It is often said that the most valuable asset in any practice is its people.

But do you have good human resource management in your practice?A growing number of organisations are now considering and working towards the investors in people (IIP) standard, operated by the Department of Employment and originally established by the former Training Agency.

It is a definable national standard of 'bes t people management' which can be assessed and recognised independently of the organisation.In some respects IIP can be compared to other indicators like BS5750 and the Law Society's practice management standards.

At the heart of the IIP standard is the need for good or improved communications.

An ability to share with others and to be open and honest with them, like discussing performance in an open and constructive way, is essential.

This should encompass accepting our own poor performance when it has occurred and equally praising the good performance of others whenever that occurs.

The formal IIP national standard is summarised below.-- An investor in people makes a public commitment from the top to develop all employees to achieve its business objectives.-- An investor in people regularly reviews the training and development needs of all employees.-- An investor in people takes action to train and develop individuals on recruitment and throughout their employment.-- An investor in people evaluates the investment in training and development to assess achievement and improve future effectiveness.Another definition of the standard is: 'What is needed is a planned approach to setting and communicating business goals and to developing people to meet those goals so that what people can do and are motivated to do matches what the practice needs them to do.'It therefore means involving all your staff in sharing your vision of where you and they would like to see the practice going.

It means setting clear business objectives involving all members of staff and considering the full implications for the training and development of everyone.

It includes undertaking training and development and evaluating its contribution to the practice.

It must be a continuing process reviewed on at least an annual basis.An examination of IIP assessor reports can give some useful insights into the experience of organisations which have made the commitment to reach the standard and have subsequently achieved it.Amongst the main reasons reported for working towards the standard are ones like getting the best out of people, retaining them, and multi-skilling them so that they can provide a service that maximises client satisfaction.

Although those firms which already had good people management practices did not have to do very much to reach the standard, being assessed provided a useful audit and confirmation that they were doing things well.For organisations which had to work towards the standard, the activities reported by assessors were matters like: involving everybody in the business planning process from which the training and development needs were then derived; enhancing procedures to conduct regular training and development reviews; and installing career development or appraisal for everyone.Amongst the benefits reported have been developing a more positive attitude amongst all staff by increased involvement and communication leading to a stronger sense of teamwork and everyone being proud of the organisation.In the UK we tend to assume that when it comes to managing people we can do it well without any guidance and training.

When looking back, having achieved the standard, it would therefore not be surprising if there was a feeling that it had all been common sense after all.

One must then ask why the approach had not been tried before.

The same can be said of many of the aspects of good people management.

Here are a few thoughts and lessons on how some firms have achieved the IIP standard.-- Finding a champion for the cause.

When the senior partner or managing partner can be convinced then there is great hope.

Sometimes it might be another partner or even a member of the support staff.

That person must have influence to persuade others to spend time and effort.

They can become the champion of the cause.-- Seeking success.

When there has been a successful training programme, staff succession plan, recruitment drive, etc then this can provide useful ammunition in convincing the practice to invest further in people management.For example, in one practice where enhanced technical and management training had been introduced the partners were able to see that work could be delegated further down the practice with the consequent saving in costs.

Another example came from the rewards in improving graduate recruitment at the local university following input of time and effort into communicating with second-year undergraduates.-- Involving everybody.

The big mistake is to think that involving everybody means telling them what you are going to do rather than keeping them in the dark.

It actually means talking to everyone, inviting their suggestions, listening to them, and agreeing actions with them.Of course your leadership is important but leadership is not all to do with telling.

It must include consulting.-- Agreeing your mission.

Thrashing out mission statements can be difficult but very rewarding.

If everyone in the practice feels that they can contribute towards the practice mission then you will have success.

Even when a mission statement seems bland it is surprising how morale boosting it can be for everyone to feel a part of it when they have contributed to it.-- Budgeting.

It may be relatively easy to allocate sums of money for training and development to a budget.

However, is it as easy to allocate the necessary time and keep to that time allocation? So often training and development activities get cancelled or postponed due to client pressure.

In best practice this does not happen.One final thought, achieving the IIP standard can be a useful stepping stone towards other objectives.

For example, applying for a legal aid franchise or working towards BS5750 will be much simpler if you have well motivated staff and are providing a good quality service.The next step? Get a copy of the standard and start working towards it today.

Your local training and enterprise council (TEC) will be only too pleased to help and may even be able to assist with funding.