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London Underground, a subsidiary of London Transport, has undergone significant reorganisation in recent years. A much–publicised Public Private Partnership with infrastructure partners, Metronet and Tube Lines, was completed in 2003. Against the backdrop of this reorganisation, London Underground pursued its commitment to the Investors in People standard. A building block approach to recognition was chosen in the late 1990’s with each line being accredited by 1999. “Our approach was similar to linking stations on a tube journey,” says Trevor Rampley, Learning & Development Manager and also London Underground’s Investors in People Coordinator.Corporate Recognition under Investors in People was considered by London Underground to be the next logical step and this was achieved in November 2000.

Needing to avoid complacency, having achieved Corporate Recognition in late 2000, was a key priority for London Underground’s management. Trevor Rampley comments “We wanted to avoid the danger of Investors in People recognition representing just a ‘plaque on the wall’ and that we were ‘safe’ now for another three years before the next assessment!” With over three million passenger journeys per day and 12,500 staff, London Underground is very much a people business and Trevor Rampley added “We needed to ensure that we maintained the momentum achieved in obtaining Investors in People recognition.”

Internal Review was recommended to London Underground by its Investors in People Advisor as a way of maintaining momentum. “We identified the benefits in having reviews undertaken by our own people” says Trevor Rampley who added “External assessments only covered parts of a large organisation like London Underground whereas Internal Review would enable us to blanket cover all eleven directorates in the business as well as unearthing and sharing best practice.”

Internal Reviewers were selected using a rigorous approach. “We used the same approach as we would for any other job within London Underground” says Trevor Rampley. “The process included an evaluation of competencies required for the role to ensure that we selected a high quality team.”
In all 12 people were put through an intensive training programme organised by CQL. Speaking on behalf of fellow Internal Reviewers, Trevor Rampley says “The Internal Review experience has helped us grow within our jobs.”

Implementation of the Internal Review programme has been under the expert supervision of Trevor Rampley, who is also a trained Internal Reviewer. “We started undertaking internal reviews in August 2003 and have completed six in the first two months. We will have interviewed 350 people by the time the Assessor comes in in November 2003,” says Trevor Rampley. “My plan is for each Internal Reviewer to review three locations per year” added Trevor Rampley. The match of Reviewer and location is carefully planned to ensure the right fit to achieve maximum benefit to the organisation.
Feedback provided by Internal Reviewers has been received extremely positively by managers.

The impact of Internal Review has ensured that London Underground has fully adopted Investors in People as a business as usual activity and not merely a 3–yearly assessment exercise. This focus has encouraged London Underground to consider Profiles and other Investors models. Trevor Rampley added “Internal Review has certainly encouraged us to maintain our impetus and develop a culture of continuous improvement. It has got to be worth considering as a way of assessing the business by people who know the organisation.”