Richard Hew President and CEO

The Caribbean Utilities Companies (CUC) has achieved the renewal of its Investor in People (IIP) certification following a rigorous review process recently conducted by the International Quality Centre (IQC) of the United Kingdom.

In 2006, CUC, a power company in the Cayman Islands, was awarded its first IIP.

The assessor’s report recommending the renewal of the IIP Standard for CUC said: “The commitment to staff development is very demonstrable. It is clear that the leadership team believes in the return for the company from this wise investment.”

“CUC’s focus has always been on developing our employees to reach their full potential. We are pleased to have retained our IIP certification, as we consistently strive to enhance productivity and make CUC a positive place to work for all of our employees,” said President and CEO Richard Hew.

The Investors in People Standard is a business improvement tool designed to advance an organisation’s performance through its people. The IIP Standard was formed in 1993 by a partnership of leading business and international organisations as a tool to improve the skills of the workforce in the United Kingdom and is overseen in the UK by the Secretary of Trade. The Standard helps organisations to improve performance and realise objectives through the management and development of their people.

IIP UK has licence agreements with over twenty countries worldwide, including Africa, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Australia and Asia.

CUC is one of just nine organisations in the Cayman Islands to have been officially recognised as having attained the Standard following a thorough assessment by independent external assessors. The key objective of the renewal assessments is to appraise the organisation’s position against the current version of the IIP Standard (which had been revised since CUC’s initial award in 2006).

Further objectives include identifying areas for improvement and development, and assessing the effectiveness of the people development practices introduced since the initial assessment.

CUC’s development programmes reviewed for the IIP Standard renewal included the company’s scholarship programme, the in-house apprenticeships programme, other technical training and management and leadership development.

As part of the renewal process, the IIP assessor interviewed a cross section of the company’s staff complement – taken from the full range of departments, occupations and responsibility levels from Board members through to administrative staff.

Employees chosen for interviews were selected to reflect variety in seniority and position, working hours, sites, teams, employment status and gender. It also included new staff and those who had recently changed roles.

Following this extensive review by the IQC, the IIP Standard renewal recommendation found that CUC’s approach to staff development “enhances the consistency of skills and knowledge throughout the company, breeds commitment and loyalty and provides a structure for career advancement.

Participants described this approach as very effective. This remains a key strength of the company’s staff development strategy”.

In the Cayman Islands, the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment is the IIP licence holder and works in partnership with Investors In People UK. The Department of Employment Relations manages the local IIP programme and serves as the contact point for companies and organisations in the Cayman Islands.