IiP Testamonials

Managing Partner of Circle Creative Communications, Julie-Anne Parkhill One such small business to benefit from achieving the Standard are East Belfast creative design company, Circle Creative Communications. Managing partner Julie-Anne Parkhill explains further: “Circle Creative Communications started working with the Investors in People Standard in May 2004 through a Group Scheme that was part-sponsored by the Department for Employment and Learning and Belfast City Council. Our main impetus in undertaking the award was to improve the performance of our company- through increased sales and profitability, the planningof strategic objectives and ongoing professional training for staff.

We achieved the Investors in People Award in February 2005 and in less than a year, our sales turnover has increased by 35% based on last years end of year accounts, staff have obtained a number of professional qualifications through the ongoing training which has resulted in providing an improved service to our clients and our clients have given us an excellent approval rating of 95% in a customer feedback survey.

Circle would recommend the Investors in People Award to all businesses, no matter how small - the results are definitely worth the effort!’

Managing Director of Clements, John Elliott Another growing business enterprise successfully working with the Standard is the coffee shop chain, Clements. Clements coffee shops have been a major driving force in the ever increasing café culture which has developed in N Ireland. Clements Managing Director, John Elliott said: “Since opening the first store in 1999, Clements has grown into a very well known and respected brand. Many visitors to the City of Belfast ask where the franchise has come from. The reality of course is that we don’t have any franchise, we have built a solid business platform which is grounded on simple business principles – get the product right and people will want to buy it, get the people right and people will enjoy the experience, get the costs under control and the business will make profit. As in any business there are significant challenges and we have found that through the Investors in People Accreditation program that we were able to put our core skills and business process under the microscope. The results achieved over the last 2 years have been amazing with our staff retention having increased by 42% and our gross profits having increased by a commendable 28%.”

Managing Director of Northbrook Technology, Bro McFerran The Northern Ireland Investors in People Quality Centre has recently announced Bro McFerran, Managing Director of Northbrook Technology, as Northern Ireland’s newest Investors in People Champion. Champions are exemplar Investors in People organisations who take a leading role in sharing their experience and expertise with other employers. Bro has seen at first hand how the Standard has helped deliver tangible business results for Northbrook Technology and he encourages other businesses regardless of size, sector or industry to use the Standard to improve their businesses. Bro said: “I challenge Northern Ireland’s employers to find out for themselves how Investors in People can really make a difference to the performance of their businesses and that of the local economy. There is no bureaucracy or hoops to be gone through to achieve accreditation and the primary focus of the Standard is bottom-line business results.”