Profile opens up new possibilities for the development of your organisation and it’s performance. Though it is still based on the same 3 principles as the Standard - Plan, Do and Review - it goes beyond the current scope of the Standard.
Profile provides a challenge. Not only does it challenge you to extend your existing Investors in People approach to new levels of effectiveness, it also challenges you to look at areas of leading, managing and developing people that could be quite new to you.
As with the Standard, Profile is structured around 10 indicators of good practice, each with a central theme as shown in the diagram. The scope and content of Profile level 1 is exactly the same as the Standard, whereas the scope of Profile levels 2-4 extend the indicator theme into areas of greater depth and breadth. For each indicator, a level of good practice has been identified as follows:
- Level 1 represents an organisation meeting the Standard and demonstrating good practice.
- Level 2 represents an organisation exceeding the requirements of the Standard. This is shown by their achievement of at least 50% of the level 2 and 3 statements.
- Level 3 represents an organisation significantly exceeding the requirements of the Standard. This is shown by their achievement of all the level 2 and 3 statements.
- Level 4 represents an organisation demonstrating excellent practice. This is shown by their achievement of all the level 4 requirements.
During a Profile assessment the Assessor will assign the organisation one of the four levels for each indicator. This will be supplemented by an in-depth report, allowing the organisation to see areas for improvement and further development, and containing a comparison chart, showing how your Profile levels compare with national averages.
What to Do Next?
For more information about how Profile could help you to identify improvements in your people management and development practices, please contact your local Quality Centre.