Kingfisher retain Investors in People award for the fifth year running

Wear-resistant lining and fabrication company Kingfisher Industrial have maintained the prestigious Investors in People Award for the fifth year.

Kingfisher have always had a strong people focus, recognizing that excellent products are only half the story. If they are to succeed they must have people who are highly skilled at analysing each application and developing a bespoke optimum solution; people who can apply the wear-resistant linings and coatings the company specializes in to the highest standards, and people who work well with customers to manage the whole process from initial contact to final handover.

The Investors in People Standard helps enhance business performance through people. It encourages companies to develop a framework of what needs to be achieved in order to maintain continuous improvement. It is very much people focussed, encouraging them to work towards outcomes rather than prescribing fixed actions.

At Kingfisher the first step was to review their strategic plan and make sure everyone understood, agreed with it and appreciated their role. From this individual learning priorities were identified and a check was made to ensure that suitable resources were in place.

Kingfisher managing director John Connolly commented: 'Good people are at the heart of any successful business, so it is important to us that we pursue strategies and structures such as that provided by the Investors In People award. As a result of this process everybody was encouraged to take ownership of the strategic plan, to contribute ideas to its on-going development. Our people were able to bring transparency to their role, and how they interact with colleagues. We also recognized that management functions, roles and needs became more transparent and everybody felt they were contributing to our common strategic goals, which makes for a more positive and productive working environment.'

Part of the framework involved measuring the impact of the new initiatives. This helps people take ownership of their evolving roles and also shows how Investors in People contributes to the market success of a company.

Kingfisher operate around the world and have found that Investors in People is recognized and highly regarded in most regions.