Investing in your people works – can 40,000 organisations be wrong?

The purpose of this paper is to present an outline of research, and provide a range of ideas and strategies that an organisation can adopt to improve its performance, in both financial and non‐financial measures.

A Cranfield University research paper used the Investors in People (IIP) quality standard to link the engagement of people to the development of high‐performance organisations

The research shows that by implementing commitment based HR strategies creates long‐term and quality engagement of employees. Furthermore, such strategies impact positively on financial as well as non‐financial performance of organisations.

The Standard has been the subject of research since its inception. Much of the previous research found that the IIP Standard has a positive impact on business performance although the conclusions were not unanimous. In addition, the Standard is reviewed and revised every three to five years, so past findings cannot always be related to the current Standard

A total of 40,000 organisations use the Investors in People standard because it: is a useful framework for organisations undergoing significant or a rapid change and it is business improvement focused – whatever the business priorities.

The paper focuses on business improvement research and practice.