A Scottish charity has been named as a leader in people management globally, having been shortlisted for the third annual Investors in People Awards.
North East Sensory Services (NESS), which has offices in Aberdeen, Dundee and Elgin, achieved the Investors in People standard and the advanced Gold Standard, recognising best practice in people management, in February of this year. The charity has today been shortlisted in the Excellence in the Third Sector category for the Investors in People Awards, which received over 300 entries internationally.
NESS supports more than 4800 people in the North-east of Scotland who are visually impaired, blind, hearing impaired and/or deaf. It has been caring for people in Aberdeen since 1879 now supports people in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Dundee, Angus and Perth & Kinross.
Investors in People is an international quality standard which assesses an organisation’s performance through its people, helping businesses and charities realise objectives through exceptional quality management and development of staff and volunteers.
NESS achieved the standard and advanced bronze standard recognition as an Investor in People in 2010, and retained this in 2013. The gold award was given following a comprehensive audit in February 2016, which evaluated performance and approach to people through nine key areas including leading and inspiring people, empowering and involving people and creating sustainable success. In order to achieve the advanced gold standard, NESS was assessed on 196 evidence requirements. 168 are required for a gold award, and NESS achieved 175.
In congratulating NESS CEO Graham Findlay and his team on their fantastic achievement of gaining the IIP Gold Award Hilary Crick, IIP Specialist with Investors in People Scotland said: "I was particularly impressed with the leadership, sense of purpose and the enthusiasm of your people. You really do put your people first and this has resulted in a dedicated, committed and empowered workforce and volunteers group. Your people have transformed your organisation from a relatively small local charity offering support to people with sight loss and 93% reliant on local authority grants, to an integrated provider of dual sensory support with a turnover that exceeds £2m.
“Achieving the Gold level of Accreditation puts North East Sensory Services in the top 15 per cent of all IIP accredited clients in Scotland and top 7 per cent in the UK.”
Paul Devoy, head of Investors in People, said: “Once again we have been overwhelmed by the number and caliber of entries received for the Investors in People Awards. It’s fantastic to see so many organisations nominated for outperforming in their sector, demonstrating great people management practice and a commitment to staff development.”
Graham Findlay, CEO of NESS said:
“We are very proud of our staff and volunteers and being shortlisted for this award recognises that everyone at NESS is dedicated to helping blind and deaf people achieve independence. We believe strongly in working together to help our service users and this award demonstrates that across the charity, in all three of our centres, NESS personnel share that drive.
“By meeting the Investors in People Gold Standard, NESS is positioned amongst the very best in the world when it comes to people management, which is quite an achievement.”
For more information on NESS visit www.nesensoryservices.org