Defining the Roles of the Delivery Partners in the Investors in People Initiative

DEFINING THE ROLES OF THE DELIVERY PARTNERS IN THE INVESTORS IN PEOPLE INITIATIVE

Introduction

The Investors in People process is by definition an inclusive process and seeks to operate on a partnership basis between all the parties involved, which makes it important to ensure that roles are clearly defined.

The introduction of Investors in People to South Africa is being effected through a number of channels within the same project conducted under the auspices of the Department of Labour.

Channel 1 involves the national Investors in People pilot programme. This includes a diverse selection of 40 organisations which were given the opportunity to embark on the Investors in People accreditation journey using EU funds.

Channel 2 was intended to accommodate those organisations wanting to become recognised as Investors in People but which were not part of the Channel 1 pilot programme and which were willing to pay UK rates for internal facilitator training and assessment.

Channel 3 involves the training of appropriate candidates to become assessors, experts and advisers, since there are currently not enough suitably qualified people in South Africa and the assessment and quality assurance has been done by experts from the UK.

In Channel 4, the SETAs will act as delivery partners to grow commitment to the Standard across their respective sectors. In South Africa the process is being driven by the Department of Labour as the overall custodian with the SETAs as delivery partners, and the aim has been to integrate the process as far as possible with the national skills development policy. As one of the pioneers in implementing the national skills development initiatives, the banking sector has emerged as a leader in espousing and driving the introduction of the Investors in People standard.

The role players in this process can be classified in a number of ways but broadly categorised they can be defined as:  the banking sector itself (including the various institutions within the sector such as the Banking Council)  the BANKSETA (including the Investors in People Sub-Committee, Project Manager and any specialist consultants appointed to facilitate the process)  the organisations seeking to become accredited as Investors in People (including the site driver or internal facilitator and project team)  Investors in People SA and UK as owners of the process upholding the long-term consistency, credibility, value and relevance of the Standard for all users  trade unions and representative staff organisations whose understanding of and support for the process will be vital in making the implementation successful the Department of Labour as overall custodian of the process in South Africa and a critical element in the integration of the process into the national skills development initiatives.

It should perhaps be noted that while this document refers to the specific roles of the various organisations and individuals involved in implementing the process as the main stakeholders, there are numerous other stakeholders and people who may not be directly involved in the implementation process, but whose support is important in making the roll-out successful. These would include employees at the constituent sites, training and development institutions, the media and even to an extent the public at large.

Defining the roles

The Banking Sector

The Banking Sector through its constituent bodies and organisations has a largely strategic and promotional role in driving the acceptance of Investors in People within the industry.

This role has not yet been fully negotiated and adopted but the BANKSETA has a stance on the preferred nature of the role. This would include aspects such as:  assisting the SETA and constituent sites by clearing away obstacles to allow the unobstructed and effective implementation of the Standard;  helping to protect the integrity and credibility of the process from an industry viewpoint;  consistently promoting the industry’s support for the implementation projects and the process itself at the highest levels.

While much of the practical, day-to-day sectoral issues will be handled by the BANKSETA as project manager of the process, the perceived attitude of the industry’s leaders towards Investors in People will play a critical role in ensuring successful implementation.

Role of the BANKSETA

Having defined the introduction and promotion of Investors in People within the sector as one of its core functions, the SETA will in addition to an obvious role in funding and other support of sites play a vital co-ordination function in driving the implementation of the Standard within the industry through the Investors in People Sub-Committee and the Manager: Investors in People. The role proposed for the BANKSETA below is provisional and it is intended to investigate the roles of analogous overseas bodies before a final role itemisation is settled on.

While the BANKSETA acknowledges that every IiP site must assume responsibility for its own successful implementation of the standard, it nevertheless assumes a measure of responsibility for assuring that sites enjoy support, resources and incentives to pursue the standard. The main roles of the SETA as delivery partner to Investors in People South Africa will be to:  involve other stakeholders and promote clarification, ownership and execution of stakeholder roles;  through funding and other assistance incentivise adoption of the standard throughout its constituency;  assist Investors in People SA with the implementation of the Investors in People standard at organisations within the sector;  function as a learning organisation for the project to prepare for national roll-out ; and  be the link between employers and the Investors in People initiative.

