Stakeholder

The Quays Pick up Investors in People Accreditation

The Quays Shopping Centre in Newry is celebrating after becoming the first Shopping Centre in Northern Ireland to be awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) Accreditation.

IiP has long been acknowledged as an important international marque of good business practice. It is a business improvement tool that helps organisations of every size, type and location to compete and succeed through improved people performance.

Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey presented the local company with the award at a ceremony at Hillsborough Castle this week. Speaking at the event Sir Reg said: “Experience has shown that companies that invest in the development of their people during times of economic downturn are in the strongest position to gain competitive advantage in recovery. In fact, research shows that companies that invest in the skills of their staff are two and half times more likely to survive.”

Sir Reg congratulated The Quays and other businesses receiving the award and added: “The uptake of IiP in Northern Ireland is an encouraging sign for the local economy, and should serve as an example to other employers not yet capitalising on the bottom-line business benefits of IiP. We tend to forget that businesses are, in essence, people, and the importance of local businesses investing in their people is particularly relevant at this difficult time for industry.”

Speaking after the event Centre Manager Cathal Austin said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this accreditation. It is always exciting to be the first in your sector to achieve such a prestigious accolade. This acknowledgement for the work that goes into improving our performance at the centre is a tribute to every staff member at The Quays in making it an organisation we are proud to work for.”

During the event Sir Reg also assured businesses that as the business environment changes the delivery of IiP will also change in response to current challenges: “Work is underway to align the IiP assessment process even more closely with the business issues currently facing organisations. Organisations will also be encouraged to stretch themselves even further by looking at the themes and issues contained in the full Investors in People framework.”