NOCN Group retains Investors in People IIP Silver Award
6th March 2019 Date of publication
NOCN Group is proud to announce that it has retained the Investors in People (IIP) Silver Award in recognition of its commitment to employee development. The assessment took place in January this year and included online assessment, desk top reviews and employee interviews.
The Group has been growing and diversifying over the last two years; now employing over 150 people in Sheffield, Kings Lynn, Cardiff and Peterlee, with operations expanding overseas. It is a leading Awarding Organisation for vocational qualifications, the number two in construction skills, and a market leader for apprenticeship end point assessment as well as undertaking research and consultancy on skills development programmes. From 1 March NOCN will become one of the leading providers in the UK of Job Cards in construction.
The Group is a not for profit charitable organisation, a Leader in Diversity, and Disability Confident. It holds its ethical outlook as core to its success, with a firm commitment to create opportunities through learning and skills.
The Investors in People Practitioner who recommended NOCN Group to be awarded Silver, said: “It should be acknowledged that this Investors in People Assessment took place during a period of major transition and transformation for NOCN Group. Achieving Silver accreditation at this stage of organisational development should be a source of pride and a foundation for higher levels of accreditation in the future.”
The findings of the IIP assessment include:
- Employees are well supported by their line managers
- Employees have a good understanding of the future direction of NOCN Group
- People work in accordance with NOCN Group’s Values – which in turn reflect the objectives of the organisation and influence how people work together
- Empowerment and involvement are a strength of NOCN Group
- People across the organisation confirmed that they are trusted to make decisions
- Team responsibilities and structures are being adapted to facilitate greater empowerment
- People demonstrate a good understanding of role requirements and their own objectives
- People ensure that they collaborate across teams and locations
- There are multiple examples of continuous improvement activity
- Creating sustainable success is at the heart of NOCN Group’s strategy
- Looking to the future and building effective relationships with stakeholders are areas of strength for NOCN Group
Graham Hasting-Evans, Group Managing Director, said: “I am delighted that NOCN Group has achieved the Silver accreditation standard for Investors in People. The Silver level is expected to be awarded only to the top 5 per centile of organisations that are assessed. This is a tremendous achievement for everyone in the Group; particularly as we have been through such an enormous period of growth with a lot of new people coming into the organisation over the last two years”
Louise Fort, Group HR Manager, said: “The achievement of IIP Silver is testament to the committed staff and management that make up NOCN Group. Our reassessment was conducted under the new ‘sixth generation’ standards which are far more rigorous than the previous standards, therefore to retain Silver the Group needed to demonstrate a progression in the investment of its people to meet the higher expectations under the current criteria, illustrating the significance of this Award. NOCN Group is a great place to work and I am immensely proud that independent recognition has been awarded to support the organisation as a great employer. We are on a journey that sees the Group continually striving to do more and be better, next stop…Investors in People Gold!”