This will involve acting in a project management capacity for the implementation of the process across the sector. The responsibilities include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following activities:  providing leadership and direction for the overall delivery of high quality support services to client organisations within the sector to ensure effective implementation and so maximize the number of organisations working with the Investors in People Standard;  co-ordinating activities with support from the IiP Sub-committee and the IiP Forum;  referring recommendations from the IiP Forum which are deemed by the sub-committee to be consistent with the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy to the BANKSETA Council;  promoting the Investors in People Standard to employers and assisting them to promote the process to their staff members;  working with employers to gain their commitment to the process and to support their movement towards recognition in accordance with specific service-level agreements negotiated severally with each discrete site in the constituency and subject to the specific terms of the BANKSETA IiP strategy;  providing pertinent inputs to the national development of the Standard, good practice and policy, based on a broad perspective of process implementation at different sites;  working to influence all and any role-players at national level to accommodate and enable the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy;  liaising with the Department of Labour and other interested parties to ensure that the process is being implemented in alignment with national skills development initiatives and that IiP enjoys proper prominence in the broad context of national skills development initiatives;  setting up and managing a process communications database and network with client organisations to ensure that information is channelled quickly to the right people; and  facilitating implementation agreements with organisations where relevant.  Somehow we need to make provision for the SETA to establish funding requirements.

Roles of the BANKSETA Investors in People Sub-Committee

The BANKSETA IiP sub-committee comprises a representative of each of the four large banks and a further representative of the Council, and is chaired by the Manager: IiP. Any other representative from the sector may volunteer to participate as a sub-committee member.

The Sub-Committee reports to the BANKSETA Council and is responsible for the following activities related to the current project as well as to the long-term strategy for sector implementation:  The Sub-Committee will act as a representative for sector interests in respect of IiP, by seeking to ensure that the BANKSETA’s understanding of sector needs is clear and consolidated, and is formulated on the basis of information and positions emerging from appropriate consultative processes with sector constituents, primarily the BANKSETA IiP Forum. This will help to ensure that decisions made with regard to IIP implementation in the sector are supported by an appropriate understanding of the various categories of stakeholders in the sector and their respective needs.  The Sub-Committee will review and evaluate proposed recommendations emerging from the BANKSETA IiP Forum or the constituency of that forum with respect to IIP in light of the BANKSETA’s current IiP strategy, with a view to recommending applicable decisions to the BANKSETA council. The Sub-Committee may table proposals to the IiP Forum. Courses of action are to be evaluated against the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy as well as against the criteria of effectiveness, economy, feasibility, good practice, risk, legislative compliance, and any other criteria that may prove relevant in the specific circumstances.  The Sub-Committee will recommend decisions to the BANKSETA council in relation to proposals adopted by the IiP Forum.  Authorisation for the adoption of recommendations, strategies, courses of action, practices, and any other matter is specifically and definitively excluded from the mandate of the committee.

Roles of the SETA Manager: Investors in People The role proposed for the Manager: Investors in People below is provisional and it is intended to investigate the role in analogous overseas bodies before a final role definition is settled on.

The roles of the BANKSETA Manager: Investors in People is likely to include at least the following responsibilities:  Participating in the shaping of the legislative environment – which will be the outcome of tracking developments in the legislative arena, driving sector scrutiny of proposed directions, and ensuring that a representative sector view is submitted to the relevant authorities. To the extent that proactive and behind-the-scenes-activity is feasible, it should also be undertaken.  Advocacy, i.e. promoting the IIP initiative to the extent that it achieves and sustains the recognition and buy-in that is required at executive level, in order to create a context for its implementation at an operational level.  Relationship management, i.e. identifying important stakeholders and ensuring that open channels of communication exist in order that their needs can be understood, their opinions solicited, their co-operation and support secured, and their problems as far as feasible amicably resolved.  Consultative process – to enable BANKSETA to remain in step with the sector.  Capacity building – The sector requires a spectrum of capability at its disposal for the implementation of IIP. Facilitating the training of internal facilitators, the provision of assessors, advisors, and internal organisational capability building are all important.  Administration – The IIP function in BANKSETA will require ongoing administration, entailing the preparation, distribution, receipt and archiving of documentation, as well as the management of business plans and associated budgets, and the usual spectrum of administrative duties. In the first instance this focus area will embrace the establishment of a QMS for the function.  Funding: the IiP manager must ensure that appropriate provision is made to provide necessary financial and other resources to sites and must oversee the appropriate disbursement of such funds and provision of such resources.  Incentives: the IiP manager must ensure that appropriate incentives exist for organisations to pursue and retain IiP recognition, and to this end must co-operate with pertinent other officers of the BANKSETA.  Where relevant, conclude and manage service-level agreements with sites, specifying the nature and extent of the support to which the BANKSETA commits itself.  BANKSETA prerogatives – the manager: IiP always retains the right to make submissions and recommend decisions in his/her own capacity to the BANKSETA Council and/or the BANKSETA CEO even in matters in which the IiP council sub-committee has made no recommendation or a contrary recommendation, subject to such a recommendation or submission being in compliance with her specific remit and mandate as an employee of the BANKSETA.

