Taking care of employees
Partena
awarded Investors in People standard
Human capital is the life-blood of many businesses today. The Investors in People (IiP) standard reflects how well an organisation takes care of its employees. The Belgian health insurance fund Partena ziekenfonds & partners worked hard to achieve this recognition, with help from Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
It all began about four years ago. The management board of what was then Partena ziekenfonds was looking for a formal way to highlight the quality of its services and processes. ISO certification was suggested, but neither HR nor the CEO saw any added value in that. Valerie Thoen (HR Manager at Partena ziekenfonds & partners): “As a service provider, it’s not enough to prove that your processes, rules and practices are sound; your prime concern has to be that your human capital, which forms the core of your organisation, is happy and competent. That’s why we decided to go for IiP.”
What do the employees think?
Investors in People is an international standard that screens the strategic HR policies of organisations. As an accredited IiP advisory organisation, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School helps companies to gain this recognition. The procedure involves investigating how much they invest in the development of their people through training and coaching. So this suited Partena’s objective perfectly. Chantale De Bondt (responsible for training and management development at Partena): “Investors in People measures your personnel’s perceptions and that really interested us. You might have a great HR portfolio with all kinds of action plans for training, development and people management, but the key question is whether the people on the shop floor see things the way you do.”
On the road
To identify the needs in the field, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School conducted an independent baseline assessment at the start of the project on a random sample of employees that was as diverse as possible in terms of job, seniority, age, region, etc. Veroniek De Schamphelaere (Manager of the People & Organisation Competence Centre): “The idea was to assess to what extent the organisation has answers to offer on 10 indicators, such as investment in people, communication, effective leadership, appreciation and recognition, and so on.” The results of the baseline assessment were communicated quite openly within the Partena organisation. Valerie Thoen: “We set off on a roadshow to present our strengths at each team meeting, but also to highlight the areas where we needed to do more work. The baseline assessment was also posted on the intranet. That openness boosts your credit enormously within your organisation. The roadshow also gave us the opportunity to talk to employees face to face, answer their questions and motivate them to join us in drawing up an action plan.”
Partena exercise
The action plan was a genuine “Partena exercise”, according to Veroniek De Schamphelaere. The employees were very closely involved in developing it and rolling it out. Chantale De Bondt: “HR provided the framework and the basic idea, but the real work came from the people at grassroots level. Specifically, each department or regional office chose an ambassador for the project who sat on our task force. The task force met regularly to refine and test out the action plan: how were things going on the ground? What could be done differently, or better? Each ambassador went back to his team with decisions and new ideas for actions. The cooperation instilled a new dynamism into the organisation – a dynamic spirit of enthusiasm, commitment and unity.” Widespread support was essential if Partena’s IiP project was to be a success. Valerie Thoen: “We didn’t just want a quality label; we wanted to go through a process that every employee could see was worthwhile.”
Feedback and formalisation
The most important conclusion of the baseline assessment was that Partena was good at setting up and implementing training programmes, but was weaker when it came to evaluation, follow-up and on-the-job coaching. Valerie Thoen: “Our response to that was to roll out a coaching cycle with individual interviews and 360° feedback. We also formalise things more now with more assessment and reports. Every employee who undergoes training now gets a feedback form to evaluate the course and the instructor, and to record what he’s gained from the training for himself, his team and his job.”
Financial reports
It is difficult to measure the return of a course in hard data but Partena does attempt to assess this formally where possible. Valerie Thoen: “One example is that we’ve set up a knowledge centre that evaluates new employees after one, three and five months. Newcomers are expected to master 80% of the knowledge they need for their job by the end of their six-month probationary period. Their progress is tested through assignments and interviews and mapped visually in charts.” The cost of training programmes is now expressed in financial figures much more than it used to be and reported to management quarterly. Chantale De Bondt: “When we report on training costs, we don’t just look at direct wage costs now; we also include preparation time and the employee’s work time. That goes not only for outside courses, but also for in-house training.”
Self-questioning
The action plans paid off: Partena was awarded the IiP standard in November 2006. “We were one of the first companies in Flanders to achieve this, which made our employees proud and reinforced their commitment,” Valerie Thoen recalls. The recognition also had a beneficial effect on recruitment. “Unlike before, applicants were now deliberately coming to knock on our door, because they knew that Partena would invest in them and they would get opportunities here.”
The IiP standard is not forever. After three years and a re-assessment it may or may not be renewed. “In that sense the IiP is very much in keeping with the idea of a learning organisation,” says Valerie Thoen. “You have to be prepared to keep questioning yourself, to engage in dialogue with your employees and to continue to adapt.”
Sparring partner
Throughout the whole IiP process Partena saw Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School as a sparring partner. Chantale De Bondt: “The School has mastered the IiP model really well and helped us with tips and advice. We could always turn to them to see whether our action plans were still in keeping with the format and focus of the project, and whether we were following the IiP methodology consistently.” Valerie Thoen nods: “Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School offered invaluable professional support even when it came to the methodological basis. Simply taking action is not enough; you also have to be able to prove that you follow up, evaluate and adapt those actions within a reasonable time frame. We invest a huge amount in training, but the trick is being able to show that your investment is producing returns.”
Even in times of crisis
Partena was awarded the Investors in People standard for its health insurance fund at the end of 2006. Chantale De Bondt and Valerie Thoen are working hard to gain this recognition for the whole of Partena ziekenfonds & partners this autumn. Valerie Thoen: “Partena has built up two completely new business units in four years: service vouchers and childcare. We’ve grown from 180 to 1,300 employees and we’re a business that just keeps on innovating. Rapid change and expansion can mean that people lose their commitment. On top of that, the difficult economic climate means that the focus is on different things now.” Both women recognise that the job in hand will not be easy to manage but they are keen to take up the challenge. Valerie Thoen: “We want to send a signal that, even in times of crisis, we’re still keen to invest in projects like IiP. It’s not easy to get the issue on the strategic agenda these days, but we believe that it’s essential as part of our long-term strategy to keep good people on board, encourage them and give them opportunities.”
IiP in a nutshell
Investors in People is an international standard that aims to promote effective HR policies. It recognises organisations with the structure and know-how to translate their objectives into a policy where each employee knows his added value and knows how he can improve it. The most important part of this is the employee’s own experience. The IiP standard is the reward for all this work, but most organisations that achieve it find that the journey is far more important than the destination.
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