Banks Group celebrates 25 years of Investors in People

The Banks Group in County Durham was first accredited by Investors in People (IIP) in 2001, beginning a quarter-century journey of continuous improvement and recognition in employee management.

Nick Hobdey, group HR director at Banks Group, said: “The long-term investment we’ve made in training and HR resources demonstrates the emphasis that our senior team places on this aspect of the business, with the IIP accreditations we’ve gained over the last 25 years showing the clear impact that this approach has on our day-to-day operations.

“The Investors In People process has a direct impact on the way in which our business operations have been managed and enhanced over a quarter of a century, with a range of enhancements to the ways in which we monitor and reward high performance resulting from preparations for and conversations during the assessment process.

“In what is already a landmark year for the business, we’re very pleased to have reached this additional milestone and are very much focused on retaining and building on our Gold accreditation when our next formal IIP assessment takes place in 2027.”

Originally known for its surface mining operations, the Banks Group has evolved over the past 25 years into operating successfully in the renewable energy, plant management, contract mining and, most recently, housebuilding sectors.

In 2018, the company achieved the silver standard, before going on to become one of just a handful of North East businesses to attain the gold level accreditation in 2024.

The company is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

IIP assessors regularly visit Banks’ Meadowfield headquarters and other sites to interview randomly selected staff at all levels, gathering insights through anonymous online surveys that cover all areas of performance.

Graeme Mills, an Investors in People assessor, said: “Investors In People is all about recognising and encouraging high performance, what goes into achieving these standards and what businesses and management teams can do to sustain them over the long-term.

“The companies that achieve the highest IIP accreditations are the ones that authentically live their values, shaping their decisions and behaviours around the standards they set and seeing the positive impact of these choices permeating right through their operations.

“The Banks Group has a rare combination of being a family business with a long heritage that is also quick to respond to new commercial opportunities and to adapt to what it needs to do to equip its team with the additional skills and resources required to take advantage of them.”

The 2024 IIP assessment praised Banks Group for its “strategic thinking in the development of people development and management practice,” its leadership’s ambition to “improve and seek different ways of working,” and the sense that “people are generally enthused and excited about the future.”

Dan Matthews, group learning and development manager at Banks Group, said: “The most important asset of any business is always its people, and having a forum through which colleagues can provide direct, honest feedback on the company’s current activities and future plans is absolutely invaluable for all of us.

“The insight that the IIP assessment process provides is an essential part of attracting, developing and retaining high calibre staff, and helps to ensures they’re equipped with the skills they to reach their goals and are properly rewarded when they do so.”