Roles of the IiP Forum

The IiP Forum is a body convened and chaired by the SETA in which all IiP sites within the constituency are represented, each site being represented discretely by its internal facilitator or the nominee of that person. Group representatives from constituent organisations with more than one site may attend IiP Forum meetings.

One of the principal roles of the IiP Forum is to provide a collaborative interface between the BANKSETA and its constituency through which the needs and contingencies of the constituency can be better understood and responded to. The Forum in addition presents an opportunity for collaborative networking between internal facilitators from the spectrum of sites within the sector. It should also be seen as a platform for capacity building and should look at ways to serve the interests of the banking sector as a whole, for example in terms of becoming a preferred employer.

The envisaged role is to provide scope for participating organisations to compare notes on implementation procedures and particularly to identify problem areas affecting the client organisations in the South African business environment. No constituent representative shall be constrained to disclose internal organisational matters to the Forum or its members exceeding his/her principal’s mandate to make such disclosure.

The Forum may also provide an opportunity to gather and collate information so that Investors in People and the SETAs can determine what sort of support levels would be required to achieve and maintain compliance.

Client Organisations

The activities required from client organisations are largely prescribed by internal contingencies and Investors in People requirements. However, some of the important preliminary requirements are to assess their own internal resources and decide how much they can handle themselves and how much help they will require from an adviser and possibly outside consultants. If they opt to use such persons they will need to establish an agreement detailing the roles and responsibilities of that person and how much time and cost is involved.

The role of the client organisation will be:  to ensure that it receives a clear analysis of the situation and that the adviser has a thorough understanding of the processes working within the specific organisation context;  to establish and maintain frank, honest and objective feedback on the Investors in People project status to relevant persons;  to ensure that there are networking opportunities with other organisations or clients within the sector and so shorten learning curves;  to ensure that the organisation has an understanding of the effect of change and the nature of the changes that will be involved in achieving Investors in People accreditation;  to review and establish how best the processes and systems within the organisation can best be aligned with the requirements of the Standard;  to ensure an understanding of how to achieve outcomes, the mechanics of suggested processes, detailed actions for getting there and sample processes and documents where necessary;  to ensure that the necessary documentation is prepared, recorded and maintained;  to seek from the adviser and other experts recommendations on the most appropriate way for the organisation to move forward;  to decide at what stage the organisation should request a formative assessment against the Investors in People Standard;  to ensure that the adviser and assessor work together in partnership to ensure that the client receives the most appropriate assessment approach and advice – bearing in mind that the assessor needs to maintain objectivity throughout;  to set up the necessary procedures and structures to ensure that the assessor has access to all relevant information. Note: We need to include some steps for all the parties, after accreditation. How to maintain it. How to make it a long term project and ensure sustainability. The client organisation also needs to decide how the process should be introduced. For example, if it is a large organisation it may opt to introduce Investors in People on a building-block approach through subsidiaries, departments, business units or divisions, or may introduce it organisation wide after running a pilot project. If using a building-block approach, the client organisation must ensure that a recognition strategy is developed and that it complies with IiP requirements.

With specific reference to any concrete or financial support from sector grant funds in accordance with the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy, the site must contract a memorandum of agreement with the BANKSETA specifying the nature and extent of the support to be rendered. Failure to conclude and formalise such an agreement in writing and with due authorisation shall be construed as waiver by the site of all and any such concrete or financial support. Failure to reach agreement as to the terms of the memorandum of agreement shall likewise be deemed to be a waiver by the site of all and any such concrete or financial support, subject to appeal to the BANKSETA council, with which a final decision rests.

Investors in People UK and SA

As the Investors in People South Africa operation is still in a formative stage, most of the quality assurance and assessment capabilities for these early phases of the South African roll-out are being provided by experts from the UK. The roles of the two Investors in People elements have therefore been listed jointly in this discussion document.

The broader role of Investors in People UK can be summed up in the following four points.  International promotion and leadership for the Standard  Maintenance and enhancement of the reputation of the Standard through quality assurance, development and management of the intellectual property of IIP  Assessment and recognition of national organisations  Management of information about the progress of Investors in People to inform the plans and actions of all parties.

