Investors in People : research on the New Choices approach

"Investors in People (IIP) is a business development tool that was first launched in 1991. The IIP Standard enables organisations to assess how they are managing people, and where improvements can be made. There are 39 evidence requirements which must be met for an organisation to be recognised as meeting the IIP Standard. The New Choices approach to IIP was introduced in May 2009 to provide greater flexibility and customisation of IIP to an employer’s priorities and goals. It also allows progress beyond the IIP Standard and incorporates additional recognition in the form of Bronze, Silver and Gold award levels (for which organisations must provide evidence that they meet at least 65, 115 or 165 evidence requirements respectively). In April 2010, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills took over strategic ownership of IIP and was keen to understand the differences made by New Choices. The overall aim of this research is to identify the impact that the New Choices approach has had on perceptions and take up of IIP, with a view to informing future strategy for IIP and contributing to meeting longer-term objectives for IIP. The project methodology included: preliminary research (familiarisation with the IIP literature review, a review of management information, and discussions with key stakeholders); an e-survey of employers engaged with the New Choices approach; and 15 employer case studies to add depth to the understanding of how New Choices was working in practice. The New Choices approach was introduced across the UK in May 2009 (after being piloted in Scotland and some parts of England), so at the time of writing has been operational for less than two years. This is a relatively short period of time in which to judge the impact of the New Choices approach, as further benefits are likely to accrue over the long term. As such, this review has not identified significant direct benefits experienced by employers who have followed the extended framework and achieved a Bronze, Silver or Gold award level, though it has identified some changes that may contribute to increased business efficiency" - page i

When it pays to be friendly: employment relationships and emotional labour in hairstyling

This article examines worker-client relationships in hairstyling. Data are drawn from interviews with 15 hourly-paid and 32 self-employed hairstylists and a self-administered survey. Relations of employment are found to be central to the deployment of emotional labour. Self-employed owner-operators are highly dependent on clients, rely on deep-acting, enact favours, and are prone to emotional breaking points when they fail to realise their 'congealed service'. In contrast, hourly-paid stylists perform surface acting, resist unpaid favours and experience fewer breaking points. Methodologically this article demonstrates the importance of comparative employment relations analysis (CERA) for exposing the relationship between employment structures and labour process experiences