Variohm Approved by Investors In People

According to the Investors In People website, Investors in People standard is â€The Standard for People Management.  The standard defines what it takes to lead, support and manage people well for sustained results"

It’s all about offering employees opportunities such as qualifications and in house promotions. We listen to our employees and encourage ideas, drive performance and ensure that they are happy in the work place.

We were originally approved in October 1998, our Investors In People standard is reviewed every three years. IIP Auditor came and spent two days at Variohm having one-to-one interviews with employees hand-picked by them. These interviews were strictly confidential, Cathy, our Operations Director was then given feedback based on the interviews, all comments (even the positive ones) were anonymous.

What Does having the Investors In People Standard Mean?

Having this standard is recognition for the way we work with our staff. The review also acts as a health check allowing us to assess where we are whilst also making suggestions for the future.

From the review we have a list of suggestions to improve our standards further, these include, more team meetings and clearer goals for managers.

There were also lots of good points raised such as, people knowing what they need to achieve, employees are given praise and feedback, employees are supported by qualifications and we listen to our employee’s ideas for improvements.

We were already aware of some of the improvements, over the past few weeks we have put up an Information Board in each department, these give employees information on Objectives, Financial Information, BOS (Business Operating System) charts and a skills matrix within the department. 

Qualifications and Internal Promotions

As you will know if you have been reading our previous blog posts, we value well-rounded employees and support them with Qualifications and training courses. Some of our employees have been working with us for a number of years and have had different job titles and opportunities to develop in the time they have been with us.

Here are a few of our employees who have moved significantly within the company in the time they have been here;

Ewelina Kucmierczyk; Production Supervisor

Ewelina Kucmierczyk is our Production Superviser, she started working here, at Variohm in February 2013 as one of our Production Technicians. We offered her numerous training courses to help her with her job role including soldering, IPC 620 crimping and an excel course.

An opportunity arose where we were in need of a Production Supervisor, this is when we rewarded Ewelina for her hard work and commitment to the company. As part of her promotion she has also been offered an NVQ in Team Leading to aid her in her new job role.

Ewelina says

“My job has changed in the time I have been with company, I have more responsibilities and I’m happy to be a part of the production team. I really enjoy my work. I’m looking forward to any opportunities or extra training which will help me to develop my skills in my career ladder.”

Emma Pochodzaj; Documentation Manager

Emma Pochodzaj is our Documentation Manager, she has been working at Variohm for seven and a half years. When she started working for us she was the Returns Administrator.  Her job has changed significantly in the time she has been with us. This is partly due to company growth and partly due to Emma’s desire to develop professionally.

Emma started off handling a lot of the processing in the Admin Department; invoicing, raising orders, raising proformas and sending customer acknowledgements. She now oversees these operations, managing two of the Admin Employees and the cleaners here at Variohm, she assists Cathy Donoghue, our Operations Director with HR functions. Emma is also getting more involved in our sage system and the communication between different departments.

Emma has been involved in lots of training; we have supported her through NVQ’s in Business and Admin, Team Leading and Management, computer courses, minute taking and a Certificate in Human Resources.

Emma says

 “I have been offered many opportunities to grow with Variohm over the past 7 and a half years which has not only affected the professional aspect of my life but has also made an impact on my personal life. I am very passionate about Variohm and my position within the company and I hope to continue my development with their support.”

Ben Moffatt; Accounts Assistant  

When Ben started working for Variohm 13 years ago, he was a member of our warehouse team. He has worked in quite a few different departments since then, in each department he was offered training to help him achieve and understand the job role.

Ben has been working in our accounts department for the past 18 months, where he has completed the AAT level 2 course and is now working on AAT level 3. He now looks after the accounts for two of the companies within the Variohm Holdings Group; Heason Technology and Ixthus Instrumentation.

Ben says

“The Managers at Variohm work pretty hard to find a slot here that people fit and are happy with. Everyone comes in with a different skills set and the company allows people to grow and find a role where they excel.”

Managers

We are currently in the process of making changes to the way we develop our company goals to give our managers greater input into company direction and leading the company successfully.

We recently took our managers offsite to complete a two day training course. This is something we will repeat to ensure that they are supported and that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Why we think having the Investors In People standard is important

We think it is important to have a happy team of dedicated people which is why we take the time to be reviewed by Investors in People.

Overall we have worked withour staff to achieve the Investors in people Standard. It is recognition of the amount of time we spend developing our people and making Variohm a great place to work.

Would you be interested in a career at Variohm? We have a few vacancies – take a look at the vacancies page of our website for more information.