Pictured: Worldwide Fruit MD Robert Baliki and HR Director
Trish McCarron
Worldwide Fruit (WFL) has become one of the few companies in the
produce industry to receive the prestigious business improvement
accreditation at Bronze level from Investors in People, (IIP).
Worldwide Fruit is an international fruit marketing and
distribution company specialising in the supply of mainly apples,
pears and avocado to major UK multiple retailers.
It will turnover £94m this financial year.
In January 2008 the company moved into a new state of the art
production and office facility in Apple Way, Spalding, where
approximately 215 staff are employed. It also continues to operate
a small office in Whitstable, Kent employing another 22.
The addition of major new premises three years ago led to a
concerted effort to change the culture of the business.
More focus was given to staff training and development and
formal methods of communication. An ESOL programme (English for
Speakers of Other Languages) was introduced, along with NVQs and
management development. The Company now carries out regular staff
opinion surveys, along with communication briefings and 1-1
meetings.
Last year, having researched IIP, WFL felt confident that it
could achieve IIP standard, which includes 10 areas such as
Business Strategy, Learning and Development, and Recognition and
Reward. Organisations may choose to go for the straightforward
standard, or elect to go for an additional higher level designated
Bronze, Silver or Gold.
WFL felt that it was already going further than the framework,
so elected for Bronze, which meant that the assessor also looked
for additional evidence in areas such as Corporate Social
Responsibility, core values, and continuous improvement.
For a week in January this year 40 members of WFL staff, chosen
by the IIP Assessor, and drawn from both sites were interviewed by
the IIP assessor who recorded what they said, and put forward a
recommendation to the IIP Board.
The Company received the news of its success on 31st March
2011.
Robert Balicki CEO of WFL has sent the following message to all
staff:
"I would like to say how pleasing it is to hear that we have
been awarded Bronze level by Investors in People. It shows the
tremendous steps forward we have taken as a business and is
recognition of everyone at WFL for the effort that has gone in to
achieving this accolade.
"We will now be assessed every 3 years to ensure that we have
continued to
work at the required standard, and we will now show the IIP logo
on our web
site and letter heading."
Sean Read, Director of EMB Excellence Ltd, (emb-x), the leading
enterprise and economic development company that delivers a range
of business improvement services, including Investors in People
across Central England comments "This is a fantastic achievement by
Worldwide Fruit. Working with Investors in People inspires and
enables leaders, managers and employees at all levels to build
their skills, improve their performance and achieve their
potential. We hope that more organisations will be encouraged to
work with Investors in People to help realise their business goals
and ambitions."
As well as the award, Worldwide Fruit has seen many benefits
from the
changes made, including stable absence rates, a vast reduction
in labour. turnover, better problem solving and higher
productivity.
To find out more about how the Investors in People framework can
improve your business productivity, performance and
competitiveness, contact emb-x on 0845 872 7727 email
info@iipcentralengland.co.uk