Investors in People SA is currently largely operating in a liaison and marketing role, providing a link to the UK operation and assisting local organisations with the promotion of the Standard to management, while local advisers and assessors are trained up to the required levels. The roles of Investors in People SA include:  To provide leadership and direction for the overall delivery of high quality support services to client organisations within a delivery partner organisation to maximise the number of organisations working with the Standard and ensure that they have access to advice that will help gain maximum benefit from the Standard in a cost-effective way.  To assist with promotion to local employers  To work with employers to gain their commitment and support their movement towards recognition  To provide inputs to the national development of the Standard, good practice and policy  To liaise with SETAs on the promotion and implementation of the Standard to ensure that internationally acceptable levels are achieved and that there is no duplication or waste of material or human resources.  To market Investors in People in SA so that employees and non employees understand what recognition means – future employees. The roles of the advisers and assessors, as well as those of quality managers, practitioner/developers, quality assurers and developers and recognition panel members are outlined by Investors in People UK are as follows.

Adviser

Key responsibilities

 To raise awareness of the benefits of Investors in People amongst organisations and gain their commitment to work towards recognition  To advise client organisations on processes to achieve Investors in People, so that they gain maximum benefit from the Standard in a cost- effective way  To work alongside the assessor to help client organisations plan their assessment post-recognition review, so that their objectives from the process are identified and achieved  To advise client organisations on further improvement activities following feedback from assessments/post-recognition reviews, so that they continue to gain benefit from Investors in People  Where recognised organisations no longer meet the Standard, to work with the client to develop and help implement an effective action plan to return the organisation to the Standard, so that they continue to gain benefit from Investors in People.

Assessor Key responsibilities  To work with client organisations to plan their assessment/post-recognition review, alongside the adviser where appropriate), so that their objectives from the process are identified and achieved  To assess/review client organisations in a manner consistent with the shared practitioner values and make judgements on whether they meet/continue to meet the Standard  To work alongside the adviser to give feedback to client organisations on whether they meet/continue to meet the Standard and on how they might further improve, so that they continue to gain benefit from Investors in People. It is the responsibility of the assessor to notify the client organisation of the recommendation to the recognition panel. They also communicate to the organisation whether they believe the Standard is met and any areas of good practice or development. When informing the client the assessor should ensure that the organisation understands the role of the recognition panel and how it will be informed of the recognition panel’s decision (in writing and/or verbally, by the Quality Centre, or Delivery Partner)  To work with recognition panel members to help them understand how a client organisation meets the Standard and encourage additional feedback. so that the benefits of peer recognition can be bestowed  Where recognised organisations no longer meet the Standard, to work with the client, adviser and recognition panel members to ensure an effective action plan is developed to return the organisation to the Standard  The assessor can only recommend that a client organisation should be recognised. The recognition panel alone can award recognition  After the Recognition Panel has given its decision, the assessor agrees with the client organisation when and how further feedback for development will be provided.

Quality Centre

The basic roles of the Quality Centre are:  To provide an assessment and recognition service  To ensure practitioner development and registration  To provide inputs to the national development of the Standard, good practice and policy.  To protect credibility and quality of the standard Quality manager - ‘named’ on the Quality Centre licence

Key responsibilities

 To provide leadership and direction for the Centre so that it achieves quality outcomes (see Annex 3), specifically:

 demonstrating capability of practice · deploying competent practitioners

 delivering customer satisfaction

 developing continuous improvement

 To be responsible for meeting the conditions of the Centre’s licence to operate granted by Investors in People UK

 To input to the development of the Standard and its delivery and share good practice, so that Investors in People continues to add value for client organisations in a cost-effective manner.

Practitioner developer

Key responsibilities  To participate in the assessment, selection and registration of practitioners and provide feedback against the core competencies  To observe and review annually the performance of practitioners against the core competencies and provide continuous feedback  To develop all practitioners using a range of different activities in order to impart knowledge and satisfy CPD requirements write out in full.  To address any critical performance issues without delay to prevent any impact on client organisations  To provide support and advice to practitioners whilst they are working with client organisations. Providing quality assurance, which may include on- site observation of the practitioner’s performance, answer queries relating to good-best practice, proof-reading assessment plans, reports, action plans etc. Other Quality Assurers

(may also be Practitioner developer) Key responsibilities  Oversees and supports assessors in their assessment activities  Responsible for the quality assurance of the assessment process  Monitors assessment activity to ensure quality, consistency and customer satisfaction.  Quality developer

Key responsibilities  To review, on behalf of Investors in People UK, the achievement of quality outcomes, so that the credibility and integrity of the Standard is maintained  To advise Centres on how they might improve their processes to achieve quality outcomes  Where Centres do not achieve quality outcomes, to approve their action plans to address shortcomings  Where Centres fail to implement their action plans, or fail to demonstrate commitment to address shortcomings, to make recommendations to Investors in People UK for suspension of licences to operate  To input to the development of the Standard and its delivery and share good practice, so that Investors in People continues to add value for client organisations in a cost-effective way  To identify and share good practice, development and networking opportunities.

