Quality mark 1: Committed

Committed to the People In Aid Code

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There are two ways to achieve the first Quality Mark ‘Committed to the People In Aid Code’. Both require the Chief Executive or Chair of the organisation to make a written and public commitment to the People In Aid Code of Good Practice.

Option 1 - Additional to the public commitment, an organisation needs to satisfy two of the following:

• The organisation explicitly integrates the People In Aid Code within its current internal management systems or HR policies and practices. An organisation shows that its HR manual or intranet makes reference to the People In Aid Code and this appears in induction processes. The organisation also shows there is evidence of staff engagement on specific policy areas, for example health, safety, security, debriefing and performance management.

Tool – HR Manual

• The organisation undertakes and acts upon the findings of an HR audit to assess performance against the People In Aid Code, and has these findings reviewed by senior management. An organisation should show that it has systematically audited its HR systems, policies and practice by doing an HR audit or some other diagnostic exercise, either department by department or country by country. This Audit helps define the gaps in your human resources implementation, prioritise the areas that need improvement and guides the development of a plan to implement improvements toward embracing the Code of Good Practice.

Tool – The HR Audit Toolkit: Measuring HR Effectiveness

• The organisation undertakes and acts upon the findings of a comprehensive employee engagement exercise. An organisation shows it has undertaken a comprehensive survey, fed the findings back to its staff and taking steps to address any issues arising.

Tool – Employee Survey

To retain the first Quality mark, the written and public statement and evidence fulfilling at least two of the three criteria above will be reviewed annually and must be ‘current’ i.e. not more than three years old at the point of the annual review.

Option 2 - Additional to the public commitment, an organisation needs to satisfy the following:

• The organisation gives responsibility and appropriate authority for implementing the People In Aid Code to a named project manager and team who in turn builds the business case and scopes the implementing process. The team can consist of up to six people from HR and other departments who between them manage the whole implementation process. The project manager is usually an HR Manager.
• The organisation informs staff of its commitment and intent to implement the People In Aid Code and an independent external social audit

Tool – Stage 1 of the People In Aid Code Implementation Manual

Certification for the first Quality Mark

A Certification Panel comprising of People In Aid’s Executive Director, Director of HR Services, a board member and an independent expert will review the evidence submitted by the organisation and decide upon the award of the Quality Mark.