IF you asked a chief executive, HR manager or small business owner to explain the challenges they faced 10, even five, years ago, I would place a good wager they would be different to those they may face at present.
Indeed, for many organisations, the challenges of the past decade have been overtaken by new issues that have emerged alongside the advancements we’ve seen in the ways we work.
Whether it’s because technology is giving customers more control and a louder voice, or because technology is enabling different working patterns and putting innovation at the top of the growth agenda, more than ever, it’s clear that organisations can’t pay lip service to their people.
Last night marked a significant milestone for our organisation. We officially unveiled our new name and new direction to a group of Scottish business leaders and decision makers in Edinburgh.
Our new organisation is Re:markable and it’s the new home for Investors in People in Scotland. We believe that organisations are more successful when they develop and give more control to their employees and our role is to help employers do just that.
Analysis by Oxford University highlights that only 35 per cent of people in the UK work in jobs that encourage innovation.
Innovation comes when people have discretion, when they are encouraged to learn and where they have a voice and feel listened to.
Our economy can’t and shouldn’t compete on the basis of employers driving down cost of production, but on our ability to develop new products and services by using the inherent knowledge and skills of the workforce.
More than that, the average employee spends 90,000 hours of their life at work and our experience at work can have a profound impact on our health and wellbeing. Since Investors in People began in 1991, attitudes towards training and development, for example, have changed dramatically and there are at present fewer employers who don’t invest in skills and development.
This is good. Attitudes are shifting for the better, and I believe Investors in People has been an important part of that change.
So why this change? As our services have expanded we recognised the need for our brand to adapt and reflect our changing role.
In 2014 we launched the Investors in Young People model which has helped more than 600 organisations improve the way they recruit and develop the next generation.
Five hundred organisations have benefitted from the Skills for Growth programme with Skills Development Scotland, and we’ve agreed a three-year, UK-wide partnership with the leadership expert David Marquet whose book Turn the Ship Around has been described as the best “how to” manual about delegation and empowerment.
As we’ve diversified our services over the past few years it’s become important that our brand reflects our expanded portfolio with a contemporary identity.
Re:markable does this. Investors in People provides a great foundation for our work and we’ll continue to support all organisations using it in Scotland.
But we can now do even more to help achieve prosperity and growth in a way that is good for business and employees.
Scotland is a remarkable country. Our new brand is bold and ambitious but we think that this country has the potential to become one renowned for the quality of the way in which it leads and develops its people.
That’s not just an aspirational prize; it largely essential if we are to thrive and prosper as a nation.
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