Destination management organisation Visit Chester & Cheshire were last week officially presented with their Investors in People (IiP) Silver award, making it one of just 254 organisations in the UK to have received the accolade.

Having previously held the Investors in People mark, the organisation was accredited with the Silver standard after exceeding the necessary evidence requirements during an assessment at the beginning of September.  

It joins over 30,000 ambitious organisations in the UK, which have committed to improving business productivity and performance through their people, and puts Visit Chester & Cheshire into what could be considered a ‘1%  club’ of organisations that have achieved above and beyond the basic IiP standard’s 39 requirements.

IiP’s silver accreditation is reserved for companies that have strived to meet up to 100 additional evidence indicators, and just 4% of the 30,000 organisations working with IiP have met above the basic standard – achieving bronze, silver or gold.

Launched in 1991, Investors in People offers a business improvement tool designed to help all kinds of organisations develop performance. The initiative aims to increase the productivity of the UK economy by improving the way that organisations manage, develop and reward their people.

Chris Humphries, Chief Executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, which has strategic responsibility for Investors in People, said:

“This is a fantastic achievement by Visit Chester & Cheshire.  Working with Investors in People inspires and enables leaders, managers and employees at all levels to build their skills, improve their performance and achieve their potential. We hope that more organisations will be encouraged to work with Investors in People to help realise their business goals and ambitions.”

Visit Chester & Cheshire employs 26 staff across offices in Chester, Knutsford and Reaseheath College.  It was established in 2006 and has just recently launched a visitor economy framework - ‘2020: Time to Meet the Challenge’ which sets out how Cheshire and Warrington’s visitor economy stakeholders should harness their vision, collaboration and passion to build a thriving, growing and sustainable tourism environment over the next decade.

In launching the blueprint for boosting local tourism into a £3 billion business supporting 37,000 jobs Visit Chester & Cheshire were praised by James Berresford, Chief Executive of England’s tourist board – VisitEngland, who also encouraged other UK destinations to follow Cheshire and Warrington’s approach to building a flourishing and profitable visitor economy.

Visit Chester & Cheshire’s Chief Executive, Chris Brown noted “Achieving Investors in People silver is a key step in supporting our organisation in the building of new commercial relationships across the county, and supporting us in the development of place marketing for Cheshire as a whole”.

Recent research, conducted by the Centre for Business Performance at Cranfield School of Management, showed that working with Investors in People increases profitability by enhancing managerial skills and increasing the performance of managers. It also inspires a high-performance management culture and an effective learning environment, both of which help to improve business performance.

Below: Colin Jones, Partnerships Manager for Investors in People NW and idg (Improvement Development Growth) present Visit Chester & Cheshire Chief Executive, Chris Brown, and his team with the Investors In People silver award.