The recognition panel The primary role of the recognition panel is to be the means of providing peer recognition to client organisations. Its purpose is to:  Provide the recognition process with an objective, external input from other recognised organisations whose primary interest is to ensure that the Standard is maintained and interpreted consistently, and that the process adds and creates value to the client organisation  They are, along with all other practitioners, the guardians of the Investors in People Standard  The recognition panel comprises senior people from recognised organisations: it is a peer group. Membership is on an unpaid voluntary basis.

Specifically, in relation to the recognition of each client organisation, the role of the recognition panel is to:  Ensure that the assessor has brought out all relevant feedback points, and add any areas for further improvement that should be considered by the client organisation  Only challenge the assessor’s recommendation if it is not satisfied that the assessor has collected sufficient evidence that the client organisation fully meets the Standard. The recognition panel makes its decision and is required to inform the client organisation of the decision within three weeks of the completion of the assessment visit  A recognition panel must comprise two or more senior people from recognised organisations, with no conflict of interest with the client organisation, who do not have to meet to reach the recognition decision.

OD Consultants

It is envisaged that this category will include, if not comprise entirely, specialised performance consultants. OD Consultants might well be called upon to play a role in helping participating organisations to achieve recognition, particularly during the first phase of the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy, when it is likely that sufficient registered advisers may not be affordable and available. Even once registered practitioners are available and affordable, it is foreseen that OD consultants will retain a role.

While the process would handle all the issues from initial promotion to formative assessment, once the assessment has been made, and the necessary processes required for compliance delivery have been identified, there may be issues that technically fall outside the ambit of the Investors in People Adviser such as if the assessment reveals the need for a performance management system to be put in place. It may therefore be necessary to decide beforehand how such issues would be handled to avoid disputes down the line that could derail the implementation. This issue may or may not present less of a problem for larger or wealthier organisations, perhaps with considerable internal OD capacity, but could present smaller players, who do not have substantial HR or budgetary resources, with serious difficulties. Accordingly the provision of OD consultants to support at least the initial phase of the BANKSETA’s IiP strategy on an “as-needed” basis forms a key part of that strategy.

Sites which accept the services of OD consultants as any part of the support offered to them under the terms of their agreements with the BANKSETA will be entitled to periodic written progress reviews and recommendations from the consultants whose services are so contracted but must accept that the same documents will be made available to the manager: IiP as the principal vehicle by which the BANKSETA will monitor the progress of the sites in question. Sites which do not accept the services of such OD consultants may be required to submit reports sufficiently addressing the same matters to the BANKSETA, failing which they may be required to pay for the services of an OD consultant designated by the BANKSETA to co-operate with them in producing such reports. APPENDIX

Summary of delivery partners’ roles This summary of the tasks of delivery partners (Channel 4 project) is taken from the documentation and presented here as an appendix, since it may assist by providing a useful check list of the activities involved and ensure firstly that they are included in the most appropriate responsibility area. The roles are: l identify the SETA-IIP co-ordinator within the organisation l organise marketing presentations to employers l liaise with IIP marketing consultants to conduct presentations l ensure that SETA-IIP co-ordinators’ capacity is developed by marketing consultants l assist marketing consultants to co-ordinate commitment certificates l submit names of organisations plus nominated internal facilitators to the Project to organise training l organise training venues (funded by SETAs) and make all the necessary arrangements l distribute pre-reading material l host the training course l distribute training certificates received from the Project l get organisations to sign an agreement between the Project (Department of Labour), the organisation and the registered practitioner (SA or UK) l allocate a practitioner(s) to a SETA for the requisite periods for assessor and/or implementation services l ensure the practitioner submits an assessment plan to the Project’s Quality Centre/Manager l once the assessment plan is approved, the Quality Centre (Project) informs the company and the practitioner l practitioner conducts the formative assessment l practitioner submits assessment report to Project’s Quality Centre l Project’s Quality Centre informs organisation of outcome and notifies the SETA l the SETA facilitates an implementation agreement with the organisation (if relevant).