The Investors in People Standard gave us a framework for this - one that had already been proved to us through Lombard's UK accreditation. Although it is still early days, the benefits of working towards the Standard are already becoming clear at Comfort Card, where in the last year the organisation has seen increased profitability. As jobs for life disappear, people in Holland and Belgium, as in the UK, recognise that they need skills for life instead. Organisations all over the world are recognising that good people practice can make the difference between success and failure. Comfort Card and Lombard have recognised that good people management is the same in any language and that investing in your people produces significant benefits whatever their mother tongue.
Common sense dictates that their competitors take note.
At the time there was no firm prospect of receiving formal recognition abroad, but the Board felt that the principles of the Standard would be of such significant benefit that the organisation should work towards achieving the standards set irrespective of ultimate recognition. Comfort Card is now planning to implement Investors in People principles in Germany. It has operations in France, Germany, Holland and Belgium, providing leasing, contract hire and retail point of sale finance facilities for business and personal customers.