Investors In People

Press Release - August 2007

The Cutting Corner has achieved yet another UK first.

The Cutting Corner, 'Luton's only Hair Salon to have gained the internationally recognised Investor In People status for their training', is the first UK salon to be assessed against the new Profile version of Investor In People.

If that wasn't enough, the team also achieved the highest level of any organisation in the East of England in one of the indicators.

The Investors in People Profile is a framework of good practice that provides further stretch for organisations. It does this by going beyond the current scope of the Investors in People (IIP) Standard into broader areas of people management and development. It allows organisations to continuously improve through taking an in-depth look at their strengths and development areas. The Standard tells an organisation it is displaying good practice Ð Profile shows an organisation exactly how good they are and where they can focus for further improvements. As with the standard the principles of Plan, Do and Review are underpinned by 10 indicators of good practice, each with a central theme.

There are 4 levels within the Profile Standard, Level 1 being the Standard and the further levels represent organisations exceeding the requirements of IIP to those organisations whose performance in certain areas is exceptional, (Level 4).

The Cutting Corner chose two Key Themes within the Profile Standard to be assessed against, Organisational Core Values and Reward & Recognition. The Assessor, Elizabeth Morris from The Assessment Network, said "There is no doubt that the Team at the The Cutting Corner live and breathe the values that they as a team developed, and their vision lies at the very heart of the company 'To Create The Ultimate Hairdressing Experience... and then improve it!', however, the company have excelled in the area of Reward & recognition achieving a level 4 in Indicator 6. Being assessed against the new Profile is in its self is an accolade, as nationally The Cutting Corner are the only Hairdressers to undertake either a part or full Profile assessment, but achieving a Level 4 is exceptional!"

Jez Barnett, the salon's owner said, "I'm absolutely delighted to have achieved such a high standard and to be the 1st salon in the UK to do so. The team's been working really hard over the last few years to make The Cutting Corner 'The place to be' for both the team and the clients. We've had huge success with our innovative services like Nanomax and Inspire, but that's only been possible with a great focus on training throughout the team and everyone in the salon working towards the same goals. This award is a fantastic recognition of all their hard work and dedication in providing our clients with the highest level of skills and service in Luton."

The Cutting Corner has now been asked to take part in a Case Study for Investor In People UK, which Jez is thrilled about, "Working with IIP has been fantastic for us and I would recommend it to any company who takes their training and team's development seriously. Our team members develop very quickly and everyone is both learning and teaching every day. The whole team's been buzzing since achieving our Level 4 and it encourages us all to push further forward with our standards and level of service we give to our clients. As each team member progresses it motivates us all to push on further ourselves, which has created a very rewarding cycle of achievement."

As for the future, Jez says "It's very exciting", but then he always says that!