The North East’s biggest building society has become one of just a handful of companies in the region to achieve the prized ‘Gold’ Investors in People (IIP) standard.
Newcastle Building Society was the first ever building society to be awarded an IIP accreditation in 1993. Now, after completing a three year drive to improve on the Silver standard it achieved in 2014, it is celebrating reaching gold.
Gold standard recognises the Society’s progress in investing in its people across nine separate criteria, reflecting leadership, support and development of staff.
The accreditation involves independent assessments by external observers and gathering information from across the workforce. In order to qualify for Gold level, organisations have to receive ‘Advanced’ rating in at least seven of the nine categories.
The Society created 118 new jobs during 2016 as part of an ongoing £10m investment programme across the business, and now employs more than 1,000 people across the North East.
It recently announced a 50 per cent year-on-year profit increase for its last financial year to take it to £8.1m, alongside a major investment in buying its 99,000 sq ft building on Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside.
A further 130 new roles are planned for 2017, and the organisation is now actively recruiting for dozens of roles across its head office and branch network.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive at Newcastle Building Society, says: “Achieving Gold IIP status reflects the commitment we’ve made to being a great place to work, where people can realise their potential. Every single member of our team has contributed towards reaching this new level.
“The award is a reflection of our genuine involvement with our local communities, of our values and behaviours, and our continuing investment in staff development, all of which are driving positive change across the organisation for everyone.
“IIP is a continuing journey for us, and our objective is to consolidate the position we’ve now achieved as the business evolves, and implement new ideas that we think will help us reach even higher levels in the years to come.”