Newcastle invest in their people
Newcastle Dairy has been celebrating recently following the re-accreditation of its Investors In People (IIP) standard.
Newcastle is Arla Foods' only site to achieve IIP recognition and to have been re-accredited with IIP recognition. It was first awarded the IIP Standard in December 2000.
"The re-accreditation assessment can take place between one and three years following the original accreditation. Newcastle's re-accreditation assessment took place recently and was successful," explained Charlotte Greenwood, regional training officer.
"IIP is a national standard which sets out a level of good practice for the training and development of people to achieve business goals. It provides a framework for increasing business performance and competitiveness through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives, and developing people to meet these objectives," explained Charlotte.
"The assessor looked at our training and development systems, our communication systems and our business development processes. He also conducted interviews with 30 people representing all functions and positions to get their views regarding whether the dairy does 'invest in its people'," added Ron Little, Newcastle Dairy operations co-ordinator.
The assessor who visited Newcastle was very impressed with what he saw and made particular reference to the enthusiasm and energy at the dairy, the pride of the workforce and the sense of commitment from everyone. "I will have no hesitation in singing your praises," he added.
Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.
Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.
Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.