silver Standard, putting the housing and care services provider in the top 3% of all IIP companies.

As part of the Longhurst Group of companies, L&H Homes underwent an intensive audit to achieve the award.

To be awarded the Silver Standard, which was launched in 2009 as an extension of the IIP accreditation process, is a huge honour.

"This validates the hard work and commitment, learning and development that staff have achieved over a number of years,” said John Fletcher, Group Director of HR.

He added: “It is fantastic to achieve this external recognition and confirms our commitment to and value we place on developing our staff across the whole Group.”

The accreditation process is based on confidential interviews with a representative sample of employees (people from different levels across the organisation, from managers to front-line staff) who are all chosen by the IIP assessor and interviewed on a one-to-one basis.

Staff are asked to discuss their knowledge and opinions on a variety of company matters.

In his report, IIP assessor Richard Tomes said: “People are very proud to work for L&H Homes because of its vision and values, as well as the difference that they are able to make to people’s lives and the communities in which they live.”

He added: “They are also proud of an organisation that puts people’s welfare and involvement at the forefront of how the business is run and encourages them to play an active part in making it better.”

Around 40 members of staff from across the Longhurst Group of companies were interviewed on this occasion, based across every site within the organisation.

Thousands of employers apply for the initial IIP Standard every year, for which they must meet 39 of 170 set requirements. From here, organisations can go on to apply for Bronze, Silver and Gold status by meeting additional stipulations. To meet Silver Standard, IIP assessors must see evidence that the company meets 140 of the 170 set requirements.

Group Training Manager Helen Mather said: “Longhurst Group and its member companies recognise the value and importance of its employees through the IIP award. We approached this year’s application with the same level of commitment and enthusiasm as in our first accreditation process 10 years ago.”

Strengths

In his report, IIP assessor Richard Tomes identified several key strengths within the Longhurst Group, including:

• The Group’s core values, work life balance, and management style/support
• The feeling of empowerment encouraged among all members of staff, the organisation’s supportive culture and the level of pride that staff take in working for the companies within the group
• The levels of consultation with, and recognition for, all members of staff
• The Group’s delivery of training not just for job-specific operational roles, but in encouraging long-term personal development.