SOUTHWOLD-based Adnams has been awarded Gold status under the Investors in People (IiP) programme, the UK’s top accolade in recognition of business improvement through training, development and people management.

IiP is a framework that helps organisations transform their business performance, with Gold status only being awarded to those which perform best in a rigorous assessment of current activity.

To quality for Gold, the assessment requires companies to demonstrate more than 165 examples of people management best practice, a level surpassed by Adnams which offered more than 170.

Adnams chief executive Andy Wood said: “This news comes following a terrific year for Adnams, having received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development at the beginning of 2012, as well as a whole host of other awards for our beers, spirits, hotels and website throughout the year.

“We are very proud to achieve the IiP Gold status as it acknowledges our dedication and commitment to our staff on a day-to-day basis and we’re honoured to have been recognised at such a high level as an Investor in People.

“We are hugely committed to our core company values, and ‘doing things right’ has always been at the heart of what we do.”

Gwen Carter-Powell, performance specialist for IiP, said: “Adnams is a vibrant company that capitalises on the talents and strengths of its staff. By engaging effectively with all employees, Adnams enables them to ‘have a voice’ and as a result staff are committed and passionate about the work they do and know how they make a difference.

“During my assessment, staff told me they thought Adnams was a great place to work, and this didn’t waiver from one location to another. A company like Adnams never rests in terms of continued development and it is now my challenge to get them doing even more.”