The Organisation
The work of BCOP is encompassed in its full name: Broadening Choices for Older People. Since 1946, BCOP has been known as a respected Charity offering a comprehensive service to older people and their advocates. As a Charity and Registered Social Landlord, BCOP works to meet the needs of older people by providing a range of quality care and accommodation, home repairs and advice services.
BCOP was originally founded in May 1946 as the Birmingham Development Council for Old Peoples Welfare. Early in 1947, the name was simplified to Birmingham Council for Old People, until the present day when the organisation is simply known as BCOP, registered as Broadening Choices for Older People.
"In using Investors in People it has not only impacted on performance, but made practices tangible and motivated staff to drive their ambition. As a business we care passionately about our organisation, our people and the impact we have on our clients therefore we wholeheartedly advocate and recommend using the standard to improve these objectives."
BCOP's Broad Objectives are:
- The provision of care and accommodation for older people who are unable to make provision for themselves through other sources.
- The making of donations to any person or charitable group who work exclusively with older people.
- To undertake such activities being exclusively determined charitable by the Trustees.
- To promote and to undertake the management of properties held on charitable trusts for the benefit of older people.
As an Investor in People, BCOP will recruit, train and develop staff and if possible ensure the retention of those staff.
The Challenge
The company needed to heed expectations of growth and to improve continuously in order to fulfil the needs of residents, their families, external bodies and funding bodies. Care is at the forefront of the organisation and they required a team of conscientious and accountable professional to provide this. Clarification of these requirements meant a detailed probe into the organisation which Investors in People could facilitate.
There had been Management changes since the new CEO had arrived and his inherited management team had depleted. For some time high on the agenda there was a need for a dedicated Training Manager and this new appointment had met with some resistance. Tackling the restructure of the business and people’s responsibility was something that had already been identified through working with the Investors in People, it now needed to be implemented. Understandably when titles alter and the security of familiarity starts to change it can be unsettling for staff. Therefore it was important for the rest of the team to recognise how roles interrelate in terms of whether they were strategic, part business development or just day to day and identification of this would help them to accept the changes.
The Strategy
With all the areas of the standard being relevant it became clear that developing effective leadership and management was crucial. With the new framework it was easy to work explicitly on those areas. It clarified the leadership qualities that were required for certain jobs and were essential to the running of the business.
In establishing this it also educated people on how they sat within the business which gave a clear perspective. It helped to integrate the new training department and made people aware of its importance as a tool to achieve their goals and stretch their potential. People and their welfare are a fundamental part of the business objectives and therefore training had to reflect this commitment. The training manager from the department worked closely with the financial department and was required to attend board meetings as this role was pivotal to company growth.
The new approach encompassed their objectives and gave people an opportunity to discuss their thoughts on processes. Information was gathered from all their locations and it became evident this was the first time the company had gained this knowledge. It made clear the levels of involvement under pinning their business gleaned from accessing this information. The feedback was crucial and therefore Investors in People was the best way forward for BCOP and the employees themselves.
The Results
Even though they don’t have a large budget they felt Investors in People gave a measurable return on investment. It was specifically the new approach that they believe delivered an impact upon the company’s key objectives. It has been the best experience they had and a really positive way of evaluating information from across the business.
Investors in People has forged a new and more robust way of driving the business forward because it has injected some new challenges. For example the new Training Manager is really hands on and integral to the process of job accountability. He spent time pro actively going around to all the homes to explain what he could offer and what they could achieve. In showing himself in person and making himself answerable he established great working relationships across the business.
Choosing to go for Investors in People has unlocked potential and the review identified this in many ways including how effective leadership and management are. It also demonstrated to the whole organisation how this impacted on them.
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